Soccer champions crowned

The fall youth soccer league at the Anna Maria Island Community Center ended Saturday with a day of Championship and All-Star games. All competitive age groups crowned their champions and then celebrated the year with the traditional All-Star games.

In the 8-10-year-old division, Lobstah’s remained unbeaten and defeated Tyler’s Ice Cream in the championship game by a score of 3-0. Catherine Calhoun led the way and scored two goals for her team. Chris Snyder scored the other goal to secure the championship for Lobstah’s.

In the 11-13 year old division, SteamDesigns also remained unbeaten and had a convincing win over the Jen Crady Massage team in the championship game by a score of 9-0. The league’s Male MVP award winner, Nico Calleja, scored three goals. Gavin Sentman also scored three goals. Christian Daniels and Aiden Grumley each scored one goal apiece to complete their undefeated season and become champions.

In the 14-17-year-old division, West Coast Air Conditioning and Heating went to overtime with Edgewater Realty. In the end of a very close game, Edgewater Realty won the championship by a score of 7-6 in overtime. Max Driscoll led the way in scoring with four goals. League Male MVP Joey Carder added the other three goals to bring home the victory for the Edgewater Realty team. Thomas Powers scored three goals, and Carolyn Cullinan and League Female MVP Sibella Glavan each added one goal apiece for the West Coast Air Conditioning & Heating team.

In the adult soccer division, the championship game is set. Eight teams battled it out in the playoffs last week, and in the end, number three ranked Sato Real Estate will play number four ranked Wash Family Construction. The championship game will be played Thursday night Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. and will be preceded by the league’s All-Star game at 7 pm.

In the adult basketball league, the undefeated number one ranked Best Buy team will play the number two ranked Gator Man Pools Squad team for the championship. The six-team league was narrowed down to these two teams with the finals being played on Tuesday night Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. The league’s All-Star game will precede the championship game at 7 p.m.

Adult co-ed soccer PLAYOFF results

Sato Real Estate  4
Jessie’s Island Store  0
Lexi Braxton scored two goals. Diego Felipe and Josh Sato each added one goal apiece. Jeff Christianson and Josh Sato each had an assist, and Mike Brusso had four saves in goal for the Sato Real Estate shutout victory. Nate Tulucci had nineteen saves in goal for the Jessie’s Island Store team.

Pink & Navy Boutique  7
Moss & Bernard Construction  1
Aaron Parkin scored three goals. Frank Agnelli, Hampton Harrison, Josh Petitt, and Tony Rasulo each had one goal, and Scott Rudacille had nine saves in goal for the Pink & Navy Boutique win. Omar Polar scored the lone playoff goal. Jonathan Moss had 10 saves, and Ryan Moss had four saves in goal for the Moss & Barnard Construction team.

Island Pest Control 7
Slim’s Place 5
After a regulation tie at 3-3, the number eight seed Island Pest Control team defeated the undefeated number one seed Slim’s Place team in an exciting overtime shootout. Richie Subbiondo scored two goals, and Austin Wash scored one goal in regulation time. Pedro Gonzalez had 12 saves in goal for the Island Pest Control team. Danny Anderson, Gina Anderson and Nate Coleman all scored one goal apiece in regulation time. Tyler Bekkerus had nine saves in goal for Slim’s Place. In the shootout: Rico Beissert, Josh Bernet, Oliver Petereit and Austin Wash all scored for the Island Pest Control overtime win. Danny Anderson and Robbie McLaughlin where the only goal scorers in the shootout for Slim’s Place.

Wash Family Construction  4
Florida Discount Signs  1
Scott Eason led the way with three goals. Kris Yavalar added one goal, and Don Purvis had 12 saves in goal for the Wash Family Construction win. Trevor Flathman scored one goal. Brent Laudicina had 16 saves and Troy Shonk had eight saves in goal for Florida Discount Signs.

Sato Real Estate  4
Pink & Navy Boutique  2
Lexi Braxton led the way with three goals, and Kim Christianson added the other goal. Mike Brusso had six saves in goal for the Sato Real Estate second round playoff win and advance to the finals. Aaron Parkin scored both goals and Scott Rudacille had 12 saves in goal for the Pink & Navy Boutique team.

