The women on the softball diamond at Valley View Fields in Bloomington, Minnesota, are living out a childhood dream.

As the generation before Title IX, they're making up for lost time, going 25 seasons strong as the Minnesota Lady Loons.  

"To be able to do this, at our age, and be competitive, is a bonus," said Cheryl King, one of the founding members of this senior softball team.

The roster of Lady Loons ranges in ages 70 to 84.

"I am the matriarch in my 84th year, proud of it," said Joann Rolling, a retired fast pitch player-turned-Lady Loon.

Rollings has never missing a season playing on a ball park since she was 12 years old.

"If you don't use it, you lose it, so I'm using it," she said. "I've even surprised myself that at this age, I'm doing this."

While these women love the competition, it's the friendships made around the mound that are the real home runs.

"It's a second family," Rolling said. "We're there for each other. I had an operation on my shoulder a couple years ago and a couple of them came over and spent the night with me and they came and helped."

For King, this team lifted her up as she navigated her grief when her husband recently passed away.

"They were there for me, they comforted me. We do that with everyone," King said.

This group has even made history together as the first senior team of both men and women to be inducted into the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Softball adds so much to their lives, both socially and physically, reminding them how resilient they truly are.

"I think just about everybody's had an ache or a pain, but come back every time, just as strong," Rolling said.

The Lady Loons head to the National Senior Games later this week in Des Moines, Iowa. This is the 12th time they've competed against other senior players from across the country.

Fun fact: the Lady Loons say their fans are called "The Loon-atics." 

• Senior Citizens