What does it take to put together a JV Tournament. I’m not sure if I can capture everything but I’m going to try. If I leave anything out please email me and I’ll gladly add to the article. I’d like everyone to know just how much effort people put into making this tournament a success.
This tournament was originally scheduled for 2 different sites, Noack and Butler fields. This would have made it a difficult tournament to track and manage. Everything would have been doubled. Fortunately we were able to secure the Manchaca fields thanks to some very dedicated, far sighted, imaginative and tenacious parents. This was huge because when that happened everything got simpler.
Part of the deal was a work day at the sight, so along comes another group of givers. Parents came out to put roofs on dugouts, clean the concession trailer, cut weeds, and in general tend the fields. This was the heavy labor part but with everyone pitching in it was much easier.
Then came the concession area. Once the trailer was made food worthy, it needed to be stocked. There was the planning of what to sell, getting permits from the city to sell, finding and pricing the items, picking them up and storing them until they were needed, delivering them ahead of time, making signs, getting change for the cash box, and then setting it all up so it could be sold. Some items were cooked at parents homes and brought to the sight (eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, cookies and brownies). Some of the food was donated but even the donations wouldn’t have happened if someone didn’t ask. Thanks to all those that took the time to ask.
The grill work seemed simple but someone had to get a grill and not just any grill from someone's back yard. It had to be big and it had to be cheap. Then there was the wood, charcoal, and utensils. Now we have all the tools of the trade but we need someone who will cook and prepare the food (and lots of it). You guessed it, some more parents.
What’s next? Well it’s time to sell, sell, sell. Parents and Varsity players pitch in to make the customers happy and keep the line moving. Making breakfast tacos, sandwiches, nachos, coffee, hot chocolate and more was the task and it was done well. Some even took the food to the fields to sell to those that wouldn’t come to us.
Then there was the field duty. The Varsity girls coached, kept score, chased foul balls and ran errands. AISD and the Manchaca Pony organization did the field maintanence including cutting the grass, lining and dragging the field, and setting out the bases.
The AD’s and coaches put the tournament itself together. Getting the teams, getting the umpires, arranging transportation and getting the kids there. Setting the brackets, keeping the game schedule on time, getting trainers there to ensure the safety of the girls and much more.
Then the players and fans did the rest to make things exciting and worth doing. The girls played hard and won, won, won. The fans cheered them on every step of the way in cold and rainy weather and their pay off was a good Championship game with 2 good JV teams.
Finally there was the clean up. Shutting down the grill, closing the concession, hauling everything we took to the park back out. Then cleaning the grounds and heading home.
I hope I haven’t left anything out but I know I did. I purposely left out names because I know I would forget someone. I also know that those that went to the tournament saw all of this happening and saw all the people that were working and can now appreciate just how much everyone did. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that pitched in and sacrificed their time and effort. We can’t wait for the next fund raiser.
