Soccer here, soccer there. Soccer everywhere.

That pretty much sums up this past weekend’s sports menu in Barrington, where thousands of young soccer players and their parents and friends gathered for the 37th annual Barrington Youth Soccer Association Invitational Tournament.

Those who attended the event said BYSA Invitational Tournament Director Willie Gempp and his staff deserve a loud round of applause.

Frosty temperatures greeted the players early Saturday morning, but once the temperatures began heating up, so did the intensity of the competition.

On Sunday, the weather turned cloudy with rain in the forecast, but that didn’t dampen spirits. The games went on as scheduled.

“Perfect weather and evenly matched brackets created a great atmosphere for the 126 teams from across New England who participated in the 37th annual Barrington Invitational Soccer Tournament,” said Mr. Gempp. “Players ages 8 to 15 played in more than 250 matches. With 2,000 players and another 5,000 parents, families and friends’ teams put on quite the spectacle.”

The winner of the U12 Boys Beliveau Cup was the West Haven Treat team. The Girls U12 Casey Cup winner was the Dalton Warriors. The Boys U14 MacDonald Cup winner was the Valley Warriors. The Girls U14 Miller Cup was won by the Ocean State Cuthjill team, and the Douglas Cup was taken home by the Groton Falcons.

With so many people on the premises, everyone benefitted by the huge turnout this year…including those involved with concession sales and neighboring restaurants and hotels.

As one out-of-towner was heard saying, “This is some tournament. I can’t believe the time and effort that must go into something like this."