We want to thank all of the teams that came to the inaugural Mid-West Signature Showcase tournament this past weekend. The tournament was a huge success! Despite some very cold temperatures, the teams played a lot of softball. Each team got in 6 games. And for the most part the competition was really good. And yes, the situation play did make things interesting!!
We want to congratulate the 4 bracket winners:
Pool 1 winner was SGS Magic
Pool 2 winner was Miami Valley Xpress - DeLong
Pool 3 winner was Illinois Sluggers
Pool 4 winner was Ohio Lasers 94
The college coach turnout was tremendous, but unfortunately it was impacted by the weather. We had 54 coaches who had RSVPed, and we had printed 60 college coach showcase books. We had 18 books remaining at the end of the tournament, so over the course of the weekend 42 college coaches checked in. We truly appreciate the college coach support.
Note to doubters: Unlike other tournaments that post "Schools who have Attended", we will only post the colleges that have actually RSVPed for the upcoming event. And if a college coach says that they "might" be able to come, we do not put them on the list unless they tell us to. For example, Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan had said "maybe, they would really try to come". They were not on our list, and they did not make it. Every school on the list had told us they were coming at some point in time, because we would not have put them on the list. WE DO NOT PAD OUR LIST! And to insure the integrity of the list, when a school advises us that their plans have changed, we take them off the list or put a notation next to their name. Arkansas and West Virginia State both withdrew after saying they were going to come, and they were not counted in the list of RSVPs.
We really want to give kudos to the Columbus Parks & Rec Department, especially the crew at Berliner Park. Berliner Park and the crew had been bashed pretty good on this forum, but for the life of me, I can not see what anyone could have to complain about at Berliner. The facility is incredible. 200 foot fencing on all fields. They pretty much worked on each field between games or at least every other game. We could not have asked for better cooperation and support from a park. The port-a-pottys were kept clean and they even had the hand wash stations. Trash was picked up quickly. They did a wonderful job and much appreciation goes to Jack and to Mike and his crew.
We loved Ohio and we loved Columbus. The people were welcoming and friendly, and we had a lot of fun. Eventhough we worked all weekend, we still found time to go to the German Village and to Schmidts...wonderful German food. And on Monday (my finish up day), I went to the Brewery District to an Irish Pub for lunch, and I went up to Ohio State's campus to look around. We had a really nice time in Columbus. It is so easy to get around the city...pretty much 10 minutes to anywhere. We really were made to feel at home.
Thanks to all of the players...you were great. It was so cold, and yet there were some incredible plays being made. You all went all out to impress the coaches. We hope your dreams come true!!
We definitely will be back. The dates for the next Mid-West Signature Showcase will be posted soon. And we would like to invite all to come to any of our other Signature events.
And anyone who wants to talk to me, feel free to give me a call!!
Patti, Joe, and Linda
Fastpitch Headquarters/Signature Showcases & LDI Sports Consulting
954-540-7850 cell
