I had the chance to spectate at the 33rd Annual Lehigh Valley Youth Soccer League Tournament  this past weekend. The tournament was held at the Lehigh County Sports Complex  in South Whitehall Township, just outside of Allentown. This is the oldest youth soccer tournament in Pennsylvania and on the entire east coast for that matter. It brought in teams from all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Maryland. There’s a lot to be said for that.

I was totally amazed at how youth sports organizations have changed since my son played in them, and that was only about 8-10 years ago. First, they were playing on state-of-the-art fields. This sports complex is all-grass with nine playing areas (three with lights) primarily used for soccer, but there are also six softball/baseball diamonds, a walking/running track and a pavilion. There’s also a ton of parking, and I must say that they were well organized when it came to this detail which could have been a nightmare. The fields were in pristine condition and there were staff making sure all the garbage was picked up. And, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the sporadic trees that were placed in spots that allowed for optimal viewing of the fields.

What really blew me away about this tournament were the food options that were available. Who knew that I could have had Saladworks, fresh cut fries or smoothies, or steaks for that matter, as part of the food vendors that were set up. It sure beat the old days of lousy hot dogs, hamburgers and snow cones! Besides the food, they were selling shirts and other fun items as fundraisers. A really well done tournament, to say the least.

Lehigh Valley is home to so many great sporting events and organizations. Where’s your favorite event held?