BRICK – The Brick Bombers – the township’s girls softball team – want a permanent and dedicated field of their own where they could practice and hold home games, said some of the players’ parents during a recent Township Council meeting.
Micah Bender, who has been an educator for 20 years, has a son who plays football and soccer, is a high school football and wrestling coach and serves as a Cub Scout leader, spoke for the group during public comment.
“As rewarding as that has been, nothing brings me as much joy as watching my daughter and her teammates play softball,” he said.
“I would love to be able to watch them play and practice softball at 154 Duchess Lane, a former VFW park that sits vacant at this time,” Bender said. (Tax records show that the property is owned by Brick Township).
He and the other parents asked if they could clean up the field, and maintain it at no cost to the township.
“I’m here to not ask you for one penny,” Bender said. “I’m only asking for you to allow us to use this field that currently sits empty.”
“Help me and help us grow both Brick Township High School softball programs by developing the softball programs that we already have going…and give them the field that they deserve,” he said.
Bender said that all the boys teams in the township, including Spring Little League, softball, football, flag football – get plenty of practice time on township fields, but he said he can’t get a field for the girls’ home games.
“It would be great if we could show these girls the same respect that you give all the boys for all the boy sports,” Bender said. “I have the nicest parents on the planet who want nothing more than a nice field for their daughters to play on.”
The parents were asking for a more permanent solution – a home field that they could be proud of – instead of having to “beg the Brick Rec department every year for a field” and not be given “hodge-podge” locations in which to practice, he said.
Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said this was the first she’d heard of the girls’ softball teams needing their own place.
“You’ve kind of given me an assignment to work on, so I can’t possibly commit to anything sitting here in this chair,” she said. “There’s a lot for us to look at.”
Bergin said she would look into who owns the Duchess Lane softball field, but assured the parents that the township would work with them to find a place to accommodate everybody.
Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero said the group came to the right people with their request.
“I am positive that [the administration] is on it, and I can tell you that everything that can be done will be done,” she said.
In other news, the governing body authorized the receipt of bids for a Bay View Drive elevation project, which consists of the reconstruction and milling of Bayview Drive, a U-shaped road that connects to Drum Point Road and Adair Drive.
The project will be partially funded through a New Jersey Department of Transportation Municipal Aid Grant.
