Community Center Cup championships coming

The playoff picture is ready, and the stage is set. Twenty six teams in the Anna Maria Island Community Center’s soccer and basketball leagues will square off for the illustrious Community Center Cup championships.

The action will heat up as the playoff games will begin this week. Every competitive division team will have its fair shot at the crown. All teams, no matter what place they finished in the regular season, will make the playoffs. They are all single elimination games, so each team will have to bring its A-game every night.

Going into the playoffs, there are some heavy favorites. Regular season champions Slim’s Place, Lobstah’s and SteamDesigns were all undefeated in the soccer divisions and Best Buy was undefeated in the adult basketball division. The playoffs will bring out the best in teams, so don’t be surprised if there are a few underdog upsets in the near future.

It is an exciting time of year for sports fans. Playoff atmosphere is in the air for most high school and youth sports, and the Island is no exception. Catch all of the highlights on the field and right here in next week’s Sun sports article.

Adult co-ed soccer results

Florida Discount Signs  3
Moss & Bernard Construction  2
Trevor Flathman and Tim Tedesco each had one goal and one assist. Brent Laudicina chipped in with the other goal. Troy Shonk had five saves in goal for the Florida Discount Signs team victory. Brent Moss had two goals. Omar Polar had 12 saves, and Ryan Moss had five saves in goal for Moss & Barnard Construction team.

Sato Real Estate  4
Wash Family Construction  1
Lexi Braxton, Jeff Christianson and JT Goode each scored a goal apiece. Mike Brusso had three saves in goal for the Sato Real Estate win. Kris Yavalar scored the lone goal, and Don Purvis had 12 saves for the Wash Family Construction team.

Slim’s Place  4
Jessie’s Island Store 2
Gina Anderson had two goals. Sean Sanders had a goal and an assist. Lyn Clarke had a goal, and Danny Anderson had an assist. Tyler Bekkerus had seven saves in goal for the Slim’s Place win. Paul Hayward and Matt Plummer each had a goal apiece, and Nate Talucci had 10 saves in goal for the Jessie’s Island Store team.

Pink & Navy Boutique  5
Island Pest Control  0
Frank Agnelli had a goal and an assist. Aaron Parkin, Josh Petitt, Tony Rasulo and Lindsey Weaver each had one goal, and Scott Rudacille had five saves in goal for the shutout win. Pedro Gonzalez had four saves in goal. Mark Pennell had five saves in goal, and Richie Subbiondo had seven saves in goal for the Island Pest Control team.

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

Lobstah’s  7
Tyler’s Ice Cream  1
Jack Groves scored three goals. Chris Snyder scored two goals. Catherine Calhoun and Allie Connely each score a goal apiece in the Lobstah’s win. Gianna Sparks scored the lone goal for Tyler’s Ice Cream.

Miller Electric  7
LaPensee Plumbing & Pools  6
Silas Banyas and Ava Zink each scored three goals apiece, and Dalton Guthrie scored one goal for the Miller Electric win. Sam Bowers scored three goals. Anthony Monetti scored two goals and Lila Naeher added one goal for the LaPensee Plumbing & Pools team.

Tyler’s Ice Cream  3
American Marine  2
Daniel Sentman and Javier Rivera each scored one goal apiece in the Tyler’s Ice Cream win. Tyler Brewer scored two goals for the American Marine team.

Lobstah’s  4
Best Buy 0
Catherine Calhoun scored two goals. Josh Calhoun and Chris Snyder added one goal apiece in the Lobstah’s win.

Division II (11-13-year-old)

Steam Designs  3
Jen Crady Massage  1
Nico Calleja scored all three goals for the Steam Designs victory. George Lardas scored the lone goal for the Jen Crady Massage team.

Division I (14-17-year-old)

Edgewater Realty  3
West Coast A/C & Heating 1
Joey Carder scored two goals and Madison Driscoll scored a goal in the Edgewater Realty team win. Thomas Powers scored the lone goal for the West Coast Air Conditioning & Heating team.

Adult co-ed Basketball results

Gator Man Pools  59
Agnelli Pools & Spa  56
Evan Wolfe scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Craig Boery added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Richard Atkins scored 11 points and had 7 rebounds in the Gator Man Pools team victory. Brent Moss had 13 points with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Chad Woods scored 12 points and had 8 rebounds and 2 assists for the Agnelli Polls and Spa team.

