COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — More than 60 athletes gathered at Veterans Athletic Complex for day one of the Perfect Game Aggieland Showcase, hoping to improve their chances of playing softball at the college level.
"I've been dreaming about playing college softball for a while now, so I really hope this can make it come true," camp participant Tatum Gillette said.
The event, held in partnership with Stars Over Texas, is designed to level the recruiting playing field for players regardless of their team affiliation or coaching connections.
"Unfortunately, in softball, it's all about who you know, right? So what we try to do is we try to break that. What we try to do is it doesn't matter what team you're on. It doesn't matter if your coach is more popular than the other coach or maybe not so popular. Maybe you don't play for the, the it org, right? So what we do is we bring it in to create fairness. We bring it in. Um, so that they can have an opportunity no matter who you play for," Robert Guerrero, president and co-founder of Stars Over Texas, said.
More than 22 college coaches attended the showcase, using the event as an opportunity to both teach and recruit the next generation of players.
"You see the new kids come through, ones that we saw last year or maybe the year before that, and, uh, you know, you're always turning. I'm at a 2-year school, so we're turning over half our roster every year, so I'm always looking for the next crop to come in and. Um, it's just a, a great opportunity to do that," Rick Church, Blinn College head coach, said.
After a short rain delay, players took to the field to show off their swing. Friday's schedule focused on drills and teaching. Games are scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday.
Guerrero, who hosted the event last year, says College Station is an ideal location for showcases like this.
"How the parks team works with sports tourism with management. They all work in concert together and I'm just gonna tell you, when we drove up to this field today, there wasn't a piece of dirt out of place," Guerrero said.
For more information on tournaments and showcases, visit Perfect Game's website.
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