Soccer initiative brings new turf field to Bound Brook

Mike Deak, MyCentralJersey.com
·1 min read

BOUND BROOK – A new turf mini-soccer field funded by RWJBarnabas Health and the Players Development Academy (PDA) has opened at the Tea Street Sports Complex.

The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset Community Field officially opened on Wednesday.

To mark the opening, a group of PDA alumni, including Daniel Edelman of the New York Red Bulls and Rutgers soccer players Allison Lynch and Anthony O’Donnell, played a game with kids from the community. PDA is headquartered in Franklin.

More: 'Urban Initiative' brings soccer 'fields to the streets' in underserved communities

A collaboration between RWJBarnabas Health and PDA, the PDA Urban Initiative provides premier soccer turf facilities, coaching and playing opportunities to children living in underserved urban communities.

The PDA Urban Initiative has now opened more than a handful of mini-soccer fields in underserved communities throughout New Jersey, while reinforcing RWJBarnabas Health’s commitment to creating healthier communities.

Attending the grand opening of the turf field in Bound Brook were Gerry McKeown, Boys Coaching Director, Players Development Academy; Daniel Edelman, PDA Alumni, New York Red Bulls; Anthony O’Donnell, PDA Alumni, Rutgers Men’s Soccer; Allison Lynch, PDA Alumni, Rutgers Women’s Soccer; Lennix Horsburgh and Amy Navarro, Bound Brook High School; Chris Shoffner, Mayor, South Bound Brook; Dominic Longo, Councilman, Bound Brook; Patrick Delaney, Chief Administrative Officer, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset; Bill Arnold, Executive Vice President, RWJBarnabas Health, President, RWJBarnabas Health Southern Region and President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

The Urban Initiative has already brought two new fields to New Brunswick and one to North Plainfield.

T-Mobile awarded a $50,000 Hometown Grant to Somerset Healthcare Foundation to support the project.

In 2016, the Somerset Healthcare Foundation began work with Bound Brook and South Bound Brook through “Building Bridges to Health” program.

In that program, local organizations and community stakeholders from Bound Brook’s and South Bound Brook’s health, education, business and not-for-profit sectors determined that a more effective approach to advancing health in their communities involved the formation of the Building Bridges to Better Health coalition.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bound Brook NJ gets new turf field thanks to soccer initiative