Category: Sports

Wildcats Eyeing Postseason Success

Stopping the Wesley Chapel High (WCH) girls basketball team is no small feat.

Oh sure, maybe you can slow down senior forward Kayla Grant, the reigning Sunshine Athletic Conference Player of the Year. But, what about sharpshooting sophomore guard Emari Lewis?

And maybe, just maybe, Lewis is having a bad night with her jumper. But then, what about all-around ace Ariana Rivera-Heppenstall?

And, say you manage to throw Rivera-Heppenstall off her game, what are you going to do about slasher Mia Nicholson?

If you can’t stop them all, and you probably can’t, then you’ll have to pick your poison, because the Wildcats have combined an uncanny amount of balance with a high-octane attack and stifling man-to-man defense to form what is currently Pasco County’s best girls basketball team.

“We all contribute,” says Nicholson, a junior forward. “When River Ridge double-teamed Kayla, I stepped up. When other teams try to target one person, someone always steps in. You can’t really do that with our team. Most teams don’t have enough good players to guard all of us.”

So far this season, Wesley Chapel is 19-3, with their only losses coming to a team from Missouri, Eustis High and Brooks DeBartolo in Hillsborough County. In Pasco County, the Wildcats are unbeaten.

Grant, Rivera-Heppenstall, Nicholson and Lewis are all averaging double figures in points and at least 2.5 assists per game. Grant is averaging nearly 12 rebounds per game, while the other three average more than 4 rpg each.

No one is surprised. The Wildcats are coming off a 22-3 season in 2018-19, and added Nicholson in the offseason.

A former Weightman Middle School player, Nicholson attended Land O’Lakes High her first two years, and averaged 11.3 points and 4.8 rebounds last year before transferring to WCH.

“I expected this,” Grant says, without flinching. “We didn’t lose anyone from last year’s team and we also got Mia. We needed one more piece, and she filled it.”

It was a big piece for head coach Peter Livingston, who took over a struggling program in 2014-15 when he was the only person to apply for the job. The former Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) junior varsity coach lost his first game to his former team 77-17, and one couldn’t have blamed him for changing his mind about taking the job at halftime, when the ‘Cats trailed 52-3.

“I wanted to be a head coach, and I came here to build the program, and I was determined to do that,” says Livingston, adding that he never did get discouraged.

He went 7-17 each of his first two seasons, then had a short-lived breakthrough with a 15-9 season in 2016-17, as Grant and Rivera-Heppenstall showed up as freshmen.

But, Grant left the following season for Brooks Debartolo, and Rivera-Heppenstall missed the season with a knee injury, as the Wildcats plunged to a 6-17 record.

For 2018-19, however, Livingston proved to be not only be a good coach, but a fortunate one as well. Grant and Rivera-Heppenstall returned to his program, Lewis enrolled as a freshman, and the Wildcats were back in business with a 22-3 season, including a Class 6A-District 8 championship.

The Wildcats lost 59-58 to Crystal River in the first round of the State playoffs.

With Nicholson added to the mix this season, the sky may be the limit. They will likely head into the district tournament in a little more than a week as the top seed.

“We want to go to States,” says Lewis. “We have a lot of talent on this team, and we’ve got more heart this year. When we’re playing as a team and playing together, we are tough to stop.”

Jonny’s Dream Of Playing Pro Soccer Will Take Him To Spain

Wesley Chapel resident Jonny Robinson talks almost as fast as he runs.

As the 10-year-old finishes up putting another ball in the back of the net during a camp at the Wesley Chapel District Park, he races over to his mother Alena to breathlessly tell her he scored a free kick, and a penalty kick, and five other goals.

A few minutes later, he is talking about how dribbling is his favorite part of soccer. When it’s pointed out that he couldn’t wait to tell Alena about his goals, he points out that, “Yes, but of four of those goals, three were from dribbling.”

Jonny is a whirling dervish of activity — chatty, happy and eager to keep moving around, a soccer ball always at his feet.

“He is always happy when he’s on the pitch,” says Alena. “I’ve never seen him not happy when he’s playing.”

Which is, well, pretty much always.

His dedication to the game has helped lead Jonny to what will probably make him happiest of all — a spot in the 2020 Real Madrid Foundation Clinics World Challenge in early April of 2020.

Jonny was one of two boys selected to represent the United States from April 2-10, 2020, on the grounds of the Real Madrid soccer team training facility in Madrid, Spain.

Alena says Jonny was named MVP of the camp in Orlando, where he was picked from a group of roughly 50 other 10-year-old kids to go to Madrid.

