October 28, 2011
The two of us made our way to the Bay Area Showcase this past weekend - an event put together by Bob Perales of the San Jose Sting. This was our first venture to this event that has been going on for several years now. We came away extremely impressed. The weather was fabulous and perfect for softball. The access to the fields was easy. The Twin Creeks Park is an older venue that has been upgraded over the past several years. 10 fields at Twin Creeks were utilized along with 3 fields at Mission College, just a short jaunt down the road. It was an easy tournament to cover since you didn’t have to run all over the place chasing down players/teams. Bob also provided a great spread of food for the coaches, and that allowed us all to stay there and simply work.
There were some very nice touches at this event. First, Bob marked off front row parking for all recruiters – as a result it was easy to shoot over to Mission College and get right back without worry. The program was perfectly organized, and the games ran on time. It was great to see them use the scoreboards for every single game. It is our feeling that a little more was at stake with those scoreboard lights on. Not only was it easy to walk up and see where they were in the game, but it was also nice to see spectators, players, and coaches a bit more animated since the score (5 -0??) was staring everyone in the face. We sensed a bit more intensity and competitiveness to the games since those lights kept changing every time someone crossed that plate. Also, the 16s played competitive bracket play on Sunday which was nice to see. In our opinion, the softball scene needs to provide more competitive situations for the players since that aspect has seemed to be lost over the last number of years. The biggest problem we saw was the umpiring was just awful. Not all were bad, but too many of the blues this weekend were too casual and sloppy in their approach. Hopefully that can be corrected in the year to come.
Naturally, the tournament was dominated by NorCal teams; however, several programs from outside the area competed well. Texas’ American Freedom was impressive in their pool, along with the WA Ladyhawks – Miller. Ladyhawks – Hawkins traveled as well, and both those Washington teams looked good. Two other Washington teams made their way to the Bay Area – the Washington Illusion and the Washington Explosion. The Oregon Panthers also came down from the Northwest. Several SoCal teams came in – the SoCal Diamonds and the SoCal Sliderz come to mind right away. As the tournament grows, it is our hope more teams will give this tournament a real shot. This has the feel and potential to be a big-time showcase. It is so well run, and all the little things are covered. We don’t think a team can miss by coming to this event. Our prediction is there are big days ahead for the Bay Area Showcase.
Now it is off to Texas for our first trip to the Ronald McDonald Showcase in Houston. Jonathan Lampl, an old friend from the days of our daughter, Jessica, Cat Osterman, and the Katy Cruisers, has been after us to come on down to see the Texas kids. We are excited and anxious to tell you all about it. Good luck wherever you might be playing this week. Hope to see you all soon.
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