FOOTBALL GUIDES KIDS’ COMMUNITY VALUES
Donald “Yusef” Rogers holds the coin toss at Eastside Park to begin Game 1 of F.L.A.G. Football last Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Chris Melvin; photo below by Stacie Fanelli. Click to enlarge)
By DANIELLE TEPPER
Red Bank Police Detective Joey Fields, local high school athletic talent scout Christopher Melvin, and McDonalds employee Donald Yusef Rogers have been a band of brothers since their days growing up together in the borough. Now, the three have put their heads together to create a way to keep the noses of Red Banks youth clean during the summer stretch.
A couple weeks ago, Rogers suggested a friendly Fathers Day pick-up football game, an idea that Fields gave a creative spin to and turned into a community-wide event to promote wholesome fun and involvement.
He came to me with it for fun, and I threw a twist into it, said Fields, seen at left. I said, ‘We could use the football as a tool to say, hey, if you want to be involved in this game, you have to be willing to stick around afterward to do something for the community.’ More →