96-year-old fosters community on Long Island through teaching fellow seniors pickleball

Wednesday, July 12, 2023
ISLIP, Suffolk County (WABC) -- You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Joe Gaeta is 96 years old.

He's a World War II veteran, he once tried out for the Yankees, and he still officiates football games.
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But what he may be best known for in the Long Island town of Islip is teaching fellow senior citizens how to play the latest craze in amateur sports: pickleball.

On the town's tennis courts, he has fostered a community of seniors seeking to stay active through the tennis/badminton/ping pong hybrid game that took off during the pandemic.
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"36 people here, they're all friends now," Gaeta said.

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