What would possess a coach of a U-16 girl's fast-pitch softball team called 91 AXE (Allen Xtreme Eagles) from Dallas to bring his team to Helena for a tournament?

For Dean Gray, it's one way to show off his old hometown and visit friends and family.

"I'm very excited to bring the team to Helena," Gray said. "I am proud to be from Montana, and the team and family members are looking forward to seeing the state they always hear about. Only one of the families has been to Montana and Yellowstone Park, so this trip is a trip that they all will remember throughout their lives."

Ever the coach he cautions, "One thing we have to remember is that we are playing softball during this vacation."

Gray was a catcher on some pretty solid Helena Senators teams in the early 80s. He was an all-around star with a great arm and a career .330 batting average. He culminated his senior season by being named the AA tournament first-team catcher and played in the East-West All-Star Game in Great Falls.

The trip to Helena will be very out-of-the-ordinary for Gray's club.

"Due to the population of the Dallas area, we don't have to travel far. All of our tournaments have been in Dallas suburbs (Mesquite, Irving, Garland)," he said. "This is our second road trip as a team. Last year we went to Shreveport, La."

The tournament is the Capital City Classic, which runs from Friday through Sunday.

How Gray came upon the tournament was a simple matter of an old connection.

"Jerry Miller (coach of the U-16 Capital City Thunder last year) and I played baseball against one another when I played for the Senators and he played for the Great Falls Chargers," he said. "We ended up as teammates at North Idaho College in the mid 80s."

Considering the distance more than just softball is in store Gray's crew.

"We were talking last fall about how fun it would be for our Dallas, Texas area U-16 team to go to Helena for a tournament," Gray said. "Jerry proposed a date for the tournament and it all fell in place. I proposed it to our team and everyone signed up. We are making a large trip out of it touring the Helena area around the tourney and then heading through Yellowstone Park and will take in some whitewater rafting in Jackson Hole."

91 AXE is 12-8 on the year having to endure rainouts that may have cost them up to 12 games. In two previous tournaments, 91 AXE has one win and a fourth-place finish.

There were 55 teams signed up for the event as of Wednesday morning. Teams from Montana, Idaho, Canada and Texas are in the field. Games will be played all across the Capital City with a bulk of those taking place at the Batch Softball Complex.

They are made up of 14 and 15 year olds, who will be high school sophomores this coming school year. They're from the Dallas suburbs of Plano, Allen and Lucas.

Rebekah Dindak is considered one of the stars of the team. She, of course, plays catcher. Gray's daughter, Kylie, is also on the team.

Gray and his wife Lenora (Fernholz) have been married for 19 years. She was Capital High cheerleader and 1987 graduate. They also have a 12-year-old son Ty.