Tennis players have a saying: “You only live once, but you get to serve twice.” That’s good news for Bemidji’s Dan Moen, who spent half a lifetime before finally stepping onto a tennis court.

“I was probably about 42 at the time because my oldest daughter wanted to play in eighth grade,” Moen recalled. “So we ended up getting a couple of rackets, and that’s when I picked it up.”

Now at the age of 85, Dan plays competitively. This past fall, he took home a silver medal in the singles 85-90 age group at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah.

“I wanted that gold one,” he said with a grin. “But I’m planning on that next year.”

Jokes aside, Dan’s aware of how stiff the competition can be.

“It’s fun, and it’s surprising how good some older people are,” he continued. “As long as you can move, that’s a big part of it.”

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the Moen family. Dan’s 61-year-old son Rich won a gold medal at same tournament in the 60-64 age group. But even he’s not sure if he’ll pick up a racket when he reaches his father’s age.

“Gosh, I don’t know, he’s set the bar pretty high,” admitted Rich. “It was a couple of years ago, [he] went water skiing out at my sister’s. ‘God,’ I thought, ‘he’s setting the bar pretty high for the rest of us.’”

For now, Rich is just enjoying the time he’s spending with his dad.

“One of the best things is I’ve been playing with my dad and all his friends that he’s played with,” he said. “It’s competitive, everybody’s competitive. But yet, you can sit and chuckle and snerk a little bit when somebody makes a goofy shot.”

And although Dan’s fellow players respect him as their elder, he’s not immune to being teased, either.

“It’s hard to live with him,” joked friend Chuck Nordquist. “His head gets so big, he can’t even get his medals over — on his neck. And he said he was going to let me wear them, but I haven’t seen them yet, so I don’t know.”

More sincerely, Nordquist added, “He’s a good player and a good man and a good guy.”

But for all the medals Dan’s won or likely to win, it’s playing recreationally with his friends that he appreciates most.

“It’s a great game and I enjoy the people, and that’s really a big part of it,” he said. “Can’t ask for anything else. It’s been fun.”