A coach with the Massapequa
International Little League team died on New Year’s Day in a car crash.
Members of the community and
other coaches say Joe Laudisio brought passion and compassion to the game.
“Whatever we were doing, he was
giving a kid a hug and they might make a mistake and he was telling them,
‘You’ll get them next time,’” said fellow coach Joe Mulligan.
Laudisio, who was also a coach
for the South Shore Chiefs, is being remembered for the lives he touched off
the field.
Shanon Tranchina says Laudisio
volunteered to organize a fundraiser to help her 4-year-old daughter Quinn –
who was battling cancer.
The charity doubleheader called
“Help The Mighty Quinn Strike Out Leukemia” raised $4,500 for Quinn’s medical
bills.
“My daughter wasn’t even
playing softball at the time,” Tranchina said. “We didn’t have any kids in
sports at that time. He was just a neighbor and wanted to help.”
The community is now helping
Laudisio’s wife Jennifer and their three young children.
Nearly $100,000 in donations
has poured into a GoFundMe page set up for Laudisio’s family to honor his
memory.
Laudisio was just 42 years old.