Soccer Grandma 2/19/13
By: Scott Leber
Updated: February 20, 2013
Rockford, Illinois-The Stateline is full of soccer players, but there's none quite like Susan Sundquist.
Sundquist just turned 70 years old. But that doesn't stop her from playing in the local women's recreational league at the Indoor Sports Center. How does she do it.
"I have no idea," says Sundquist. "I just go out there and do my best and have fun.
She says she never had any real soccer training. She simply started playing the sport years ago, and she keeps on going. She's the first of three generations of soccer players on her team. Her daughter Joanne Robertson and granddaughter Adele Brook also play on the team. Their friends can't believe it.
"I say, 'hey I have a game tonight'. My friends ask, 'who do you play with', I say 'My grandma'. They can't believe it," says Brook.
"She does great," says Robertson of her mother. "She gets right in there with everybody else. She's a defender. She'll get in there."
"It really is fantastic (playing as a family)," says Sundquist. "We have a wonderfl time together, and we encourage each other."
But sometimes her opponents can play a little rough.
"I go out to have fun, but if I get pushed around a lot then I start pushing back," says Sundquist.
Do they ever worry about Sundquist getting hurt? "Yea we always worry about that," says Robertson. "But we worry about that with everybody. She'll fall every once in a while and bounce right back up."
"She's pretty hardy," says Brook. "She knows how to take a tackle and fall so you don't get hurt."
When Sundquist isn't on the soccer field she is staying busy in other ways.
"I garden a lot, play table tennis and I Scottish Dance," she says.
"She's one of the most energetic people I know," says Brook of her grandmother. "She's busy all the time."
How long does she plan to keep playing soccer? "I don't know. I said until I was 70, but now I'm thinking well I'm enjoying it why should I stop," says Sundquist. "As long as my teammates don't feel I'm a burden to them then I'll keep going for a little while."
Sundquist just turned 70 years old. But that doesn't stop her from playing in the local women's recreational league at the Indoor Sports Center. How does she do it.
"I have no idea," says Sundquist. "I just go out there and do my best and have fun.
She says she never had any real soccer training. She simply started playing the sport years ago, and she keeps on going. She's the first of three generations of soccer players on her team. Her daughter Joanne Robertson and granddaughter Adele Brook also play on the team. Their friends can't believe it.
"I say, 'hey I have a game tonight'. My friends ask, 'who do you play with', I say 'My grandma'. They can't believe it," says Brook.
"She does great," says Robertson of her mother. "She gets right in there with everybody else. She's a defender. She'll get in there."
"It really is fantastic (playing as a family)," says Sundquist. "We have a wonderfl time together, and we encourage each other."
But sometimes her opponents can play a little rough.
"I go out to have fun, but if I get pushed around a lot then I start pushing back," says Sundquist.
Do they ever worry about Sundquist getting hurt? "Yea we always worry about that," says Robertson. "But we worry about that with everybody. She'll fall every once in a while and bounce right back up."
"She's pretty hardy," says Brook. "She knows how to take a tackle and fall so you don't get hurt."
When Sundquist isn't on the soccer field she is staying busy in other ways.
"I garden a lot, play table tennis and I Scottish Dance," she says.
"She's one of the most energetic people I know," says Brook of her grandmother. "She's busy all the time."
How long does she plan to keep playing soccer? "I don't know. I said until I was 70, but now I'm thinking well I'm enjoying it why should I stop," says Sundquist. "As long as my teammates don't feel I'm a burden to them then I'll keep going for a little while."