The Madrid tournament will cover four days, with 64 teams and 700 players from around the world competing.

“I feel very motivated and very excited,” Jonny says.

Ironically, Jonny’s favorite soccer team is Real Madrid’s most bitter rival – Barcelona FC.

When Jonny was 6, he happened across the 2015 UEF Champions League Final between Barcelona and Juventus (Italy), and he was hooked.

Neymar became his favorite player after scoring the last goal in a 3-1 win, and Barcelona became Jonny’s favorite soccer team. He wanted to learn how to play himself.

“I was playing tee ball, and didn’t really like it,” Jonny says. “My grandma said, “you guys got Jonny wrong, he’s supposed to be playing soccer.’”

At first, it was a difficult transition. Alena says that Jonny’s first season was nearly a disaster.

“He was just running after kids, having fun,” she says. “We told him to go take the ball away (from the other players), and one time he literally took the ball with his hands and said ‘Look, Mom, I got the ball!’”

Jonny stuck with it, however. A summer league at the Wesley Chapel District Park unlocked his fervor for the game, and ever since, he has been working hard at perfecting his skills.

Alena says Jonny will sometimes wake up and immediately run some shuttle cone drills (to improve his bursts of speed), go to his private coach, head off to camp, work on his shots at home in his front yard and then go to a team practice.

“He lives and breathes soccer,” she says. “He never once says he’s tired, or that he doesn’t want to do it.”

A fifth-grader at Watergrass Elementary, Jonny’s bedroom walls are decorated with pictures and posters of his favorite team and player.

“There is no room anywhere for anything else,” he says proudly.

Alena and Jonny’s father Sean have fed their son’s love of the game. They never miss an international friendly when one is played nearby, and two years ago, they took Jonny to Russia to watch Neymar play for Brazil, his native country, against Costa Rica.

“That was a joy,” Jonny says. “He scored a last-minute goal to win the game. I like that Brazilian style, where he dribbles the whole field and then there’s this crazy goal. Inside, I’m like, ‘Wow.’”

Jonny would like to follow in Neymar’s footsteps, which is why his trip in April is so exciting for him. He plays club soccer for Florida Premier, but thinks it would be awesome to play at one of the youth academies in Europe.

He will get more than a little taste of that next year in Madrid.

“We think this is a huge honor,” Alena says. “It’s a huge responsibility to represent your country, and such a unique opportunity. We are all super excited.”

Jonny nods his head in agreement.

Then he drops his soccer ball to his feet, and they are off, dribbling towards the next challenge.

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Tennis Center Adds To ‘Sports Coast’ Brand

As large trucks filled with dirt and tall cranes roll by a flattened lot, local Wesley Chapel tennis guru and businessman Pascal Collard smiles.

The trucks are slowly but surely allowing Pascal’s vision come to life.

The parking lot is there, he says, pointing to his left. Tennis courts, pickleball courts and padel courts over there, surrounding the tennis center.

And, what about way over there, all the way to the right?

Pascal says that will be a 30,000-sq.-ft. indoor training facility with space for both more tennis courts and removable turf for other sports.

“It is beautiful, no?,” Pascal asks.

The Sarah Vande Berg Memorial Tennis & Wellbeing Center in Zephyrhills (at 6585 Simons Rd.) has broken ground, and is expected to open in late spring or early summer of 2020.

When it is done, the $4.9-million project will feature 11 tennis courts, including a main court with spectator seating, eight pickleball courts — one of the fastest growing sports in America — and four courts for padel, another racquet sport that can best be described as a cross between, well, almost every other racquet sport.

The 7,400-sq.-ft. indoor tennis center will house a fitness and rehabilitation center, a restaurant and café, a salt room, cryotherapy, a pro shop and a kid’s club.

The tennis center is another feather in the “Florida’s Sports Coast” cap, joining AdventHealth Center Ice, Saddlebrook Resort and the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, as the area continues to transform itself from ranches to recreation.

“It fits right in with (our new) Florida Sports Coast vision,” says Adam Thomas, the county’s tourism director. “This will make an impact.”

The tennis complex is a public-private partnership between the City of Zephyrhills, the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis Foundation and Pascal, the president of Tennis P.R.O., LLC, and the director — and driving force — behind the new facility.

It is the hope of Pascal, who ran the renowned tennis program at Saddlebrook Resort from 2003-06 and lives in Estancia, that the SVB Memorial Tennis Center reaches far and wide into the surrounding communities to help bring it to life.

“It is something that people want,” says Pascal. “I hear it all the time. It will be a place where mom can do fitness and dad can do tennis, or vice versa, and the kids can do the Kids Club, or daycare. That is huge.”

