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Naples YMCA Program Brings Tennis, Pickleball to Wheelchair Athletes

Photos: Mindy Rashbaum

A new program for the wheelchair-using athletes and veterans is rolling onto Great Naples YMCA courts. The Adaptive Sports Program is bringing sports like pickleball, tennis, and wiffle ball to what it calls the underserved community of wheelchair-bound athletes.

Friday at 1:30 p.m., coach Mindy Rashbaum will talk about some of the athletes who have gone from feeling isolated and restricted to energized and part of a team.  
 

Also joining the program are  two wheelchair athletes: trainer John Karter, and Dan Solar, who is in training to go the Paralympic Games, with the goal of one day holding a gold medal in his hands.
 

We’ll also talk with a veteran Chris Uzzi, who joined the program through a partnership to bring people in wheelchairs together with veterans.