Marion Soccer Showcase a success

Pulling off annual event took months of effort, collaboration

By Chuck Livingston

Marion School District

As Fort Smith Northside hoisted the 2024 Marion Soccer Showcase trophy late Saturday evening, months of hard work and planning culminated on a beautiful March evening.

By any account, the third annual Marion Soccer Showcase was a rousing success.

Just ask Marion girls soccer coach Chris Paslay.

“We have received a great number of compliments regarding our facilities, organization, and overall impression of our school and community,” said Paslay on Monday morning. “The visiting coaches were impressed with the hospitality room, the indoor fieldhouse facility, the presence of security, our student- athletes hospitality and assistance, and our ability to quickly address any issues they had, as well as our overall communication.”

This year's edition of the Marion Soccer Showcase boasted a record eight schools, up from six in 2023, and four in 2022.

In addition to hosting the seven other schools, Marion went 1-2 at the showcase. The Lady Pats bested Westside 5-0 on Friday night before falling to Class 6A power Fort Smith Northside and Class 4A juggernaut Brookland on Saturday.

Northside did not allow a goal on its way to a 5-0 mark and tournament championship.

The Lady Grizzlies topped North Little Rock 3-0 for the gold medal on Saturday evening.

Paslay was happy with this year's edition of the showcase, but he has his sights set on improving this non-conference classic even more.

See SOCCER, page A13 SOCCER

From page A7

“We have sent out a survey to the participating coaches for some specific feedback and general suggestions for improvements in future tournaments,” said Paslay. “We asked targeted questions regarding which businesses, hotels, and restaurants they visited while in Marion, as well as the total number of athletes, coaches, staff, parents, and fans they believe traveled with them. We hope this information can be used to help assess the economic impact the tournament had on our community.”