Cavalry Softball welcomes area teams for annual tournament (2024)

WAHOO- With the start of summer this past week, it also meant it was time for the annual Cavalry Softball Tournament that was held at the Hackberry Park Softball Complex June 21-23. In total, there were 40 teams spread across five divisions from 8 and under all the way up to 18 and under.

This is the 14th year of the tournament, and it seems to keep growing year after year. According to Cavalry Softball Program member and coach Brian Stuhr, it’s because of the great volunteer efforts they get from both families of players and the kids connected to the program.

“It’s definitely a team effort,” Stuhr said. “Not only by the parents but the kids who participate in the program. From the parents on the volunteering aspect, it takes a tremendous amount of effort on their end to make a tournament like this happen. We’re not trying to be the biggest tournament out there we are just trying to make sure our tournament is well run. I think that shows in the number of teams who continually come back.”

The tournament serves as the biggest fundraising effort for the Cavalry Softball Program. They use the funds from this tournament to pay for tournament fees for all their teams throughout the summer and for new uniforms and other expenses that go along with running a sports program.

Even with that in mind, the sole focus of the tournament isn’t just to make money for the program. They try to keep their registration fees low and create an atmosphere that makes teams want to come back year after year.

“We try to keep our registration fees as low as possible,” Stuhr said. “This tournament is the biggest fundraiser for our program. It just takes a tremendous amount of money to run a program, specifically when it comes to tournament fees. Any tournament can be between $300 to $400 easily. All the funds from the tournament go directly back to the program itself.”

What is also nice about the Cavalry Tournament is it serves as a great “tune-up” for a lot of teams who will have their state tournaments during the last week of June or at the beginning of July. It allows them to not take any time off and stay fresh going into Hastings.

“State is next week for not just our 10 and under teams, but also are 12 and under team,” Stuhr said. “Then in two weeks are 14 and unders are at state. It really is a tune-up for state for us and it really helps our girls keep participating all the way up to state and keep them going.”

This year the Cavalry Softball Program had three teams who qualified for the State Tournament at Hastings Smith Softball Complex. They are Cavalry 10 U- Stuhr, Cavalry 12 U- Heller, and the Cavalry 14 and under squad.

It’s another example of how the girls are learning the skills to be successful at the game of Softball from a young age through the program. It’s translated onto the high school stage as well, where Bishop Neumann has been at the state tournament the last four years and made it to the State Championship game in Class C in two of those seasons.

“It’s really incredible to watch,” Stuhr said. “These girls just put forth a tremendous amount of effort and I think it starts with the fundamentals we try and teach them in the Cavalry Program. That just builds from year to year until they get to that high school level. A lot of the skills and fundamentals we teach at the Cavalry level is the same thing Dave Brabec does. These girls are hopefully very prepared for that high school experience if they choose to go that route.”

Winning the 8 and 10 under bracket for the Cavalry Tournament was Central City while WDSA Gold took first in the 12 and under field. Yutan won the 14 and under title while Central City took first for the 18 and unders.