Brick Students Join Toms River For Kickball, Fun At Field Of Dreams

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The high school band played cheer-inducing music, and the cheerleaders led chants timed to the music, as fans lining the field cheered for their players.

But the loudest sound Tuesday night at the Field of Dreams was joy captured in the laughter of the students playing in the Unified Sports Kickball games at the complex designed for families of those with special needs.

It's a place, founder Christian Kane says, where families can come and enjoy time on a playground, or playing games without stares or otherwise feeling uncomfortable.

The Unified Sports kickball games between the Brick schools and Toms River East on Tuesday were an opportunity for families from outside Toms River to see the complex, which is open only to families with special needs. A free membership grants access to the facility, where there is an array of playground equipment designed for a range of people.

The complex was the brainchild of Kane, a teacher at Toms River High School North, and his wife, Mary, whose son, Gavin, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury when Kane's van was hit by a truck in 2012, when Gavin was 19 months old.

The Kanes have five other children, and it was at a Little League baseball game for one of their older sons that it struck Christian that Gavin would not be able to play baseball like his siblings.

What started out as a desire to create a baseball experience for Gavin and children like him grew into a complex that offers a variety of activities, including miniature golf, and will offer sports leagues and more for those with special needs starting this summer.

"We want to encourage people to get outside," Kane said. "As a caregiver, I know how hard that is."

That's why the complex strives to meet every need it can: there are places to charge wheelchairs at the pavilion next to the baseball field, and the bathrooms are equipped to help families of special needs individuals of all ages with toileting without being stuck with unsanitary options.

Kane has told the story of being at Yankee Stadium with Gavin and needing to change him, and having nowhere clean for him to lie down as an older child — which prompted the accommodations of the facility's bathrooms.

The playground equipment is designed not only for younger children but accommodates older children with special needs, with chair swings to hold them securely.

It's also designed to accommodate children without disabilities, so families with children can enjoy an outing where all their children are included and can play together.

The goal is for families to be able to come out and spend time without having to cut their outings short for so many of the issues, including logistical ones, that deter families from doing so many things, Kane said.

Families who want to learn more about the complex, on North Bay Avenue across from Bey Lea Golf Course, and how they can sign up for free memberships, can find more on the Field of Dreams website.