The children of Newark’s Just One Soccer League just got a taste of the big time.
Last Saturday at the Red Bulls’ match against the Chicago Fire, fifty children from the Newark organization got the remarkable chance to take the pitch in front of a sold out crowd at Red Bull Arena. The Just One Soccer League kicked off the Red Bulls Rivalry Series, taking part in pre-game and halftime festivities including a mini-game between two of the club’s teams. For the children of the JOSL, says the organization’s Executive Director Oscar Rodriguez, the chance to grace the field of Red Bull Arena was a memory they will treasure for the rest of their lives.
“Some of them lost sleep just thinking about being part of this amazing event,” Rodriguez said. You could see in their eyes the meaning of being exposed to this type of opportunity.
A group of children from the organization were selected to take part in the pre-match festivities. In front of a sold out crowd of 25,000 people, the children graced the field and lined up, holding flags of the nations represented on the Red Bulls’ roster. They were on the field during all the pre-kick ceremonies and were able to witness Red Bull Arena from a perspective that many don’t ever get the chance to.
As the first half of the Red Bulls-Fire match went on, the second group of kids started getting ready for their big moment, a chance to actually play the game they love on the same field as the likes of Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez. They took to one of Red Bull Arena’s locker rooms to prepare, and when it was time to take the field, just as the pros do, the kids lined up at the midfield tunnel. But before they could take the field of course, they had to wait for the Red Bulls and Fire players to clear the field. That’s when many of the children shook hands with and briefly met some of their heroes. As the children took the field, Rodriguez could feel how special of a moment it was for the children.
“There was so much excitement, there were no words to describe the look in their eyes, and what was going through their minds,” he said. When they saw the players from the Red Bulls and Chicago Fire, they were so amazed by that experience.”
After taking official team photographs and warming up a bit, it was on to the game.
The players had been divided into two sides, Newark USA and the Brick City Warriors – names chosen by the kids themselves. The kids of the Just One Soccer League got to doing what they love, and that’s playing soccer, but instead of playing in their neighborhood, they were on the pristine pitch of what is considered the best soccer stadium of its kind in North America. Although the game lasted just six minutes, it brought with it a lifetime of memories.
“The opportunity to be exposed, to get that experience where they felt like they were the big players,” Rodriguez said. “Just to be able to perform, to demonstrate not only to themselves, but to everybody that we can do it.”
For additional information about having your team compete in
the Rivalry Series please call Fan Services at 1.877.RB Soccer or email fanservices@newyorkredbulls.com
