'Hats off to him': 87-year-old player still hitting the court in Sackville, N.B.

He’s just a few weeks away from turning 88-years-old, but Wayne MacKay is still hitting the gym.

The former basketball player and coach plays twice a week at a drop-in game at Mount Allison University with students who are around one quarter his age.

“I just enjoy playing basketball,” said MacKay. “Whoever shows up, you know. It’s a fun game to play.”

The age gap doesn’t bother him, but it is a bit of a factor on the court.

“Well, it’s tougher for me because I can’t move faster than I’m available to do right now,” said MacKay.

MacKay moved from Truro, N.S., to Sackville, N.B., in the early 1960s to play with the Mount Allison Mounties. He would later coach the varsity and junior varsity teams.

Known as ‘the father of modern basketball in Sackville,’ he was inducted into the town’s sports hall of fame in 1998, after devoting more than two decades to coaching and managing teams of all ages.

Wayne MacKay, 87, on the court with teammates, old and new, at Mount Allison University, where he has been a player and a coach since the 1960s.

Peter Hess is one of the countless number of kids who played for him.

“We won provincial championships. We had built up a program of basically just farm kids. Good athletes, but not very talented and he gave us the skills and the passion for the game to do well in the sport,” said Hess. Seeing his former coach come to the gym every Monday and Wednesday morning blows him away.

“I’m only fifty-nine, he’s got 30 years on me, so if he can do it, I can do it,” said Hess.

Longtime friend Frank Oulton said MacKay has been involved in basketball in Sackville for as long as he can remember. Like Hess, he finds it amazing to see MacKay still playing.

“Earlier this year I saw him sort of slowing down a little bit, but if you give him a little bit of juice he’s ready to be the old Wayne that would dive for loose balls,” said Oulton. “His range has shortened, but you have to be in front of him. If he’s eight or ten feet from the hoop you’ve got to have a hand up in his face.”

Wayne MacKay, 87, is seen playing basketball at Mount Allison University.

Second year Mount Allison student Shayam Prabhu, just 19-years-old, said Mackay is an inspiration.

“He can run, he can shoot and he knows how to play well with his [basketball] IQ, so hats off to him,” said Prabhu.

Twenty-three-year old student Joseph Gonzalez said every time he comes to the pick-up game MacKay is there too.

“I want to be like that when I’m that age. I want to still be able to come out and play with the younger generation,” said Gonzalez.

As for the secret to MacKay’s longevity, he said he walks a lot and tries to stay active.

“I don’t know what secret I have,” said MacKay. “I just know that I’m still able to do things that allows me to get out and play basketball.”

MacKay said he’ll keep playing for the love of the game as long as he can.

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