Wash Family Construction  6
Island Pest Control  4
For the second playoff game in a row, Island Pest Control finished the regulation time with a tie and went to a shootout. This time the number four seeded Wash Family Construction team won in overtime. Zoran Kolega, Greg Ross and Kris Yavalar each scored one goal apiece in regulation play. Don Purvis had seven saves in goal for Wash Family Construction. Rico Beissert scored two goals and Tony Frudakis scored the other goal. Pedro Gonzalez had 10 saves in goal for the Island Pest Control team in the regulation tie. In the overtime shootout Scott Eason, Zoran Kolega and Greg Ross all scored for the Wash Family Construction overtime win and advanced them into the finals. Rico Beissert scored the only goal in the shootout for Island Pest Control.

YOUTH SOCCER SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS

Kenny Randall Sportsmanship Award:

8-10-year-olds – Daniel Sentman
11-13-year-olds – Gavin Sentman
14-17-year-olds – Eva Teitelbaum

Dennis Granstad Male MVP Award:

8-10-year-olds – Tyler Brewer
11-13-year-olds – Nico Calleja
14-17-year-olds – Joey Carder

Female MVP Award

8-10-year-olds – Ava Zink
11-13-year-olds – Olivia Glavan
14-17-year-olds – Sibella Glavan

Defender of the Year Award

8-10-year-olds – Reagan Nevin
11-13-year-olds – Abby Achor
14-17-year-olds – Sibella Glavan

Officer Pete Lannon Goalie of the Year Award

8-10-year-olds – Chris Snyder
11-13-year-olds – Aidan Grumley
14-17-year-olds – Max Driscoll

Youth Soccer Results - PLAYOFFS:
Division III (8-10 year old)

Miller Electric –3
Best Buy  2
League Female MVP, Ava Zink, scored two goals, and Dalton Guthrie added one goal for the Miller Electric win. Jaclyn Schlossberg scored both goals for the Best Buy team.

Tyler’s Ice Cream  4
LaPensee Plumbing & Pools  0
Javier Rivera and Gianna Sparks each scored two goals apiece in the Tyler’s Ice Cream victory.

Lobstah’s  5
Miller Electric  1
Jack Groves scored two goals. Josh Calhoun, Kole Pearson and Chris Snyder each scored one goal apiece in the Lobstah’s win. Callen Achor scored the lone goal for the Miller Electric team.

Tyler’s Ice Cream  4
American Marine  3
Daniel Sentman scored two goals. Ava Alderson and Gianna Sparks each scored one goal apiece for the Tyler’s Ice Cream win. League Male MVP, Tyler Brewer, scored two goals and David Daigle added the other goal for the American Marine team.

Division II (11-13-y3ar-old)

Jen Crady Massage  3
LPAC  1
George Lardas scored all three goals for the Jen Crady Massage victory. Tyler Pearson scored the lone goal for the LPAC team.

SteamDesigns  8
Wash Family Construction  2
Christian Daniels, Aiden Grumley and Gavin Sentman each scored two goals apiece. League Male MVP Nico Calleja and League Female MVP Olivia Glavan each scored one goal apiece for the SteamDesigns victory. Cortni Wash scored both goals for the Wash Family Construction team.

Adult co-ed Basketball - PLAYOFF results

Agnelli Pools & Spa  76
The Feast restaurant  47
Ryan Moss scored 22 points and had 3 rebounds and an assist. Jonathan Moss had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Jordan Demers had a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists for the Agnelli Pools and Spa victory. Todd Keiser had 14 points and 3 rebounds. Nate Coleman added 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist for the Feast restaurant team.

Island Real Estate  65
Eat Here61
Matt Dwyer scored 25 points and had 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Matt Ray scored 20 points and had 5 rebounds. Teagan Purtill chipped in with 8 points, a rebound and an assist for the Island Real Estate win. R.J Mizell scored 24 points and had 9 rebounds. Josh Cullen scored 14 points and had 6 rebounds. Dominic Orloff scored 11 points and had 5 rebounds for the Eat Here team.

Gator Man Pools  74
Agnelli Pools & Spa  54
Richard Atkins scored 23 points and had 5 rebounds. Craig Boery added 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Sean Hubbard had a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in the Gator Man Pools team victory and to advance to the finals. Jonathan Moss had 23 points with 3 rebounds and an assist. Jordan Demers added 18 points, 5 rebounds and an assist. Chad Woods scored 12 points and had 4 rebounds and 2 assists for the Agnelli Polls and Spa team.

