While most teams had to travel, some from as far away as Hawaii and New Mexico, the Tracy Titans 12-and-under team, which plays around Northern California, could stay home for the biggest tournament of the year.
“It’s nice to be in your home town instead of having to travel someplace else,” Veronica Vega, whose daughter, Angelique, plays outfield for the Titans said. “I think the girls like hosting it because they’re from here, so they’re proud of their organization coming from Tracy.”
Titans coach Junior Farfan added that it’s a prestigious event for Tracy, which can only boost his team’s standing. The team is 1-2 after pool play Wednesday at Arnaiz Fields and the first round of bracket play today at West High. The Titans play again Friday morning at the Sports Complex.
“ASA’s the cream of the crop, so it’s nice to have a huge tournament. Tracy should have it more often,” he said. “ASA is always top-notch competition.”
For his family, it’s a reminder of how much it costs to play travel ball. This week, they could stay home for their daughter Justina’s games in the 12-and-under tournament, but last week he and his wife, Melissa, accompanied their daughter, Alysa, and her Titans 10-and-under team to the National Softball Association World Series in Everett, Wash., where the team took third place.
“We fundraised a lot for that,” Melissa said, “and in a short amount of time, we were able to do it, but it’s very expensive. Some parents weren’t able to come, so we ended up chaperoning the kids. For 10-year-olds to go up to Washington without their parents, some of them got homesick.”
Jill Virchis, coach for the All-American Sports Academy 10-and-under team, said the tournament is the highlight of the year for the team. The all-american team is affiliated with the local training center on Larch Road, but players come from out of town.
“Nationals are a big thing at this age for these kids. A lot of kids don’t get to go to nationals,” she said. “These are the best of the best teams. It’s ASA, A-ball, and we were very happy that it’s in Tracy this year.”
For the rest of the teams, the tournament makes Tracy their destination for the biggest tournament of the year. The tournament wraps up the spring and summer season for youth fastpitch softball teams, who travel on weekends for their games and must qualify at their local association championships if they hoped to play in this week’s championships.
The Po’okela 12-and-under softball team from Mililani, Hawaii, doesn’t get away from the Islands unless it’s for a national-level tournament.
“It is the one trip for the year,” assistant coach Anthony Baysa said. “Wherever it is, we make an effort to give our kids as much exposure as they need.”
Po’okela is this year’s Hawaii state champion in the Amateur Softball Association’s 12-and-under A division. Baysa said the team enters as many tournaments as it can and always sets its sights high.
“We try to win the state (tournament) back home and then make one tournament, the Nationals or Western Nationals,” he said.
“With the economic crunch, we try to keep the traveling to whatever we can afford,” Wendell Au, Po’okela’s coach, added.
Jon Padilla, coach for the Rebels from Los Cruces, New Mexico, said his 12-and-under team is involved mostly in league play with other teams from New Mexico and Arizona, and figured this week’s tournament would be a chance for his girls to go up against the best teams California has to offer.
“We try to pick a nationals every year to give our girls experience,” he said. “We’re from a small town, so we try to let our girls know what’s out there, and what they have to work for if they want to get better.”
The city’s Department of Parks and Community Services originally planned the event for the Tracy Sports Complex, but it turned out to be much bigger than the four-field venue could handle.
With the use of the West High softball fields and Stockton’s Arnaiz Fields softball complex, the tournament was able to accommodate a day of pool play and four days of double-elimination play, with both championship games at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Sports Complex.
The event included an opening ceremony Thursday morning with about 2,000 people at the Tracy Sports Complex. The tournament started Wednesday with pool play, and recreation supervisor Floyd Lewis said the main wrinkle was that many games went late, prompting complaints from neighbors as games played into the night Wednesday.
• Contact Bob Brownne at 830-4227 or brownne@tracypress.com.
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