Triple Crown International Challenge brings softball’s best to Colorado

players to potentially recruit. ey aren’t the only ones recruiting.

Monica Harrison, head coach of the softball team at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, knows the pool of talent here is exciting.

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Explosive cheers. e battle rhythm of drums. Air horns. All that and more collided in the air all day long, creating a festive and, at times, intense atmosphere around the Christopher Fields Softball Complex in Westminster. irty teams representing countries around the globe put on a wild showcase on the diamonds.

“For one weekend a year, they get a chance to [ditch their travel uniforms] and put a country in front of their jersey,” said Manny Travieso.

e event is the result of a partnership between Colorado’s Triple Crown Sports, and the ELLA Sports Foundation, a nonpro t whose mission is to level the playing eld for Latina and girl athletes as a whole.

Travieso is director of sports programming at ELLA, which stands for Empowering Leadership in Latina Athletes. It also means “she” in Spanish.

e event itself isn’t limited to girls with Spanish-speaking or Latina backgrounds. It’s meant to connect players to their family heritages.

e Triple Crown International Challenge brings an electric environment and the Westminster complex has played host to it since 2021. e competition this year runs e event was created for three reasons, according to Travieso:

June 22-26. Friends and family from all over the country came to support their players.

To showcase U.S.-born elite softball players in front of college coaches scouting for talent To showcase U.S.-born elite softball players in front of national Olympic teams To allow players from di erent nationalities and backgrounds to play for a country they could never otherwise play for due to political laws or Olympic restrictions, such as Cuba, Japan, or the Middle East

In the three-ish years since it was formed, Travieso said more than 45 di erent athletes have played in federations or national Olympic teams around the world largely due to the exposure from this event alone. Colorado provides both the premier facilities in Westminster and an ideal middle-ground location in general for the athletes and their families, he said, many of which are traveling from as far as Florida, New York, and California.

“ is is the best of the best from all over the United States,” Travieso said. “College coaches can come over here and see the best talent possible. Every year it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”

Adam Glickman, is the father of Kaia Glickman, who played in the inaugural Triple Crown event in 2021.

Kaia has since played in college, and is playing in the 2023 Canada Cup in July for Israel’s women’s national team. Adam Glickman praised the event for the opportunities it produces for athletes all over the country.

“[ is event] is an unusual opportunity for these girls and their families to connect softball to something other than their club or their high school, but to connect it to a nationality, a heritage,” Glickman said.

“ at goes deep. at’s your grandparents. at’s your extended family. ey all get to take enormous pride when they see that kid with that ag and the name of the country. You’re playing for your family pride.” e experience is di erent for every team, he explained. In Team Israel’s case, Israel is such a new country, relatively speaking, only born decades ago.

You put together not just one, but more than 15 or 20 of those kids and their families, and it becomes playing for something much bigger than yourself, Glickman said.

For their players and their families, it’s not about having a relative that’s from Israel, but it’s about recognizing Jewish culture and identity, he said.

“For a lot of our girls that come from 15 di erent states, very often they’re the only Jewish kid on the softball team,” Glickman said. “ ere are no others, so they feel isolated. It’s hard for them to connect their Jewish life or their Jewish identity with the game they love. Finding others, it’s this idea, ‘Wait a second, there are other Jewish softball players who can play at this level?’ at’s extra special.”

For German Caravaca, the coach of the 18U Central America team, which represents several di erent countries, it’s about visibility and expanding the opportunities for his players at the next level and beyond.

He said three players from last year’s Central America team are playing for the women’s national team in Guatemala this year.

“My goal is for these players to have fun, come out here and excel, but also have those people from national teams watch them play,” Caravaca, from Florida, said. “Hopefully they understand and see the value of these girls. Even though they’re born here, they’re still descendents from those countries. ey can be out there and represent those countries worldwide.”

For the third straight year, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), working with ELLA, has assembled representatives from speci c countries that are looking for U.S. talent of their country’s heritage to play in upcoming international events and quali ers. is is the rst year the European Federation is taking part in the event. roughout the weekend, representatives from several di erent countries, including Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and more are keeping their eyes peeled for special

She’s had players on her roster from this event before, so she’s familiar with the skill level on display in Westminster. at’s why she traveled across the country for a closer look.

“I’m looking for the ability to be able to diversify my roster,” Harrison said. “I think the game of softball is such an international sport, as you can see. e ability to have folks from di erent places being able to connect and play, that’s what I’m looking for.”

Seeing players become teammates so suddenly, but being brought together by a common heritage, is special. It’s also similar to how players acclimate to college play, she said.

You don’t have a lot of time to get to know your teammates before you must depend on one another to win games. Harrison said she’s looking for players who outmatch the intensity and passion of their relatives in the stands.

“To be able to see the leadership qualities and the ability to communicate, those are the little things that I’m looking for,” she said. “I’m always going to be able to see their visible skill. But it’s those intangible things that I’m able to see in these games that are going to make my team better. I want to see them bring the energy! At the end of the day, softball is such a fun sport. I want to see that on the eld.”

Opening ceremonies were canceled on June 22 due to rainy weather. But the sun came back out the following day, Friday, setting up a beautiful, full-slated weekend of softball. Champions will be crowned after the nal games on June 25.

On June 26, national team evaluations and Olympic federation tryouts will be held throughout the day at Waddell Park in Westminster. e Triple Crown All-Academic Games will also be held in Aurora, where 15 players from multiple teams will compete in academic challenges.

June 28 brings an all-world, all-star style competition consisting of the best players from all teams competing in two softball squads against one another back at the complex at 8 p.m.

For more information about the ELLA Sports Foundation, visit https://ellasportsfoundation. org/. To keep up with team results, view the schedule, or learn more information about the Triple Crown International Challenge this weekend, visit https://www.tcinternationalchallenge.com/2023-eventdetails.html.