Best Buy 71
Island Real Estate  61
Antwaun Jackson finished with a double-double scoring 30 points, 19 rebounds and had 4 assists. Tyler Bekkerus scored 17 points and had a rebound. Brandon Kern scored 16 points and had 2 rebounds for the Best Buy win and to advance to the finals. Matt Ray scored 29 points and 5 rebounds. Matt Dwyer scored 19 points and had 2 rebounds. Teagan Purtill scored 13 points and had 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the Island Real Estate team.

 

Age is just a number

My birthday is in 8 days. 60. Wahoo!! At a time when most women don’t talk about their age, the ladies who showed up in my age group at the Suncoast Striders’ Veterans Day 5K at Manatee Technical Institute were all giggles about my rejoicing. Ecstasy, to put it mildly, about jumping up into the next competitive tier: 60-64. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it dozens of times: Runners are the only people who delight in getting older.

The oxygen is definitely thinner here…literally and figuratively.

The other senior ladies could relate to the joy of being the youngest in the five-year competitive age group block. Your chance of placing in the top three in your age group is greatly improved when everyone else is older than you. It doesn’t matter so much when you are in the younger age groups. But as you age, it is, as I often joke, just about showing up.

That said, I looked at the results from the Veterans Day 5K and saw that my first place age group time, even being the oldest in my age group, got me ninth overall female. The closest age group where all the finishers did better than me was 25-29-year-old group. Granted it was a small race. In some of the other smaller races I’ve done this year, these results are typical. This is the 29th 5 or 10K race I’ve placed in since 2008 after 32 years of running and never placing.

What turning 60 means is I’ll have a chance of getting one of the 10 year awards of Senior Grand Masters (60+). In small races, I’ve actually won the Grand Masters (50+) or Masters (40+) award, even if no physical award was given for it. What all this means is recognition for still hanging in there.

After discovering that I was a personal trainer and running coach, one of the 60+ ladies from the 5K confided, “I really felt like I had trouble breathing during the race.”

I ran through questions including the first, “Have you been checked out by a doctor?”

“Oh of course,” she quipped. “That was the first thing I did. I had a stress test, they measured my oxygen uptake. Everything is fine. It just seems so hard to get enough air while I’m racing.”

As I always do, I said I wasn’t a doctor and that if she had concerns, to get it checked out again. I said it just seemed like the aging process. Like all muscles that begin to decline with age, no matter how much protein you eat, the heart, too, is a muscle that just doesn’t have as much spunk and youthful efficiency. Some of it is genetic. Some is training. Finishing without injury, as I have always said, is really the goal.

One of the other big obstacles that kicks in at the older age groups is arthritis. Much is now written and researched about how meat protein that includes beef, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy, causes inflammation in the joints. I’ve written in my book about the financial challenges and corporate sponsorship of groups like the Arthritis Foundation. But even in their magazine, Arthritis Today, an article said to cut back on meat to reduce joint inflammation followed by a few meatless recipes. The truth is in our face and our joints.

I hear from long-time runners I see at races that they have to cut back, or worse, quit competitive running or running altogether because hip, knee, foot or toe arthritis making it too painful. I hear from many who tell me at the gym, “I used to be a runner.” I never want to say that. One of my running gurus (sans his meat-based nutrition information that other elite athletes contradict) Jeff Galloway’s book, “Running Until You’re 100” remains my goal.

I’ve had a few stumbles in races over recent years that sent me to the orthopedic doctors. Much to their amazement, they proclaim, “Nope, no arthritis. No broken bones. No osteoporosis.”

Best kept secret in America, this plant-based diet. As I write in the book and speak now all over the US (Miami Book Festival this coming Saturday/Sunday. Come see me at Book Publishing’s booth), there’s no money in broccoli, no broccoli board, lobby or association. Ask your doc if veggies are right for you.

You can follow Island resident Ellen Jaffe Jones on her Facebook page and keep up with her just released book:,"Eat Vegan on $4 a Day," or her website: www.vegcoach.com. She is also a nationally certified personal trainer and running coach. For training in a gym or private hire, contact Ellen at ejones@vegcoach.com or 941-704-1025.