Four students and a parent raised concerns about the condition of the Hillside Soccer Field at the Sept. 18 Montclair Board of Education meeting.
Junior varsity soccer player Harry Brubaker approached the board with his teammates who also spoke during public comment. “These field conditions have become so treacherous that in the last four days two serious injuries have occurred on this field,” Brubaker said.
Two soccer players, one from Seton Hall and a fellow teammate, were injured while playing on the field. The student from Seton Hall had a “serious fall” in the far corner of the field and hurt his leg and knee. Another student and teammate, Lucas King, fell into a deep hole in the ground and was injured so badly he had to be taken away in an ambulance, Brubaker told the board.
On the morning of the meeting, parents and the soccer players sent a letter to Dr. Ponds, Principal Freeman, and the Board of Education about the conditions of the soccer field. According to the students, Dr. Ponds sent the buildings and grounds team to assess the field. However, parents and students wondered why the field was allowed to become dangerous in the first place.
One parent, a coach for the Montclair United Soccer Club, recalls that the field’s poor condition is not new. “That soccer field has been like that forever,” he said. The parent went on to say they used to consider the field an “extra player” because when the players would kick the ball they weren’t sure where it would land due to the poor condition of the field. Though it started off as a joke, the parent said the field as of late has become “dangerous for our kids.” The parent said that other parents even planned to fill the holes in the field themselves.
Since the meeting, Dr. Ponds said the athletic department has cleared the field for use.
“We are aware that these fields haven’t had the care they needed for quite some time. We are making those steps,” Dr. Ponds said.