Pascal says he also is teaming up with Buttermilk Provisions owner Dana Morris for a restaurant at the tennis center as well.

“We think this will be something special and unique,” says Pascal, who never stops smiling as he describes the project.

The tennis center, which is located off Eiland Blvd. just a few miles north of eastern Wesley Chapel, is named for former Zephyrhills High tennis standout Sarah Vande Berg, who died in an automobile accident at the age of 21 in 2015.

It will be equipped to host regional (like college) and even national events like United States Tennis Association (USTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments, and also will provide a place for area residents looking for courts on which to play. Pascal would like to see the area active in USTA league tennis, where Saddlebrook Resort may field an occasional team limited by membership restrictions.

It also will offer instructional tennis for children, and training for the more serious players.

And, speaking of memberships, Pascal is hoping to sign up hundreds at a price he said will be fair and less expensive than the clubs in the area. Depending on what type of membership you buy, it also could include membership to the Silverado Golf & Country Club, which is adjacent to the tennis complex.

While tennis will be the central focus of the facility, Pascal also has formed the United Global Academy, which will be an online school limited to 32 students from a variety of sports, similar to what IMG Academy in Bradenton offers but on a smaller scale initially. Mark Shepherd, former director of student services at Saddlebrook Prep on the resort’s property, will help run the academic side.

Pascal has reached into Wesley Chapel’s sporting community to help develop those athletes, who will be able to train in the 30,000-sq.-ft. indoor facility, which can accommodate four tennis courts and a synthetic turf soccer field.

“Why not create a sports association?,” he says. “Get all the best ex-athletes in the area to come together once a month to promote sports to kids…kids who cant afford it!”

Athletes will be able to receive training from coaches like former English Premier League Soccer player and local club coach Gary Blissett, former New Orleans Saints lineman Mel Williams, Silverado Golf & Country Club golf pro Sean Klotz and others.

“The vision is to bring the community together by offering a family-friendly experience,” says Pascal, who most recently was the tennis director at Merion Cricket Club, a private club in Haverford, PA, with more than 2,000 members. “There will truly be something for everyone here.”

For more information, visit the SVBTennisCenter.com.

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Longhorns Make It Three Straight County Championships

Coach Damon Zassenbraker gets a victory dousing after the Longhorns’ third straight Pasco County championship. (Photos courtesy of Valerie Sercu/Celebrate Everything Photography)

John Long Middle School football coach Damon Zassenbraker has an unusual approach to kicking the ball off during games.

He doesn’t.

Instead, he orders onsides kicks, where the ball needs to only travel 10 yards before the Longhorns can recover it, unless the receiving team beats them to the ball, which they usually don’t.

After 23 straight wins, including a third consecutive Pasco County middle school championship on Oct. 28, it’s hard to argue with his strategy.

The Longhorns defeated local rival Weightman 35-6 to cement themselves as an official dynasty in Pasco’s middle school ranks. Behind two touchdowns apiece from quarterback Isiah Williams and running back Gavin Zassenbraker and, of course, some key recoveries of onsides kicks, the Longhorns capped off another undefeated season.

“It feels good, I’m happy for the kids,” said Zassenbraker, a world history teacher at Long and the head football coach for two different stints totalling six years. “We give them a game plan, and they go out and execute it. It’s wonderful to get to this point again.”

The Longhorns were able to attack the outside edges with success against Weightman. Williams, who improved throughout the year, scored the first touchdown around the right end, as Gavin Zassenbraker sealed the edge with a block to clear the way for the 40-yard score, and then Zassenbraker followed that up with his first touchdown, covering 24 yards on an inside run.

Weightman struggled with the Longhorns’ offense all evening. Coach Zassenbraker described his offense formations as a combination of the stuff the University of Oregon and Auburn University run, and it produced early results that put Weightman on its heels.

Kicker Cameron Canard was a key offensive weapon in the championship victory.

Long’s kicker Cameron Canard’s amazing ability to make his onsides kicks hard to recover was more than enough to provide the cushion the rest of the way. Williams and Jayden Ramos recovered two onsides kicks, and with Weightman playing up to defend against it later in the game, Canard — who acquired his kicking skill playing soccer — kicked one deeper that his teammates recovered.

Those kicks limited Weightman to only four offensive possessions in the game.

“Cameron has an amazing ability to make the ball bounce just right, it’s unreal,” Zassenbraker said. “I think we had to recover at least two every game.”

Doesn’t that peeve the other coaches?

