The Glory on the Grass soccer tournament was looking for a reason to come north.

Thanks to the Butler County Soccer Association, it now has a very good one.

The 5 vs. 5 tourney has been held at several venues, including Turner Valley Soccer Complex near Irwin, Boyce Park in Monroeville and North Strabane Park near Washington, Pa.

Colin Leyland, current president of BCSA, was at a Glory on the Grass event at Turner Valley last year with his daughter, Lucia, when he ran into Kris Schemm, director of the tournament.

“He told me that he'd love to bring the tournament north,” said Leyland. “We have the space available to host it and I ran it by our board of directors last summer. That's when the planning started.”

That work will culminate Aug. 7 when Glory on the Grass will hold a tournament for teams ranging in age from U9 to U19 boys and girls.

All games will be played between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the BCSA fields behind the Clearview Mall.

“We had looked at some fields and complexes in (southern) Butler County for this event before, but it never came to fruition,” Schemm said. “There was always an issue with scheduling ... the dates never matched up or only so many fields were available and we need a minimum number to host the games.”

Ten teams are currently registered to compete, but registration will not close until a week before the tournament. Entry fee is $225 per team and all squads, which can include up to 10 players, will play at least three games.

First- and second-place teams in each age group will receive a medal.

Schemm, who runs the tournaments along with his wife, Ann, said the format is sure to attract more teams.

“A lot of the tournaments out there are 3 vs. 3, but they are set up so that a team may play its first game at 8 a.m. and not play again until 6 p.m. It tears up your whole day,” he said. “In this tournament, the schedule is made fairly and sensibly. We aren't going to make a team wait around all day.

“Coaches like the 5 vs. 5 format because of all the ways you can play small-scale soccer, it's the closest to the real thing.”

Each game will last 24 minutes and will be played using smaller nets and on fields about the size of a basketball court.

“We've received a lot of positive feedback,” Schemm added. “We have two kids who both played soccer and we've been to a lot of tournaments. This one is well-run throughout and it's always a good atmosphere.”

Leyland is anticipating the event in August and the exposure it will give BCSA.

“Our association hosted a lot of tournaments back in the 1990s,” he said. “One of our goals is to bring that soccer presence back to the area. We have one of the premiere soccer complexes on grass in Western Pennsylvania.

“Without a massive amount of volunteers, a tournament like this is not possible,” added Leyland. “Glory on the Grass is handling the brunt of that responsibility. We're just filling in the missing pieces for them, like the space and fields needed to host it.

“This is all about bringing people out, having fun and good competition from the kids.”

For more information on Glory on the Grass or to register for the tournament, call Kris Schemm at 412-668-2534 or visit www.gloryonthegrass.com.