ESTEVAN - The second annual Energy City Exposure Showcase provided young softball players with the opportunity to showcase their abilities to scouts and coaches from the U.S., while providing a boost to the local economy.
The event was held from June 30 to July 2 at the Pleasantdale Softball Diamonds. A total of 10 teams, including the U17 and U15 Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Sun Devils squads, put their skills to the forefront for post-secondary talent evaluators.
Event organizer Morgan Walter, who has played softball at the post-secondary level in the U.S., said it was a “fabulous” weekend with beautiful weather.
“It’s just been such a wonderful weekend,” she said. “Thanks to all of the volunteers and everyone who was able to help me out in making this event run smoothly.”
The showcase began Friday with a skills camp hosted by Michael Mook from West Texas A&M University. Players underwent testing to provide the college coaches with the most up-to-date statistics for each player in attendance.
Mook hosted a youth skills camp Saturday morning, and then games ran Saturday afternoon and throughout the day Sunday.
Walter noted the scores were of secondary importance. There wasn’t a championship final in either age group. In the case of the U17 Sun Devils, which she coaches, she said they developed as a team, had fun, enjoyed the environment and made strides leading up to provincials. And she hopes the U15s had the same experience.
Four different schools were on hand scouting. West Texas A&M was joined by three North Dakota schools: Valley City, Bottineau and Devil’s Lake.
“It was very nice to have all of these coaches come up and scout some players,” Walter said.
The organizers try to make the environment as enjoyable as possible for everyone, so she said they had activities for people between the games, and everyone enjoyed themselves while playing and talking to people.
Lots of scouts and coaches were engaging the players after the games.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the coming weeks, if a lot of these players end up committing with some of these schools, which is obviously excellent,” said Walter. “But our total goal out of this event is to try to showcase the talent that we have up here, and to provide the girls with the opportunity to get looked at and commit to a school.”
The showcase is also beneficial for the local economy. Walter said her goal is to support businesses in Estevan, and she gave hotel and restaurant suggestions to those coming from out of town. Players were given coupons to businesses throughout the city.
“I really encouraged all of these players and parents to go out and support these businesses,” said Walter. “And that’s what it’s all about. I want this event to be able to help the economy in Estevan, and also provide our softball players with an opportunity to play.”
She heard rave reviews from players and parents about the hotels where they stayed and the restaurants where they ate.
“I know a lot of them were wanting to come back, and probably a lot of that is just due to the friendly businesses and the people that we have in the city of Estevan,” said Walter.
Walter also expressed thanks to the City of Estevan for preparing the facility and having it ready for the event.
She hopes this will also help softball in Estevan and boost the number of girls in the sport.
“[We want] To have an event such as this in the community for younger players to come out and watch, and hopefully for these older girls to be an inspiration to them, and just truly show what the softball talent is at here,” said Walter.
She hopes the showcase can continue to grow, and it could bring 12-15 to Estevan in the future.
