WATSONVILLE >> For the past three years, the youth of the Pajaro Valley have had a newly restored field at Freedom Elementary School to play soccer. This Saturday, the new field will be officially dedicated with a ribbon cutting ceremony that will also honor its namesake, Ken Morena, the late president of berry company Driscoll’s who was passionate about youth sports.

According to a news release, this project is eight years in the making. It all started in late 2017 when local soccer coaches Gina Castañeda and Roland Hedgpeth spoke at a Watsonville Rotary Club meeting with a simple ask: more soccer fields in the community.

This led to the formation of the Pajaro Valley Sports Foundation in 2018, an organization aimed at creating more safe, accessible athletic and recreational spaces for youth. Freedom Elementary School was chosen as the first site due to it being the home of Pajaro Valley United and not near any parks. The foundation also felt the location would provide youth with an adequate alternative to involvement in gang activity.

Over the next few years, the sports foundation secured partnerships with Driscoll’s and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, the latter of which has donated more than $469,000 to the project, and signed a lease with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District to restore the field. In 2020 and 2021, volunteers worked to install new security fencing, repair perimeter fencing, fully grade the parking lot and field, upgrade the sprinkler system and purchase field maintenance and turf care equipment. The work also included installation of amenities such as ball stop nets, a scoreboard, goals and nets as well as a memorial bench honoring former Assistant Principal Al Nethercutt. Additionally, a new mural featuring a backdrop of the Pajaro Valley with soccer players, strawberries and logos for the different agencies helped bring the project into fruition.

The new field has officially been open since April 2022 and has been used by Freedom Elementary School, Pajaro Valley United and the Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy, which seeks to provide support for at-risk youth through being on a soccer team.

“This project shows what’s possible when a community comes together,” Castañeda, Aztecas founder, said in a statement. “The field isn’t just about soccer — it’s about hope, opportunity, and investing in the future of our youth.”

Angelique Llamas-Bright, principal of Freedom Elementary, said students have enjoyed using the field when it is available. Because it is so wide, there are not always enough supervisors to look after every student, but she said students are always excited to use it when they can.

And, of course, there is the community at large.

“It is a huge asset to the community, as community members are able to use it on a regular basis,” she said.

Llamas-Bright said fifth graders often run laps on the field, which allows them to fulfill the California Physical Fitness Test requirement to run a mile by the end of fifth grade. In addition to soccer games and other activities, she said the field enables students to enjoy the outdoors.

“It also allows for simple enjoyment of grass, of spreading out and letting kids be kids on the grass,” she said.

Saturday’s ceremony will feature speeches by local dignitaries, the ribbon cutting, a community barbecue honoring Morena’s legacy and, of course, youth soccer matches.

The event begins at noon Saturday at Freedom Elementary School, 25 Holly Drive, Freedom.