“Oh, absolutely,” Zassenbraker said with a chuckle.

Ironically, Weightman’s only score came when Gacanica Armani grabbed one of the onsides kicks and ran it back the other way for a touchdown.

Canard’s foot saved Long’s season at least once this year.

Trailing Pine View Middle 12-6, the Longhorns scored on a great catch by Jaden Ramos in the left corner of the end zone to tie it up with a little over a minute remaining. Canard’s extra point made it 13-12, and then his onsides kick was recovered to seal the win.

Opponents only scored 24 points against Long this season, and only 12 of those were against the Longhorns’ defense. The other 12 were scored on onsides kick returns for TDs.

Can the Longhorns make it four straight? Zassenbraker isn’t sure. Because of school rezoning, he will lose a large number of his players to the new Cypress Creek Middle School. But, he says he can’t wait to try again.

“It’s always satisfying to see the smile on the kids’ faces,” he said. “I always tell ‘em no matter what, they’ll always be my boys.”

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93-LOVE

Williamsburg resident Francesca Caravella is 93 years old, but that doesn’t stop her from playing tennis 3-4 days a week and whipping up on the young‘ns.

Three times a week, and sometimes more, Francesca Caravella slings her tennis bag over her shoulder and trudges across the grass from her home just a few hundred yards away in search of competition.

She arrives at the court each morning, and effortlessly reaches down like a gymnast stretching for a routine to remove little plastic bags from her shoes, her protection against the morning dew.

Here at Williamsburg, one of Wesley Chapel’s oldest communities where she has lived since 1983, Francesca is tennis royalty. The 93-year-old left-handed racquet-wielding spitfire also is something of a freak of nature.

“You wouldn’t know she’s that old, the way she plays,” says Glenn Dimiccio, who maintains the courts at Williamsburg and also is one of the community’s top players.

Dimiccio is warming her up on this day, and it is brutally hot and humid. And yet, Francesca is moving side-to-side, hitting backhands and forehands undaunted.

She had her left meniscus surgically repaired a few years ago, ending her singles career, and her right knee is bone-on-bone and can get quite sore, but Francesca is remarkably agile for someone her age. She still cracks a steady forehand and will liberally mix in high lobs to keep her opponents off the net.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” she is fond of saying.

In matches, Francesca lets her partners do the work at the net. She was once smacked so hard in the face by an overhead, “I had to spend thousands of dollars on new dentures.”

Francesca definitely knows the game of tennis. She is picky about her racquets and tennis gear and she watches the game closely on the Tennis Channel.

Her friends at Williamsburg have asked her why she doesn’t get an official USTA ranking. The USTA holds national events in all age groups, including 90+, and her teammates and opponents are almost certain she is one of the best 90-year-olds in the country.

“I don’t want to travel far to play people,” she says. “Being number one is just not that big a deal for me.”

The daughter of immigrants who hailed from Messina, Sicily, Francesca grew up in Brooklyn, NY, where she says exercise was always a way of life.

She played handball in junior high and stickball in the streets. She says she joined a gym at 16 years old, and after meeting her husband Sal at age 18, learned to ballroom dance. After she had children, she would exercise along with Jack LaLanne on television.

It wasn’t until she moved to Florida in 1985 that she picked up a tennis racquet.

“Nobody ever gave me a lesson,” Francesca says. “Not one. I picked up things by watching players on television. I remember watching (Bjorn) Borg, (Andre) Agassi and (Pete) Sampras. I learned the basics by watching them.”

After tennis, Francesca heads back home to shower, and then it’s off to the New Tampa YMCA for some cardio and yoga. When her workout is over, she will spend many afternoons on her ¾-acre lot, tending to her gardens.

Francesca takes her tennis seriously. She keeps a journal and a log of every potential player. She plans matches at least two weeks in advance. And, if you don’t show up to play when scheduled, you will learn something else about Francesca.

“She is feisty,” Dimiccio says.

The two became fast friends, after DiMiccio moved to Williamsburg long after Francesca had already established herself as the Queen of the Courts in the tight-knit community.

Dimiccio had just started playing tennis again after putting away his racquet decades ago, and he says “she was kicking my butt.”

The two are now inseparable mixed doubles partners. Dimiccio is more advanced, with a high 4.0 USTA rating, while Francesca is more of a 3.0. He serves as her unofficial coach and protector, and they make an ideal pair.

“I promised her I’ll play with her every Friday as long as she’s around,” DiMiccio says, then jokingly adding, “but now it looks like she just might bury me.”

Special thanks to Wes Henagan for his help on this story.