PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The growth of soccer in Southeast Texas has been remarkable in recent years, with youth players from around the area growing up to lead high school teams to State appearances before taking their talents to the college level and beyond.
Over the weekend the Gulf Coast Youth Soccer Club hosted the inaugural Southeast Texas Cup which featured 41 teams from Texas and Louisiana in multiple divisions.
Gulf Coast soccer executive directory Daryl Miller hopes that this is just the beginning of a special annual event.
"The biggest incentive for us to host a tournament like this is two fold. One to bring visibility to our club and also this great complex we have here at the Gulf Coast Soccer Complex provided to us by Indorama as a grant. But also to boost economic development in mid and south Jefferson County. We'll probably have in between three and five thousand visitors to our complex each day and certainly area restaurants and businesses will benefit from that."
Multiple levels were on display with boys and girls from ages seven up to nineteen competing for championships.
SOUTHEAST TEXAS CUP CHAMPIONS
Boys U10
Orange County Youth Soccer Club Dragons
Boys U12
Coastal Premier Alliance FC
Boys U15
Coastal Soccer Club Blue Sharks
Boys U19
Hardin County Youth Soccer Club
Girls U11
Coastal Premier Alliance FC
Girls U12
Coastal Premier Alliance FC (2010)
Girls U14
Coastal Premier Alliance FC
Girls U19
Beaumont Youth Soccer Club
Coed U8
Hardin County Youth Soccer Club