RAPID CITY - While every team that enters the Rushmore Cup would like to come away with a trophy, for many the chance to play a little more soccer is a big enough reward.

The 18th annual Rushmore Cup kicked off Friday with a handful of games for both boys and girls. The tournament continues today and concludes Sunday for the various age divisions.

The Rushmore Soccer Club's U-14 Blue girls team played in one of the first games of the tournament, and while it wasn't always as sharp as it wanted, the experience was the most important thing gained from the day.

"We just try to get better and try to compete with some of the better teams," head coach Terry Borr said. "This is a tough tournament with Cheyenne, Wyo. Bismarck, N.D. and Spearfish which is a physical team."

The U-14 team was also adjusting to a few new teammates this weekend which helped fill out a roster that otherwise would have numbered just 11.

"I have three girls from Council Bluffs, Iowa, playing with us and one young lady from Sturgis," said Borr, who is in his 16th season of coaching. "It makes it a little tough and trying to get the feel for the play is tough."

Borr said he is proud of his team's development throughout the season, and can see the improvement in its play and understanding of the game.

"We just want them to play against the good competition which will help them improve," Borr said.

For the Colorado Edge, a U-13 boys team, its first trip to the Rushmore Cup means the chance to see some competition it would not otherwise play.

"There are a lot of teams from our club that come here and we heard it was a good tournament so we thought we would give it a try," Edge head coach Willie Trimmer said. "We usually do four out-of-state tournaments a year with California, Minnesota and now here."

The Arvada, Colo., team had its season already come to a close, but there was a bigger purpose for traveling to Rapid City this weekend.

"We want the boys to bond together as a team so they start playing together as a team and start to trust one another," said. "We mainly concentrate on playing soccer, but everything is geared around having fun."

With many of the teams concluding their season this weekend, fun seemed to be high on the priority list for the kids as they enjoyed the sun-drenched day.

The tournament starts back up today at 8 a.m. at the three sites throughout Rapid City with action at Sioux Park, Omaha and the Star of the West fields.