Most teenagers are spending their free time with friends their own age. Jackson Defendini, a 17-year-old from Farmingdale, is doing things a little differently — and honestly, it’s pretty great.
It all started in 2024 when Jackson’s 82-year-old grandfather, Charles Lehecka, needed a last-minute substitute for a pickleball game. Jackson stepped onto the court expecting to help Grandpa out. Instead, he accidentally joined a whole new friend group.
His new pickleball crew includes 74-year-olds Frank Ferrara and Brian Abrams, and 80-year-old Sal Augello. And apparently, these guys do not play pickleball like a bunch of seniors taking it easy. Jackson quickly learned they were competitive — very competitive.
But the friendship went way beyond pickleball. Jackson and Frank talk movies, Brian is apparently loaded with jokes and stories, and Sal gives Jackson tips on the court. Eventually, Jackson became so much a part of the group that Ferrara basically called him family.
Jackson says the experience taught him something pretty important: friendship doesn’t have an expiration date based on your age.
And he and Grandpa have their own traditions too, including Sunday poolside volleyball and a fantasy football team they’ve been running together for four years.
Now Jackson is heading into his senior year and hopes to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. But even if college takes him far away, he says he’ll make time to come back and see his grandfather and his “super senior” buddies.
Honestly, forget the usual teenage advice about “making friends your own age.” This kid found a group of guys who can probably teach him pickleball, tell him some incredible stories, AND absolutely destroy him in fantasy football. That sounds like a pretty good deal.