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OnDeck Softball held its first event in the state of Florida, the Florida Jamboree that took place on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at the Boombah Sports Complex in Sanford.
The Florida Jamboree had 35 players participate in an event modeled after the successful Jamborees that are now held in Huntington Beach, Rosetta Canyon, Colorado, and Chicago.
“It has been our goal for quite some time to get down to Florida and create an event,” said Derek Allister, OnDeck’s Co-Founder. “Everywhere we go, we see good players who come from that area of the country and we just have a deep belief in the level of play down in the Southeast.”
OnDeck Softball has been one of the sport’s most trusted recruiting sources for college coaches for almost 20 years. OnDeck Elite Camps and Jamborees have become a staple on the recruiting circuit, and college coaches have flocked to their events on the West Coast, in Colorado, and in the Midwest for two decades and now will mark the South on their calendars.
“We were excited to get down to the Orlando area,” added Joann Allister, wife of Derek and the company’s other Co-Founder. “The players did a really nice job today and this is just the start of something that is going to be very big in the future.”
Players from some of the Southeast’s best organizations were present: Florida Impact, Georgia Impact, Tampa Mustangs, Gold Coast Hurricanes, Fury, Virginia Glory, Florida Firecrackers, Florida Premier, Lady Gators, V2Pro Vipers and Southern Fury.
“We had some players who had really good days,” said Heather Allister, who coordinated the Jamboree in conjunction with former FSU Associate Head Coach Louie Berndt.
“Kelly Swank, who is a 2020 catcher/first baseman, was really impressive. She is going to be a really good player at the next level.”
Some of the other excellent performances were turned in by 2021 MIF Brooke Bernard, 2023 C/1B Maddie Terrell, 2023 P/1B Bristin Bordeau, 2023 UT Ahmari Braden, and 2024 Julia Girk.
“Brooke Bernard is a smooth and efficient shortstop with a cannon. She throws it 67 mph which we rarely see, particularly in the middle infield,” said Derek. “She is certainly going to have lots of options come September 1st.”
“I also thought Maddie Terrell was a really good prospect. She has the physical tools every coach looks for. Heather saw her a few weeks ago at a tournament and felt she would be a great fit for this Jamboree.”
Also drawing high praise from the OnDeck staff was Bristin Bordeau is the younger sister of Payden Bordeau who will be playing for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2020.
“She is a good hitting prospect. Braden is a Birmingham Thunderbolt who lives in Atlanta and she does everything – pitches, hits, plays 1B and some outfield. Girk is a sweet-swinging outfielder who is just getting ready to make her big recruiting push,” added Derek.
Now that the first event in Florida is finished, OnDeck’s attention will turn to creating a roster for the 2020 event a year from now. Both Heather and Louie are based in Georgia and will be attending tournaments throughout the Southeast over the next 12 months.
“This is an exciting move for us,” said Heather. “Louie and I are anxious to make the Florida Jamboree as prominent and valuable as those events we put on in SoCal. We will be searching for good players who would be a great fit in 2020.”
If you are interested in being invited to the 2020 Florida Jamboree, please email [email protected] with a skills video and travel ball schedule. Click here for more information about OnDeck Softball.
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Here are the Top 10 marks in each testing category from the Florida Jamboree:
