HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Three traffic jams, 15 hours and five Harry Potter movies later, Alex Judge, 18, of Burlington, Vt., arrived in the Mountain State.

"It was a really long ride," he said.

Judge and his teammates from the Far Post Soccer Club U-18s were among the thousands of players and parents packed into Joan C. Edwards Stadium at Marshall University for the kickoff of the U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 Championships.

The event began when three sky divers from the All-American Freefall Team of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division landed on the field to deliver a proclamation to Gov. Joe Manchin.

During the opening event, all 268 teams paraded around the stadium in an Olympic-type procession. Following that, the only state team to win the tournament, the West Virginia U-12 Rowdies from 1997, carried a torch onto the field.

Parents hung over the concrete barriers as they hoped to snap a picture of their kids as they walked around the stadium during the procession.

Heidi Wahrhaftig of Bear, Del., was in town to watch her daughter Haley play. They drove eight hours to get here.

Her family arrived in Huntington at about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Since then, they've gotten their bearings and adapted to the surroundings.

"We've never been to West Virginia before," she said.

They haven't done much so far, but they were able to stop at Hillbilly Hotdogs in Lesage.

"We saw it on the food channel and knew we wanted to stop," she said. "They have another location and we're going to have to find that."

Some attendees didn't have to travel nearly as far.

Ryan McWatters of Hurricane competes with the U-18 boys Charleston Futbol Club Elite. He said it's nice to stay home during these events. He and two other siblings are competing this weekend. For the past two years they traveled to Maine.

"There's a lot to do around here on July 4 and I wish all of them the best of luck," he said.

Gordon Green of Charleston is an assistant coach with the U-18 boys team.

"It was a really long ride," he said.

Judge and his teammates from the Far Post Soccer Club U-18s were among the thousands of players and parents packed into Joan C. Edwards Stadium at Marshall University for the kickoff of the U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 Championships.

The event began when three sky divers from the All-American Freefall Team of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division landed on the field to deliver a proclamation to Gov. Joe Manchin.

During the opening event, all 268 teams paraded around the stadium in an Olympic-type procession. Following that, the only state team to win the tournament, the West Virginia U-12 Rowdies from 1997, carried a torch onto the field.

Parents hung over the concrete barriers as they hoped to snap a picture of their kids as they walked around the stadium during the procession.

Heidi Wahrhaftig of Bear, Del., was in town to watch her daughter Haley play. They drove eight hours to get here.

Her family arrived in Huntington at about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Since then, they've gotten their bearings and adapted to the surroundings.

"We've never been to West Virginia before," she said.

They haven't done much so far, but they were able to stop at Hillbilly Hotdogs in Lesage.

"We saw it on the food channel and knew we wanted to stop," she said. "They have another location and we're going to have to find that."

Some attendees didn't have to travel nearly as far.

Ryan McWatters of Hurricane competes with the U-18 boys Charleston Futbol Club Elite. He said it's nice to stay home during these events. He and two other siblings are competing this weekend. For the past two years they traveled to Maine.

"There's a lot to do around here on July 4 and I wish all of them the best of luck," he said.

Gordon Green of Charleston is an assistant coach with the U-18 boys team.

"It's nice to be right down the road," he said. "But some of the fun of it is being able to go somewhere else."

This is Green's fourth regional championship. He's been to Virginia Beach once and Portland, Maine, twice.

"This is going to be great for state soccer," he said. "We've long suffered from the idea that we cannot compete, but we can. We just have to prove it. There is some good soccer happening in this state."

For the next two years, Barboursville and West Virginia will host the tournament.

State and local officials spent $1.8 million in preparation for the tournament. There are 22 fields spread over a 5-mile radius in Barboursville: sixteen at the Barboursville Community Park, with the other six at the YMCA Kennedy Center.

Organizers expect the tournament to rake in more than $12.5 million. Hotels have been booked solid, and the economic effects of the six-day tournament will be felt all over the tri-state area.

The West Virginia Soccer Association started planning the event several years ago. All that's left now is to make sure the games go smoothly, WVSA President Len Rogers said.

"We now get to step back and see what we've done so far," he said.

Many of the key organizers were on hand to give small speeches. Among them were Gov. Joe Manchin, state Sen. Robert Plymale and Barboursville Mayor Paul Turman.

"We want you to stay as long as possible, and spend as much as possible," Manchin told the crowd.

For a select few, that will be possible. Wahrhaftig hopes she'll stay until Tuesday, but it all depends on how her daughter's team does.

 "I have a few extra sick days I can use," she said.

Reach Jon Offredo at jonoffr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.