Whenever you do a first-time venture, it’s hard to guess how it will be received… especially if it’s breaking new ground that could be controversial.

That was the situation facing event producers Will Tomasello and Jim Barsalona, (who is at this moment running the Team NJ Showcase) last year when they brainstormed about doing a showcase solely focused on 14 and 12-year-old club softball players, a young group that had never really done showcases in this manner.

“Historically, it’s been for the 16 and 18’s,” Tomasello explains. “I don’t know of any other event that’s focused on a team showcase highlighting 12U players. We felt it would be the first of its kind.”

CLICK HERE to SIGN UP/LOGIN for the Elite Futures Showcase starting Friday am!

Thus was born the Elite Futures Showcase in 2014 and its creators admit they didn’t know how it would be received.

“We started in New Jersey,” continues Tomasello, who runs the Legacy Event Management company that works with Barsalona’s Team NJ and also produces the prestigious Atlanta Legacy Showcase. “We did a beta test to see how it would be received and, boy, were we surprised!”

“The one thing we were not sure of is how college coaches would receive it, putting them in front of 11 and 12 year old players, but we were pleasantly surprised at how they were happy to get a first-look at young players.”

The first-year effort was so successful that the Elite Futures Showcase had no problem locking in teams for the event which kicks off tomorrow in the Atlanta area and runs through Sunday.

Here’s the link to the Elite Futures Showcase website which includes schedules and brackets.

There are 86 teams slated to participate—41 in the 12U division and 45 at 14U—representing 17 states as far away as Ohio and Rhode Island.

Tomasello, who also is heavily involved with the Georgia Impact club organization, says the event idea came from the trickle down effect of athletes as young as the eighth grade starting to give college commitments.

“With the early recruiting phenomenal and kids getting pulled up to play on older teams, all of a sudden you have these younger kids playing higher up and getting seen by college coaches. It’s changed the face of recruiting and showcase ball.”

Tomasello believes the Elite Futures Showcase will not just dominate the East, as it has just its second year, but will soon become a national event.

“We’re after every big softball state east of the Mississippi,” he concedes, “and I think we’ll see West Coast teams coming in 2016 and make it a future stop.

The Elite Futures Showcase will rotate between New Jersey and Atlanta every other year to provide greater access to players and teams, according to the event director.

“Those two areas are easy to reach destinations and great areas to visit as well as have a great softball experience.”

“We feel a venue like the Futures Showcase gives guidance not just to the young players in the recruiting process, but also to their families and coaches as well.”

---

Here are five teams in each age group scouts are saying to keep an eye on because of the depth of talent…

Top 14U Teams to Watch:

• Georgia Impact – Stewart
  Very explosive offensive team with size.
• Lady Lightning – Wall
  “Very quick team on offense. Has several big-time players.”
• New Jersey Intensity National
  “Well coached team with very few defensive holes. Is always in the mix.”
• Team NC – Light
  “Team puts a lot of pressure on defenses. Handles small ball really well.”
• Gainesville Gold – Jeremy
  “Very powerful team. Gap hitting up and down the lineup.”

Top 12U Teams to Watch:

• Georgia Impact – Newland
  “Powerful and athletic team.”
• Vienna Stars
  “Well coached and top emerging 02 team on the East Coast”
• Birmingham Thunderbolts – Roberson
  “Top performer. Has big hitting team with ability to put up runs on anyone.”
• Florida Storm – Sacco
  “Solid in every aspect of the game. Probably best all-around.”
• Germantown Red Devils
  “Solid pitching and team defense.”