July 4th soccer tourney back again

It wouldn’t be Independence Day in Culpeper without soccer in the park, and this Fourth of July at Yowell Meadow Park won’t be any different.

Culpeper County High School soccer coach Tim Kearney has been a part of the annual 5-on-5 youth tournament in the park since it started in 1996 and said there will likely be players that have played in the event every year.

“We have some kids that have played in this for 14 years,” Kearney said. “One of my foreign exchange students that played for me at the high school last year has stuck around to play in it, so it’s a pretty popular event.”

Kearney said that in the past few years, about 150 kids and 20 teams have participated in the tournament. Rosters are limited to eight players per team and age groups are flexible, but the tournament is for kids through high school and groups of college age players usually also play a few games. Games are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and will last into the afternoon.

Each team is guaranteed at least three 20-minute games and the cost to enter is $90 per team. Teams can register by contacting Tim Kearney at 661-6717 or .

Registration forms are also available at his Remax Crossroads office at 810 S. Main St. in Culpeper. Teams can also show up around 8:15 a.m. to register at the park on July 4.

“We’re pretty informal about the whole thing,” Kearney said. “Sometimes we combine age groups after we see a game or two.”

The annual event has been a great success since it started in the mid-1990s. Longtime Culpeper youth soccer coach Carl Gray began the precursor to the holiday tournament in 1994 when he hosted a youth tourney at St. Luke’s School, which was part of a local celebration of that year’s World Cup.

“We started wondering, ‘why not do something every year,’” Kearney said.

Two years later, the 5-on-5 tourney was born and on the way to becoming a Culpeper tradition.

Want to play?

What: Soccer tournament

When: Saturday at 9 a.m.

Price: $90 per team

Contact: Tim Kearney
at (540) 661-6717