Throughout the November 4th weekend, the Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League hosted its annual Garcia Cup Tournament. The tournament is held at the Lehigh County Sports Fields in Allentown, Pa.

A massive community event, the Garcia Cup not only brings the Lehigh Valley neighborhood together but also grows the sport of soccer and opens doors for children in the area. ​

We sat down with Dave Dumpel, President of the Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League, and asked him a few questions about the fun-filled weekend, what he’s most excited about, and the achievements the Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League has accomplished over the years. 

“40 years of Garcia Cup means that this event, Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League's Premier Event, has become part of the fabric of the Lehigh Valley," Dumpel said. "We are extremely proud of the buzz it creates in the community and the outpouring of support, fundraising, and fanfare among the players, spectators, parents, and coaches,”

The day was filled with other activities, alongside the tournament games, including various concessions from vendors like Red Robin, the PerkUp Truck, and QueenVWraps and fundraising 50/50 raffles by PASC. Dave was excited to share his favorite part of the tournament weekend with us, saying,

“The absolute best part of the tournament is seeing all the kids and families from our ever-growing league come together while competing at the same time. The Garcia Cup is known for the BMYSL's Member Club's tents and all of the fanfare that goes along with them.”

The Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League continues to grow every year by both the number of kids playing and the number of clubs participating.

We asked Dupel what he looks forward to for the future of the club, and he responded, “I look forward to watching its continued growth and its continued mission to promote the beautiful game of soccer to the youth of our community.” When asked what the highlight of working for the soccer program was, Dave said, “The Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League's greatest strength is the diversity of its clubs and those clubs' commitment to providing the youth of the Lehigh Valley a place to play soccer, while also having fun and competing. That truly is the best part of being associated with BMYSL. All our member clubs come from different parts of the soccer world, and all offer unique and great perspectives in growing our league and our game amongst the youth of our community.”

As we eagerly await the tournament results, we left Dupel with one final question— “What’s the club's greatest achievement thus far?” He happily responded, “By far, the League's greatest achievement was to play as normal a soccer season as possible during the pandemic in the Fall of 2020 and emerge stronger than ever. The league and all its members worked together to ensure all the kids had a safe place to play. Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer provided some superior guidance during that time frame, and without their support, it could not have been accomplished. After that season, our League's number of youth soccer players came out stronger than before the pandemic, and we even gained several new clubs along the way.”