PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Over 250 soccer teams across Florida piled into Palm Beach Gardens for the 11th annual Palm Beach Gardens Classic.
Started by a group of friends, the tournament is now one of the biggest in South Florida.
Initially, it was supposed to be a small tournament in Palm Beach Gardens; now, it’s a three-day tournament with more than 250 kids ages 9-19 traveling to the area to compete for the title of the Palm Beach Gardens Classic champions.
"This tournament means you get to make it to the finals, and we have to be able to win the tournament," Grayson Adams-Smith with the Palm Beach Predators said. "We play as a team, and we don't make one player out. It's a team battle."
Adams-Smith is a local standout for the Palm Beach Gardens Predators 14 and under program. He started the day scoring two goals to help propel his team to the championship rounds.
He credits the tournament's deep talent pool for his added motivation.
"I want to be able to challenge myself," Adams-Smith said. "We need to challenge ourselves as a team to make it to the next level to beat teams that we're not expected to beat."
One of the kids excited about the tournament's growth is Matthew Person.
"It's awesome, man. I love playing with these guys," Person said. "Awesome teammates and it's everything I could have ever asked for."
That smile and enthusiasm is because Person scored a game-changing goal.
"We had a corner, it fell straight to me, and I just shot it straight in,” said Person.
