ESTEVAN - The first annual Softball Showcase Tournament, named the Energy City Exposure, was held at the Pleasantdale diamonds July 15-17.
South East Sun Devils coach Trent Walter was among the event organizers and said the tournament went very well.
"It was very good. Excellent. Turnout was good. We had lots of fan support. Teams really enjoyed it," Walter said after the event.
Joining the southeast hosts were teams from Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Lumsden and Melfort. Walter noted that while they kept score, the point of the event was to give the players and teams a chance to showcase their skills and talents in front of college coaches, so there were no winners or losers in this tournament.
Two coaches, one from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, and the other from Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, N.D., joined the players at the diamonds for the weekend, and others watched the event streaming online. Walter said the girls showed a lot of talent.
"[They were] excellent. This is the highest level calibre players within our province at that age category. And those girls played very well, the players showed their talents very well. I got a lot of good feedback from coaches. They're very impressed with the level of talent that was there," Walter said.
He added that while there were some nerves due to potential opportunities that may come out of the showcase, for the most part, the atmosphere was open and players just enjoyed the weekend.
"It was really about enjoying what they do and the games … I think the social side of it took some of the pressure off, but I'm sure they felt some nerves, but everybody seemed to enjoy themselves and have a good time," Walter said.
While the offers for potential future contracts don't come in right at the event, he hopes there will be a lot of outcomes and coaches of other participating teams will let him know once something happens.
With the age category involved, some of the players will be graduating in 2023, and others will have another year to participate in the showcase.
Walter said there were a couple of reasons to put the showcase together, and he hopes that it will turn into a good tradition from here.
"There isn't anything like that up in our area here for the Canadian kids or Saskatchewan kids to be seen in an event like that. That was one reason. The other was, we wanted to get some more games in before provincials, which is coming up this weekend. All these teams will be at the provincials this coming weekend. So, it was a good event to get a little more playing in," Walter said. "So, we thought that this might be a good opportunity to give it a try."
He added that his daughter, who coaches with him and who is a college player down south, also shared some of her experience as a coach and college player with tournament participants, giving them an idea about what it's like to play a higher-level softball.
"It's more about a good opportunity to share and to start this for maybe future years. I think the plan would be to continue this, we got great feedback from both players and coaches on both sides of the border, and I think it's going to be bigger and better next year," Walter said.
They started planning the event as early as February. They've contacted 45 different schools in Canada and the U.S. and did all the organizing work to bring the event to Estevan this past weekend.
"I think we did a great job of keeping it well organized and planned and keeping everybody looked after. We got good feedback. And I think we'll just continue to improve," Walter said. "We really believe that this is the first annual and it'll continue year over year, so we are looking forward to hosting again next year and making it an event that people strive to come to."
He also thanked the City of Estevan for their support.
"I would like to express a big thanks to the City of Estevan for helping us get things organized and use the park."
He added that the facility worked out very well for their needs.
