Tracy Press

Brittney Merin has a dream of playing for a college softball scholarship, and a coming competitive trip to Hawaii is a chance to move one step closer.

For eight years, Brittney Merin has worked hard to get noticed on the softball diamond. Over the weekend, her ability as a shortstop and at the plate got the attention of a group that will form teams to take to tournament play in Hawaii at the end of the year.

Club USA National Softball Championships was one of the scouting groups in attendance at the California Grapettes June Classic Tournament, held at softball fields around San Joaquin County on Saturday and Sunday.

Merin and her team, the under-16 Valley Freedom, played at Northgate Park in Manteca with the hope that some of the scouts would recognize their abilities. The Delta Charter School junior said it was nerve-racking to see the regular fans in the crowd plus unfamiliar faces who might be college scouts.

But she also knew that this type of critical evaluation is the reason she’s out there.

"I’ve been wanting a scholarship ever since I started and didn’t know if it ever was going to happen," she said.

Club USA isn’t a scholarship, but Calvin Howard, the group’s national representative who contacted Merin, said the girls who attend the tournament in Oahu the week after Christmas will participate on teams led by junior college coaches and play among and against other talented players.

"We’re looking for kids who are looking to play ball in college," Howard said. "It gives them a good taste of what happens in college."

He said that Merin was selected after he saw her play shortstop this weekend, but he also saw her play last year and admired her work ethic.

He said Club USA hopes to have at least 24 and as many as 50 12-player teams in the tournament, which will run from Dec. 27 to Jan 5 and will include eight games for each team, plus championship games. He expects that he will have at least three teams from California. The final number of teams depends on how many of the girls who are contacted actually go.

Howard said he sent letters to about 30 girls from this weekend’s tournament, but he expects only a few will go. Once the girls are selected, it’s up to them to raise the $3,478 for the trip, which includes airfare, lodging and tournament fees.

Roy Taylor, general manager of the California Grapettes, said the tournament was a chance for college coaches and scouts to see the abilities of the girls who play on local travel teams.

He said 134 teams played at seven ball parks around the county, and while NCAA Division I scouts couldn’t attend, he did meet about a dozen scouts from Division II and Division III schools and from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, junior colleges and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

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written by Guest , June 04, 2008

Great job Brittney. The article say's under your quote you are a CA Grapette player. You are not, you are a Valley Freedom player and proud of it! Good luck Brittney and I hope you raise the money needed! Aloha girl!!! You have worked hard for this and deserve it!