Walter Hanik still wishes he had more speed in his legs.
He can still accept a pass at his feet and still run into open spaces. It gets a bit tougher if the ball strays further away.
But Hanik, who celebrated his 75th birthday on Saturday, still holds his own every Sunday in the Grand Masters Division of the BC Indoor Soccer League at the Northern Sport Centre.
The men's division only has two sides and features 26 players who are 50 years old and older.
Hanik is the elder statesman of both sides.
"I enjoy kicking the ball around," he said recently as he overlooked the indoor pitch at the Northern Sport Centre. "I used to be on a five-year plan from 60 to 65 and from 65 to 70, and 70 to 75, but now it's a two-year plan and I'll go as long as I can. If the guys say I'm not good enough, I'll stop."
Kicking the ball around is something Hanik, a retired math teacher, has done since he was a young child growing up in East Germany in the Second World War era.
"I was six-years-old after the Second World War and we settled in a farming community," he recalled. "There were nine to 10 kids. We didn't have a ball, but we found a ball, one that the Russians left behind when they left. It wasn't organized, we just kicked it around. There weren't any coaches, nothing."
When Hanik was 14, he and his family fled to West Germany and settled in the south where he played organized soccer for two different clubs.
In 1956 the family immigrated to Canada, choosing Vernon as its destination and Hanik kicked the ball around against other immigrant families from Kamloops, Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton who settled in the Okanagan. Canadians hadn't come around to the sport yet.
"I played mostly defence - centre half - a position I've played most of my career," he said. "I'm more of a defender than a forward. As a defender, you have to read the play and and intercept the play."
In 1961, Hanik enrolled at UBC and earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry, a one-year bachelor of education degree and a master's degree in math. He became a math teacher.
Hanik plied his trade with the UBC Thunderbirds in Div. 1 of the Vancouver Mainland league and played year-round.
In 1965, a job at South Fort George elementary led Hanik north to his first teaching job in Prince George. In 1973, after a stint at Kelly Road secondary, he went to PGSS and began coaching the Polars. The Polars won high school zones several times and advanced to provincials.
He refereed and still played too. Similar to Vernon, teams were multi-cultural and comprised of immigrants from Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Italy, England and Germany.
Back then, the soccer fields were adjacent to Highway 16 West, where Northern Toyota now sits.
He kept playing indoors too at the Rolladome. When he retired, he organized the Grand Master division.
It's basically pick-up soccer - they play six aside without referees and if one team is too strong, they switch players around. It's so popular, there's even a waiting list.
Hanik isn't the only one in the division celebrating his birthday this month.
Midfielder Harold Hacker turns 73 on March 26.
Hacker and Hanik have been playing together for 50 years, since 1960 and they haven't stopped.
"I'm still having fun, and still enjoying it, even though the bones are hurting a little bit," said Hacker, a retired Volkswagen mechanic. "Some of these guys are barely 50 years old and it's fun challenging yourself against the younger guys."
Hanik would eventually like to organize an outdoor Grand Masters division to play seven-aside.
He has a unique perspective on playing this long.
"I'm glad I can look at the grass from above rather than below," he said. "In my younger days, winning was everything. Now, not so much. So far, I'm not the worst player on the field, it still is fun. I will keep on doing it. And once I can't...."
He said his wife Joyce, (they've been married for 48 years) accepts the fact his love of soccer keeps him healthy and it's good exercise.
He also keeps in shape by cycling and walking.
