Event Preview: The Birmingham Bolts 5-Star Exposure Showcase… Year 6 Draws Teams from California to Florida to Rhode Island (29 States!)

Six years ago, highly-successful Birmingham Thunderbolts coach Jay Roberson was coaching his ‘99 team and drawing Power 5-quality players from all over his home state of Alabama.

The young Bolts team traveled nationwide to compete in showcases when college coaches suggested he organize his own showcase event to feature his talented prospects and others from across the South.

“I wanted to start small and that first year we only had 36 teams,” Roberson recalls.

As the talent level has exploded in the South over the last half decade, so has the prestige and interest in the Bolts 5-Star event which this weekend will see top teams come in from 29 states—including 15 squads from California— to compete in the Birmingham, Alabama area.

In this year of COVID shutdowns and quarantines, especially in the Golden State, it makes sense that teams from every corner of the country would want to head to the South and the backyard of some of the best travel ball programs around.

“The Southeastern teams have become a fixture in competing for national championships each summer,” suggests the Bolts coach and event director. “In return, we are starting to see the top teams from California, Texas and others in the Midwest and the Northeast attend our event to play with and against those teams.”

The fall showcase will have 244 teams this year—pretty impressive considering that, of the 258 maximum who were set to attend, only 14 had to cancel because of COVID-19 complications.

The Coronavirus has also prevented college coaches from being able to evaluate in-person but that doesn’t mean they won’t be watching. Over the last few years, the Bolts 5-Star has averaged over 200 college coaches at the fields but, for this summer’s Bolts showcase, there were more than 400 watching virtually.

Roberson expects that number to be surpassed this weekend including 200 DI head coaches and assistants who will log in online to follow the action. AthletesGoLive will be the platform used primarily for action at 5-Star but teams are allowed to do their own streaming on systems such as Periscope.

“College coaches are now marking this event on their schedule to attend virtually,” Roberson adds.

The field for this weekend includes the 18U, 16U and 14U age divisions; the top teams at the 12U, 10U and 8U teams will attend the Turf War showcase in March.

The bulk of the action this weekend will take place Saturday and Sunday, but games have been lined up Friday evening for California teams “so they can get extra work in since some have to leave earlier on Sunday,” according to Roberson.

The structure of the sixth edition of the Bolts 5-Star is a straight showcase format, but next summer will introduce a competitive championship format to provide more of a championship-simulated feel.

That shouldn’t be a problem this weekend, however, as the event is loaded with teams who have won PGF and other Nationals. The list includes Georgia Impact – Lewis and the host Birmingham Thunderbolts – Rocky 18U teams as well as younger powers such as Tennessee Mojo – Danley, which has captured a pair of national championships.

Notice that those teams are from the South—the level of competition and getting to “face the best” is what has made this fall event one of the most prestigious of the season.

“To me, what’s made it what it is” Roberson says, “is that the Southeastern has produced several national champions and, where we used to travel to California to play that caliber of teams, the best programs are now coming to us to play that level of talent. “Part of it is that Cali teams can’t play there, we know that, but they could also choose 30 other events nationwide to play at yet chose to come here because of the outstanding competition.”

You don’t grow an event seven-fold–from the original 36 team-structure in 2015 to the 244 now—unless there’s value that coaches and teams feel is worth attending year after year.

“Our 5 Star Exposure events have grown every year in numbers and quality of teams,” Roberson concludes,” and this applies to both our Fall and Summer events.  It has really turned into a national event that teams don’t want to miss.

Here are some of the top teams that will participate over the weekend at Bolts 5-Star:

18U Teams to Watch

• GA Impact Lewis
• Birmingham Thunderbolts Rocky
• Athletics Mercado
• Beverly Bandits Skeens
• TN Mojo 2021 Cherry
• Atlanta Premier Locke
• Top Gun National 18U
• Atlanta Vipers Holbrook
• Colorado Styxx
• Tampa Mustangs Eve

16U Teams to Watch

• Birmingham Thunderbolts Roberson
• Athletics Mercado/Greg
• Beverly Bandits Conroy
• TN Mojo Danley
• Top Gun National 16U,
• Rhode Island Thunder National Lotti
• Tampa Mustangs Maguire
• Atlanta Vipers 05 Tamborra
• Cal Cruisers Sievers/Villalobos
• Oklahoma Angels Yeatts

14U Teams to Watch

• Birmingham Thunderbolts Burns
• Athletics Mercado/Hovermale
• Atlanta Vipers 07 Tamborra
• VA Unity Johnson
• Top Gun National 14U
• Tampa Mustangs Seymour
• TN Mojo Ross
• Gold Coast Hurricanes Viruet
• Atlanta Premier Samples/Abbott