Connecticut Sports Management Group
Producer of the Nutmeg Games, the largest amateur sporting events in Connecticut
Hosted by the City of Middletown
CSMG and the Nutmeg State Games thank the City of Middletown for their ongoing commitment to the Games and all of the athletes, coaches, fans and volunteers.
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Athletes of the Year
Elliana Rexinger-McConnell
2023 ShopRite® Nutmeg State Games Athlete of the Year Elliana Rexinger-McConnell is a well-balanced thirteen year old who is the model of perseverance and sportsmanship. While maintaining her grades she is very involved in after school programs, in addition to playing soccer and track & field.
Elliana is part of student council for the middle school, the K.I.M. program which is a program based on volunteer work in the community. She’s been involved in ta volunteer program called “chase the chill” where volunteer students hang up coats, gloves, hats, scarves, etc. throughout the town for the homeless to take as needed. She has also done four plus years of girls scouts, four plus years as a dancer, is a member of the chorus, and is very conscientious about maintaining her grades while participating in so many activities.
Elliana has been participating in track and field since 2021. She started off as a runner and wasn’t the biggest fan. She quickly transitioned to a thrower and has been throwing ever since. She has made huge progress over her first 2 years. Elliana has competed in many events throughout the state. In her first year at the Nutmeg State Games, Elliana took the Bronze medal in both shotput and discus. Returning in 2022, Not only did she take the Gold in in Shotput and Discuss, but she broke the standing record in 11-12 discuss by over 2 meters. In 2023 Elliana returned to take the Gold again in both Shotput and Discus in 2023.
On top of her accomplishments at the Nutmeg’s, she finished second in the Northeast in discus and fourth in shotput at the end of just her 2nd year of throwing. Her performance earned her a spot at the Junior Olympics where she competed with the best of the best in the Nation. Since that time, she has been working really hard this winter on strength and speed – even having a throwing circle set up in the garage to still be able to practice her form when outdoor throwing isn’t possible.
Elliana loves being part of a team. As much as track and field might be an individual sport, at times to Elliana it is still about the team. She knows when she gets to high school her goal is to get as many points for the team as possible Another goal of hers is to get more involved in throwing the javelin so it could be her third event in high school and help get more points for the team. Elliana also enjoys soccer – Her older brother played soccer for most of his life. He was also a runner in high school and competed in the Nutmeg Games.
Elliana’s sportsmanship has been noted by coaches, teacher and peers both on the field and in the classroom. At the Junior Olympics, her performance was not where she wanted it to be. Yes, she was discouraged but that didn’t distract her from rooting for all the other girls. One of the top 12u shotput throwers in the country was crying because she finished 7th overall. Elliana walked over to her, gave her a gig hug and let her know that it was Okay, and that she did great. Just one example of the support she offered to to her competitors. She is people person and loves to help people.
For her dedication to personal achievement and sportsmanship, we recognize Elliana’s embodiment of the Olympic Spirit in her actions and words and we are proud to announce her as the 2023 Nutmeg State Games athlete of the year!
Angelo Rossetti
2023 Connecticut Masters’ Games Athlete of the Year – Angelo Rossetti Angelo currently serves as the Pickleball & Mental Skills Master Professional & Director of Shoreline Pickleball. He is one of the most unique and credentialed pickleball coaches in the world, holding a world record for pickleball as well as having five different certifications for teaching beginners, intermediate and advanced players.
Angelo is certified from IPTPA, USPTA Pickleball, PPR, and the IFP Academy. In addition to having coaching certifications he is also certified to test, approve and develop other pickleball teaching professionals from the USPTA (for New England) and the IFP Academy. For USPTA he helped develop the teaching curriculum to certify coaches Nationally. Angelo was awarded the Pickleball Professional of the Year in 2021 by the USPTA New England Division. Following that in 2022 he was awarded the George Basco Pickleball Coach Developer of the Year
From a playing perspective, Angelo has won the “quadruple crown” in 2023, winning gold medals in mixed doubles, men’s doubles, skinny singles, and men’s singles. He and his identical twin brother Ettore won gold in the Atlantic Regionals qualifying for Nationals.
