One of the beauties of living on the Alabama Gulf Coast is that you can play soccer in December. And with warm weather expected, that’s just what will happen this weekend with the Gulf State College Showcase, December 7-8.
A first-time event, Snap Soccer and the Gulf State Premier League will host the College Showcase, which will welcome youth players as well as college coaches. The goal, according to Snap Soccer’s Zack Touchstone, is to offer teams opportunities to play as many games as possible in front of those college coaches.
“U14 and U15 divisions are tournament style. U16 and up is showcase style with 3 games and no final,” Touchstone explained. “The format focuses on allowing the college coaches to get a good look at the attending players.”
There will be 52 college coaches in attendance, including representatives from Alabama State, University of Louisiana-LaFayette, and the University of North Alabama. While showcases are not a new thing in the soccer world, it is something new to the Gulf Coast.
“This area for a long time has been in need of a showcase to display our regional talent,” Touchstone said. “This event prevents our gulf coast teams from having to travel six-plus hours to find a high-quality showcase event.”
FST Event Operations Manager, Angela Sullivan, said Foley Sports Tourism (FST) is excited to help with filling a need.
“FST strives to make sure that the events we host are impactful on multiple levels,” Sullivan said. “The Gulf States College Showcase is the perfect example. We are not only helping fill a need within the soccer community, but we’re also bringing families and coaches to Foley who will experience our facilities. Who knows, a coach may decide to return for a summer training, or want to host a tournament of their own.”
The Gulf States College Showcase kicks off at 9 a.m. December 7 and 8. It’s free and open to the public. For more information on this showcase or any FST event visit our events page.
