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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 2, 2012 · 30 Sports Oakville Beaver Several professional football players have formed an instructional 7-on-7 league that will cater to young players in Oakville and nine other communities in the Greater Toronto Area. The International Developmental Fast Football League (IDFFL) will begin its inaugural 12-game indoor season in February, with divisions offered at the under-10, U13, U16 and U19 age levels. Games in Oakville will be played out of the Oakville Soccer Club's Pine Glen Soccer Centre facility. "This is not your typical 7-on-7 league," said IDFFL president and founder Anthony Cannon, a former member of the Detroit Lions and current player with the Toronto Argonauts. "At its core, the IDFFL is an instructional league and it utilizes the same coaching strategies used at the professional ranks." Other architects of the league include former Cincinnati Bengals SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Instructional 7-on-7 football league will play games in Oakville and current Toronto Argonauts player Maurice Mann and ex-Calgary Stampeders player Farell Duclair. Cannon said another thing that will set the IDFFL apart will be a focus on mentoring. Every coach and referee will be a current or former National Football League, Canadian Football League, American university or Canadian university player. "I know a lot of current and former NFL/CFL players who want to share their talent and who are dedicated to the sport," Cannon said. "Their mentorship can help young athletes turn their dreams into reality." Registration for the league has started and will be limited to 144 players per age division in each community. For more information on the International Developmental Fast Football League, visit www.idffl. com. NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES: Former Olympic medal-winning synchronized swimmer Claire Carver-Dias, pictured competing at the 2000 Olympic Summer Games, has written a book about the challenges faced by amateur athletes. The novel, titled The Games, is the first of the Oakville resident's writing career. METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP FILE PHOTO Local teen claims ITF title Abbey Park student Martin Beran and American teammate Nic Wilson won the boys' doubles title at a recent International Tennis Federation (ITF) under-18 event held at Burlington's C e d a r Springs Health, Racquet & Sports Club. Beran and Wilson, roommates for a semester last year Martin Beran at the Ivan Lendl Junior Tennis Academy in South Carolina, staged an impressive rally to down Mexico's Gerardo Penchyna Cardenas and Switzerland's Jonathan Quenard 4-6, 7-5 (10-4) in the final. "(Trailing the second set 5-4) we were down three match points and then somehow we played three great points," Beran said. "Now we were tied 5-5 and realized we could still win this." Beran relied on his forehand throughout the tournament as he compensated for a recent wrist injury that had hampered his backhand. "I still managed to play pretty decent tennis," said Beran, who also reached the quarter-finals in singles competition. The doubles victory was Beran's first on the ITF circuit. Only two ITF world junior tennis events are held each year in Ontario. The Burlington tournament's field drew players from as far away as France, Tunisia, Sweden, Italy, Venezuela, South Africa and the Netherlands. Former Olympic medallist depicts athletes' struggles in debut book By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR What began as a thesis paper for an English doctorate has become the debut novel of former Olympic medallist Claire Carver-Dias's writing career. The 362-page book, titled The Games, is a fictional tale of six Olympic hopefuls fighting to earn spots on their national teams. Carver-Dias was convinced to publish her work by others who had read it. "People in my writing group and friends who read it said this is real interesting stuff and sheds light on the life of athletes," said the 35-year-old Oakville resident, who won synchronized swimming bronze at the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney. "I think there's an audience for that... I hope it starts a bit more of a dialogue about the pressures we put on athletes to take on roles that have nothing to do with sports." Although the book's official launch isn't scheduled until later this month, The Games has already been well received. The e-book version has been downloaded more than 8,300 times, and a few hundred paperback copies have also been sold. "People have said (the book) is about the human condition and the way we battle fear, and it puts a human face on people we look up to as heroes," said Carver-Dias. "It shows they're vulnerable and struggle with relationships and other things, just like everybody else." Carver-Dias based the book on her personal observations, not her own experiences. She considers herself fortunate that when she was an amateur athlete, she was married with a strong support system and didn't have to move across the country and give up her schooling in order to train. "Other athletes I saw had to leave families and relationships and schools, give all that up and root themselves in a place they'd never been before, and have a life of 48 hours training each week. That takes a toll on the rest of your life," she said. "And some never make it. I saw athletes who did all this and gave up their careers, then three months before the Games didn't make the cut. To give up four to eight years of your life or more and then have that snatched away from you in a moment, (people) don't see that." Carver-Dias, who also works full-time as a business coach, said the book took nearly four years to write. The official launch for The Games will take place Nov. 11 at A Different Drummer Bookstore in Burlington, beginning at 2 p.m.