Thousands, maybe millions, of softball players around the country dreamed of going to a national tournament this year.

How, then, must the Texas Starz feel, with a national tournament coming to them?

"The national tournament coming to Bryan-College Station, that's a huge, huge chance for us," said 14-year-old Erica Russell, who plays shortstop for the Bryan-based team. "Everything I have looked forward to is this week. I made sure I didn't plan anything this week, that I could hit and field and that I wasn't injured. I wanted to make sure I was completely ready."

The Starz will be the only local squad competing in the 160-team USA/ASA 16 & Under Fast Pitch National Championship, which will begin its eight-day run in College Station and Bryan on Sunday. Many of the age group's top girls softball teams in the country will converge on the area for two rounds of pool play and the ensuing bracket games that will lead to a national final on Aug. 8.

Appearing in the national tournament represents another step for the Starz in a journey that began four years ago, when a group of parents with girls in Little League decided to form a traveling team and the Starz were born. The core of this year's team has been together since beginning 10-and-under competition in 2006.

"We wanted the girls to be ready to play in high school," said Jimmy Parker, one of the Starz coaches. "That's what this team was all about in the beginning, to get them ready for high school."

Team organizers accelerated the preparation process this summer by moving the Starz up one classification to compete in 16-and-under (16U) even though most of the players were still eligible for 14U. They decided to "play up" for a couple of reasons, including the chance to play nationals at home. The main factor was that 16U rules more closely match high school standards, particularly the 43-foot distance between the pitcher's rubber and home plate that will be adopted at the high school level next year.

"There's been some challenges playing 16-and-under, but it's been all right," said pitcher and outfielder Haley Parker, 14, who will be a sophomore at Rudder. "The toughest thing is probably just them having more experience. I think we've gotten better facing teams that are older and have been playing longer."

Moving up in division allowed coaches to add a couple of players older than the 14U limit. Most of the Starz are going into their freshman or sophomore years at either Bryan or Rudder. The only player from outside the school district is Cori Drake of North Zulch, who was added this year to fill a need at catcher.

Players who've been with the Starz for all or most of the team's existence include Brittney Jones, Haley Parish, Madison Goolsby, Rebecca Peirce, Hilary Hoffman and Courtney Meier. The other players on the roster are Morgan Isbell, Allison Bessette and Kayla Emery.

The Starz won an ASA 10U state tournament in the fall of 2006 and have produced a couple of other top-5 finishes at state. Most of the players also were on the Bryan Harvey 11-12 all-star team that captured the Little League Texas East state title and played in the Southwest Regional at San Antonio in 2008.

Officials with Texas ASA District 30 chose the Starz to be the host team and receive an automatic berth into the national tournament. The Starz had to compete in the ASA state tourney to be eligible, but did not have to finish among the top three teams to qualify.

The Starz made the top 16 at state, and coaches proudly point out that their players have avoided blowout losses despite playing against mostly older competition.

"We have some tournaments we'll go to where we'll lose our first bracket game and get thrown in the losers' bracket, but we'll turn around and play a gazillion games and get to the championship," coach Kevin Russell said. "One of our team moms said this team has 'it.' We asked her what 'it' is, and she said she didn't know, but this team has it."

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NOTES -- Assignments for pool play will be drawn Sunday. The opening ceremonies, which are open to the public, will be at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Wolf Pen Creek. ... Tournament games will be played at Veterans Park, Central Park, Bee Creek Park and the Bryan Regional Athletic Complex. The schedule from Monday through Friday has games beginning at 8 a.m., with the last games of the day set to start at midnight. The last two days of the tournament will be played at Veterans Park, with the first championship game slated for 10:30 a.m. ... Admission fees will be $8 per day for adults, $5 for seniors and children between 6-12. Children 5 and under will be admitted for free.