ESTEVAN - Softball players from throughout Saskatchewan had the opportunity to showcase their talents to college scouts during the third annual Energy City Exposure from June 28-30 at the Pleasantdale Softball Diamonds.
Five teams were entered, including the Southeast Sun Devils U17 squad. They played a round robin, and while scores were tracked, the emphasis was on players showcasing their skills for scouts, so there wasn't a tournament champion.
The Sun Devils opened with an 11-0 loss to Saskatoon's Twin City Angels on Saturday, but recovered to win 13-1 over the Lumsden U15 Cubs. The Sun Devils played the Regina Saints to a scoreless tie on Sunday, and then lost 9-3 to the Lumsden U17 Cubs.
"It turned out to be a really good weekend," said tournament organizer Morgan Walter. "It was everything we could have asked for and more."
All of the teams that came thoroughly enjoyed themselves, Walter said. There was a lot of good feedback from parents, college coaches and the teams.
"The calibre of softball was actually really good. We had five very competitive teams. I saw lots of improvements, not just in the players but in the whole team aspect as well," she said.
"We had lots of good competitive games. Through seven innings, we had some games that were tied 0-0 – really good pitching games."
Scouts were impressed with how the tournament was run, the talent on the field, and how the teams and their families conducted themselves away from the softball diamonds.
"The scouts had lots of players coming up to them and interacting with them, asking them questions about their school, and I think overall the college coaches were just really, really impressed with the personalities of some of the players that we had," Walter said.
Other scouts watched the games online.
She saw some scouts having conversations with players during the weekend, but commitments can't be announced for a while yet.
"We actually had quite a few of the Sun Devils that were talking with the coaches. I wasn't involved in the conversations, so I don't know if that was just introducing themselves … or that it was a conversation in terms of the next steps for the recruiting process."
No matter what the discussion was about, Walter thought it was a great opportunity for them to learn about a school and the softball program.
"I'm a firm believer that sometimes it's not about all the skills you have, it's about the people that you know and the connections that you make," said Walter.
A supper and a panel discussion took place on Saturday night. Six college athletes answered questions for nearly two hours. The athletes playing in the tournament approached the collegiate athletes afterwards to ask them more questions and have in-depth conversations.
"The day after the panel, we had parents coming up to all of us and just thanking the players that spoke, and saying how inspirational it was, and how they really enjoyed getting to listen to people who have lived out the college dream."
Walter and her sister Regan were among the panelists. Regan Walter, who played softball locally for years, is currently attending West Texas A&M on a softball scholarship, just like Morgan Walter did. Also on the panel was Lauren Nixon of Redvers, who was recruited from last year's Energy City Exposure to play for Valley City State University in North Dakota.
The tournament also carries a positive economic spinoff for the area, thanks to all of the players, coaches and family members in Estevan for three days, and the collegiate representatives who are in the community.
"We reached out to quite a few businesses prior to see if they had coupons or anything that they wanted to give our players, and I put together what we called swag bags with donations and coupons to try to support businesses within Estevan. We gave them out to all of the players and volunteers at our events."
Visitors talked favourably about hotels where they stayed and restaurants where they ate, she said.
Walter looks forward to the tournament happening again next year, and she hopes it can continue to grow.
