Impressions from the Top Softball Event in KC: Players Share Their Thoughts on the City

Parents, players, coaches and college recruiters filled Mid-America Sports Complex in Shawnee on Friday for the second day of Kansas City's annual four-day Top Gun Invitational .

The event, which is hosting more than 300 softball teams from 31 states this year, is one of the top youth softball tournaments in the country.

But what the tournament brings isn't just recruiting opportunities, elite competition and a projected $9 million economic impact (according to the tournament representatives). It also brings new perspectives about Kansas City - and new memories.

‘B eautiful facilities ' (and sunsets) in Kansas City

The Top Gun Invitational is a first for Florida mom Gayle Sheffield, whose daughter plays for the North Carolina-based team Lady Lightning Gold Elite.

Sheffield's first experience has been illuminating. She called Kansas City "amazing" and said the museums are "beautiful." She visited the Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park earlier this week and hopes to see a Royals game before her visit ends.

Interesting enough, Sheffield said she "didn't know what to think" about Kansas City before attending the tournament.

"It looks like they're constantly building here, the fields are amazing, I mean it's beautiful facilities," she said. "I did drive through a part of Kansas where it's all flat land, so to see hills and trees and all this new development was amazing."

Tournament veterans Lexi Patton, Morgan Fleming and Sadie Walsh with Premier Fastpitch-Sturdy have attended Top Gun for three years. They were also surprised by the look of the city - particularly the terrain.

"I didn't think it would be this hilly," said Walsh, who is from Springfield, Illinois.

"It's kind of weird, it's like one part's full of everything and the other part's nothing," Patton said.

For other visitors, it's not necessarily about dispelling Kansas City stereotypes, but rather taking in new views - and coffee. That was true for Arizona Storm-Mendez players Brooklyn Parks and Alanee Calderon. This is year two at the tournament for the Arizona natives.

"It's a lot nicer than Arizona. There's a lot more trees, it's prettier," Parks said.

While they're in Kansas City, the two hope to try coffee chain Seven Brew. The chain has five locations in the metro but is absent from their home state.

"I've never been there," Calderon said. "We have Dutch Bros and Black Rock in Arizona, but we don't have Seven Brew. So we'll try it."

The views are also a welcome change for West Coasters Angelica Valdez and Emma Royko. The two are from San Diego, California, and play for the Power Surge softball program.

Valdez, who has played softball since age 6, said she was surprised at the amount of trees and green in the area. It's her team's first time competing at Top Gun.

"I just love the scenery. Where we live, everything's closer together, I feel like, and more city-like. I just love seeing the sunset, it's really pretty," Valdez said.

"Yesterday at our hotel, we saw a beautiful sunset. It was like pink, purple, orange, everything, so it was really nice to be in a different environment than home," said Royko.

Sights set on pickleball

The surprise hills, sunsets and softball aren't the only hot topics around the Top Gun Invitational. So is pickleball, of all things.

Many of the elite athletes, like Brooke Wolford, are eyeing places to play before they head home.

"They have that pickleball place that just opened. I'm a big pickleball player," said Wolford, who is from Indiana and plays for Unity Softball. "That was really cool to me. I really would like to go there. ... We were going to go, but it was reserved."

Wolford is fond of pickleball for a few reasons.

"You don't realize you're getting your steps in; you really are," she said. "It's also like a teamwork, hand-eye coordination thing. It's really fun, I love it."

She's not alone.

Chicken N Pickle has been a popular stop for some, including Valdez and Royko; they'll be going there with their team.

"We're all really competitive with other teams, so it makes it so much fun whenever we do anything," said Royko.

The Royals, the zoo & the weather

Plenty of teams have made plans to visit popular Kansas City attractions during their weekend stay.

Valdez and Royko hope to "check out the city" and possibly visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art or the KC Wheel. For the Premier Fastpitch trio, plans for their stay include attending the Friday night Royals game against the Athletics with their teammates.

But for tournament first-timer Kylee Lawrence, who's a member of the Lady Dukes-Mayfield team, "the plan is to win" - then she can be a tourist.

"After the tournament, after we showcase our talent, we want to go to the famous zoo and aquarium that y'all have and just see other excursions and do other things while we're down here," she said, "and just enjoy our time and our travel."

So far, Lawrence's favorite part about Kansas City is ... the weather.

"The weather's great down here," said Lawrence, who is from Georgia. "It's not too hot. The wind's blowing in our favor, so it's good."