Event Recap: Team1 Elite Club Championships’ Successful First-Year Results

Last weekend the Team1 Elite Club Championships tournament wrapped up and, as run by Greg Dickel of the Iowa Premier and Ryan Taylor of DeMarini Aces, looked to be a big success in establishing another Midwest event in June prior to the Colorado tournaments.

The Team1 Elite tourney was streamed by Extra Inning Softball partner IlluminateSports with games now viewable in an on-demand format.

“For a first-year event going head-to-head against one of the more popular summer tournaments in the country,” stated Event Director Greg Dickel, “we did very well and are looking forward to next year already.  One college coach told me she believes it will end up like St. Louis every year, where you have the St. Louis Classic and DeMarini O’Fallon tournament running at the same time in the same place, which she said is great for them.”

Team1 ran at the same time as the well-established Top Gun Invitational also in the Kansas City area and drew 34 teams who competed from nine states– Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska and Oklahoma—with the one coming the greatest distance being the AZ Athletics Demarini team coached by Keith Householder, who came away impressed.

“This is one of the best tournaments we’ve traveled to in a few years,” said Householder. “The complex is awesome and the college coaches were here as advertised.  There was great competition and the event has been run very well.  We couldn’t’ have asked for much more and I’ll be bringing more of my teams up next year.”

Many top organizations were represented as well including the Beverly Bandits, DeMarini Aces, Iowa Premier GOLD, Texas Glory, Tulsa Elite, Arizona Athletics Demarini, Team Mizuno Impulse and Illinois Force.

Another squad looking to return for next year is Todd Diskin’s Team Kansas Gold 18U team. Diskin, in a note to Dickel after the event, wrote: “Thank you for a great tournament last weekend… facilities, umpiring, competition, communication, college exposure, etc. was top notch. Please keep us in the loop as far as dates so we can get it on the tournament schedule for next summer. Great job for a first-year tournament.”

Key to any showcase format is the presence of college coaches and the first-year event drew almost four dozen over the four days of play including 27 from DI programs such as Oregon, Arizona State, Kentucky, Arkansas, Syracuse, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, Minnesota, Indiana, Auburn and several others.

Three of the six finalists in the championship games are ranked as Top 30 teams by Extra Inning Softball… here’s the list of the winners and runners-up in the three age divisions:

Tournament Champions

• 18U—Iowa Premier GOLD 18s
• 16U—Illinois Force 16U- Crompton
• 14U—DeMarini Aces Premier 14U

Tournament Runner Ups/

• 18U—DA Locos 00 (Nebraska)
• 16U—Demarini Aces Premier 16U
• 14U—Beverly Bandits DeMarini- Hebling