A lifelong resident of Hamden, Angelo played tennis at Hamden High and became D1 Tennis Player at UCONN while earling his degree isn Sports Science and Sports Marketing. He also studied to be a Dale Carnegie instructor, as he wanted to learn and teach the best ways to learn! He was elected in 2017 as one of the youngest Presidents of USTA Connecticut (2018- 2020). Angelo played Varsity tennis at Hamden High School en route to be a top Division I player at the University of Connecticut, where he earned a B.S. degree in Sports Science with a concentration in Sports Marketing. He won the USTA New England Sportsmanship Award in 2005. Rossetti has been appropriately appointed to the USTA National Sportsmanship Task Force in 2019.
The USTA Sportsmanship Award he received was one of the ones he most values. In 2007, he and his identical twin brother, Ettore, were ranked #1 in New England Men’s Open Doubles and top 10 in singles. Angelo is a 3X Guinness World Records™ titleholder of three different titles; the Longest tennis rally, the Longest tennis volley rally, and the Longest pickleball rally. He graduated from Dale Carnegie’s course and studied to be a certified instructor. Angelo earned the 2007 USPTA Regional Teaching Pro of the Year & 2007 Open Player of the Year. He earned the National 2009 USPTA Tennis Industry Excellence Award, also for New England in 2008, as well as the National 2016 USPTA Lessons for Life Award by helping raise over $110,000 for the nonprofit organization Save the Children. Angelo has coached women’s teams and captained and played on 5.0 and Open USTA men’s teams that have all gone to nationals.” His most recent certifications are Developing Mental Toughness and USTA High Performance.
In August 2008, he and Ettore set the official Guinness World Records™ title for the Longest Tennis Rally totaling 25,944 continuous strokes, lasting 14 hours and 31 minutes. On August 8th of 2015, Angelo and his brother set their second Guinness World Records™ title for the Longest tennis volley rally, 30,576 volleys lasting 5 hours and 28 minutes. On world mental health day, October 10, 2021, the Rossettis set the record for the longest pickleball rally, 16.046 consecutive shots lasting 6 hours and 11 minutes. The purpose of these record-breaking athletic feats was as fundraisers for charities, the last of which raised over $115,000. Angelo has spoken regularly in the summer at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI, where his record is featured in the permanent exhibits.
Angelo has captained, competed, and coached at USTA Nationals five times (5.0 and Open). Rossetti has won 10 USTA Jr. Team Tennis state titles in the last 10 years as a coach. Angelo has a passion for caring and inspiring people at every age, on and off the court as well as the hobby of photographing bald eagles in the wild. Angelo combined his two passions to develop Focus on Your EAGLES F(lying). This mental skills tool is an acronym that stands for Effort, Attitude, Gratitude, Learning, Enjoyment, Sportsmanship and Freely (playing). Those seven controllables help pickleball players and athletes focus on the things that they can control that will better help with winning, He also believes in something he developed; the 4 Gs: Get a Dream, Goals Set, Goal Get, and Give Back, which leads to success in tennis and in life. He loves to be inspired and to inspire someone every day.
Angelo is a published author of “TENNACITY: The Tenacious Mindset, On & Off the Court,” based on his mental skills blog for tennis players and athletes and his online mental skills course with the same name can be found at http://www.tennacity.org. He currently runs a Pickleball Mental Skills course. Angelo and his wife, Pam, live in Hamden with their daughter, Madison (Maddie) and son, Andrew (Andy).
Angelo promotes better overall health and fitness among both senior and non-senior athletes. He inspires the development of physical and competitive abilities.
He teaches our youth the rules and skills of play and sportsmanship, and in all of his endeavors he fosters camaraderie through the common bond of sports. Angelo lives our mission statements as a part of his everyday life, and it is with great honor that we award him the 2023 CT Masters’ Games Athlete of the Year!
Bio Source: https://www.shorelinepickleball.com/meet_the_team/name-1/
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