The “Spirit of the Sandhills” softball tournament returns to Broken Bow this weekend. The event brings in teams from all across the state and region to showcase girls youth softball. Tom Griffith is with the Diamond Youth Organization and is one of the chief organizers of the event. He told Central Nebraska’s Sports Source that over 30 teams are scheduled to compete across four divisions in this year’s event with all games to be played on Saturday and Sunday. Griffith shared that this will be the first year that a 10U division will be included in the tournament.
“This will be the first year for the 10U. We had a lot of suggestions because they were wanting us to add it so we could expand and it’s probably the best year to do it because of the 12’s and 14’s, the numbers are down. I think that’s a COVID related thing so adding the 10U this year worked great.”
Tournament games will be played at the Melham Park ball field complex and at Tyke Arnold Field at Tomahawk Park. The facility at Tyke Arnold Field has a new and improved look this year. A new net and wood back stop has been installed for this season. Griffith thanked Sargent Pipe for help with materials, Custer Public Power District for their assistance in setting poles, and the City of Broken Bow for their support and assisting during the project. Griffith said that this project could not have come together had it not been for the guidance and volunteer time given by community members, specifically Josh Page and Jamie Campbell. Griffith said it has been amazing to witness the way Tyke Arnold Field has continued to improve and evolve over the years.
“Several years ago we added the Diamond Pro for the surface. It makes it more playable and gives it a little bit of a big park feel and with the addition of this net and the nice backstop, the wood below, Josh (Page) and Jamie Campbell did a fantastic job of doing that and you know that was all donating their time. Obviously they spent a lot of hours down there.”
Griffith thanked the numerous volunteers who give of their time to make an event of this magnitude possible to host. Griffith said that they could still use some more volunteers to assist with the tournament. If you would like to sign up please check out the link posted below.
Tournament Volunteer Signup Form
To stay up to date with the tournament schedule and results click here
