GB couple dominates Senior Games
BY SCOTT PAGE Gulf Breeze News Scott@gulfbreezenews.com

Beverly (left) and Drake Shepard display the medals they won at the 2007 Florida Senior Games.

The results are in from the 2007 Florida Senior Games State Championships, and one Gulf Breeze couple brought home five medals. Drake and Beverly Shepard both competed in the games, held in Cape Coral over the course of Dec. 1- 9. Drake won the gold in the 5K run, while earning silver medals in both the 800 and 1,500 meter runs. His wife, Beverly, won gold medals in singles and doubles badminton.

The Shepards have never been the type of family to stay indoors and lounge around the television. Over the years, they have always found ways to get out and stay active.

"I lettered in cross-country, but took many years off to raise a family," Drake said. "But sports always stayed with me. I was active in the sports my sons were interested in, whether it be biking with them or coaching them in baseball or hockey."

In fact, Drake would take his sons on bike rides to libraries in the Chicago area, where the Shepard's lived before retiring to Gulf Breeze. After several years, Drake estimates that he and his sons had traveled over 13, 000 miles.

Drake Shepard (wearing number one) won the gold in the 5K run, and silver medals in both the 800 and 1,500 meter runs at the 2007 Florida Senior Games.

Beverly, who also leads an active lifestyle, has played badminton practically all her life, but never competitively. "She played with her family, and then myself and our kids picked it up and we played as a family."

The couple enjoyed a very active lifestyle for many years, but they have only participated in official competitions very recently.

"It's all new to us," Drake said. "We first competed in the Pensacola Senior Games in September and we found out that we could qualify for the state games."

The Florida Senior games are a qualifier for the national competition; however, the national games are only held every other year. The 2007 State Games were not a national qualifier. Consequently, competitors will have to qualify for the 2008 National Senior Games in San Francisco by performing well in the 2008 Florida Senior Games.

The Shepards will surely be competing at the 2008 Senior State Games. Drake even plans on competing in more sports, in addition to running.

"I'd like to take on badminton and power-lifting, along with running," Drake said.

"That would be a possibility [the 2008 games], but right now I'm focused on starting a local badminton club," Beverly said. "Most of the women I played against came from places were they had clubs, and that inspired me."

The Shepards ultimate joy came, not from the medals, but from sharing the experience together. "I'm glad I did so well, but us being together was the most important thing," Beverly said."

"We had a great time," Drake said. "It was a fun thing to do. Our motto is to act our age with abandon. We live our lives with a lot of passion and we have a lot of fun."