Best Buy  76
Island Real Estate  74
This was easily one of the most exciting games to date this season. With eleven seconds to play Matt Ray of Island Real Estate drained a three-pointer to give his team the lead by one point 74-73. Antwaun Jackson took the inbound pass, got triple teamed and found an open Brandon Kern who nailed the three-pointer at the buzzer to keep Best Buy undefeated for the season, 76-74 win. Antwaun Jackson finished with a double-double scoring 35 points, 13 rebounds and had 3 assists. Brandon Kern scored 23 points and had 6 rebounds and 2 assists for the Best Buy win. Matt Ray finished with a double-double scoring 28 points and 14 rebounds. Matt Dwyer scored 17 points and had 5 rebounds for the Island Real Estate team.

 

Asking the author

One more Vegfest next weekend as the only author/speaker in San Diego, then my book tour slows for the holidays. Book tours do that to avoid cold weather and busy holiday commitments.

Yesterday was Orlando’s VegFest and my dear husband, Clarence, joined me once again and helped me at the book author’s signing table all day. Once again, my book outsold the others.

As another wistful author kindly told me, “It’s such a good topic. Everyone cares about the economy and learning how to save on food prices, no matter what kind of diet it is.”

I also believe my ability and desire to stay at the author table all day helps a great deal too. People want to meet the author and have a connection that goes beyond the book cover. I’ve spoken to other authors who agree with my assessment that I could probably write a book on all the things people say at that moment when they ask you to sign their book. All good. All kind.

And I know I was there years ago too, along my zigzag journey picking the brain of the author, trying to get some kind of free diagnosis from a doctor or author who had insights that I knew my mainstream doctors were missing because they never took a single nutrition class in medical school.

Let me say that if I get questions going down that path, I stop right there and spout my disclaime – I am not a doctor or dietician. In my capacity as a certified personal trainer and running coach, I can review your eating in a food and exercise diary, but I can’t prescribe a specific menu plan with meal details.

I always encourage clients to check out www.nutritionmd.org, where you can pick out appealing recipes, look at the nutrition analysis and then design a menu plan. And even more cool, it spits out a shopping list. All for free. Many websites charge for this kind of service. It is how I’ve eaten for the past 32 years, more or less.

At Orlando’s VegFest, one book buyer was a nurse who told me she worked with diabetic patients, especially underserved and impoverished children. She was effusive on how my book had helped in her work. She implored, is there anything on your website that really tells your story? Quickly and generally, there is, I answered. But as I thought about it, not the details she was requesting.

So here goes. People always ask how long it took me to write my book or when did I start. My straight answer is that I started researching food prices in earnest about four years ago. The flip answer is, I began writing when I was 5, when my aunt died of breast cancer in our home.

Family reunions would take place at hospitals when a relative’s major life-threatening disease would bring relatives in from the surrounding geographical radius. Then we would joke about what wing of the hospital would get paid for with that relative’s current hospital stay and treatment.

It was no accident that I have vivid memories of someone from the hospital’s endowment department making a point to get by our relative’s room before checkout. Indeed, our family was golden.

Don’t get me wrong. Hospitals and dedicated professionals can accomplish miracles. I understood my family’s appreciation of whatever days or years could be added onto a lifespan that might otherwise have been shortened. My parents enjoyed their 64 years together, in part, accomplished by hospitals and doctors.

But as I rewind the video, based on my own gene-defying accomplishments, it is only natural to wonder how much pain and suffering could have been avoided if a hero doctor like Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Essylstyn or Dr. John McDougall had said to them like they did to me and others, “Try a plant-based diet then call me in the morning.”

As I write and say, “There’s no money in broccoli, no broccoli board, association, lobby or corporation that makes it. When you understand that, then you understand why you have to be your own investigative reporter like I was for 18 years in Des Moines, St. Louis and Miami and figure out the truth about food and what’s right for you.”

Chapter Two next week.

Some other ways to save racing and training:

You can get serious discounts, as much as 75 percent off, by registering for a race earlier. But if there’s any chance you won’t make it, then it’s no bargain.

If you join a team, the entry fee can be cheaper, and you get the same shirt, finishing medal and goodie bags.

Join a running club for training if you don’t want to hire a personal coach. Many running stores have running clubs and offer significant discounts on merchandise if you join. Some even give you free entry fees if you wear their shirt.

But really, stay tuned into your body as you run with the pack. Sometimes, you may find yourself running to keep up and not even be aware that you may be running faster or harder than is optimal for you. As I say as a coach/trainer – everyone is different.

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.