New Soccer Area Opens At Clarendon Elementary School

SECAUCUS, NJ — CVS, the drug store company, the Alex Morgan Foundation and other groups paid to refurbish a soccer play area at Clarendon Elementary School.

Before this, that area was just an asphalt court painted with soccer lines, used by kids for pick-up soccer games. But this project turned it into a dedicated soccer space, with new goals, fencing, benches and LED lighting.

The new soccer pitch can be used by the community outside of school hours.

The new soccer area had its official opening at 3:30 p.m. this Monday, Oct. 26, in a ribbon cutting attended by Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli, town officials, school district employees and representatives from CVS Health, the Alex Morgan Foundation and the U.S. Soccer Foundation.

There were student scrimmages afterwards on the new mini-pitch.

CVS Health did this collaboration with the Alex Morgan Foundation, Musco Lighting and the U.S. Soccer Foundation.

The Alex Morgan Foundation was founded in 2023 by professional female soccer player Alex Morgan to support girls and women in sports. Its director, Laura Wolf Stein, was present Monday in Secaucus, plus Heenal Desai-Thakar, district leader for CVS Health, Alex Bard, associate vice president at U.S. Soccer Foundation and Eduardo Zamarripa, director of the youth sports market development at Musco Lighting.

“Our mission is to create equity and opportunity for girls and women on the field and off,” said Wolf Stein. “This mini-pitch furthers our impact in two of our focus areas, sports equity and opportunities for girls."

The Secaucus mini-pitch is part of CVS Health’s broader work with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to expand access and create opportunities for young people to lead active, healthy lives through soccer. Across the U.S., CVS Health has funded the restoration of community soccer fields, funded youth clinics and coach training.

"We hope this space serves as a lasting resource for both the school and the broader Secaucus community," said Desai-Thakar.

Clarendon Elementary has about 469 students in grades K–5.