Thanks to the help of the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation, Park View High School now has a synthetic turf field that will be used by the school and the community. Friday night, it was unveiled through a Play 60 event and football game. 

Between record heat, drenching rain and bouts with bitter cold, field upkeep in the Washington, D.C., area can be difficult and extremely costly, too.

But thanks to a $1,000,000 donation between the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation, the NFL Foundation and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors last April, Park View High School in Sterling, Va., no longer needs to worry about some of those issues.

On Friday evening, Park View unveiled a new synthetic turf field before their season opener against Manassas Park (Va.) High School. It is the only field of its kind on the eastern side of Loudoun County.

Prior to the ribbon cutting for the new field, the Charitable Foundation hosted a Play 60 mini-combine led by Park View High School varsity athletes for youth attending the game.

Redskins President Bruce Allen was among those who cut the ceremonial ribbon marking the new field official.

"The Washington Redskins and our Charitable Foundation are very proud to be your neighbor," Allen said. "To be able to help out and build this great field for the young athletes, the students of Park View High School makes us very proud." 

It will be used for different Park View sports teams along with local community events.

During the announcement last April, Scott York, Chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, remarked that field "will be an important piece not only for the high school, but for the community in general as well."

"This will extend the ability for the high schools to have practices out here, as well as the community and other organizations in the community to be able to use this field," he said.

Park View's head football coach Michael Mullins – who was one of 100 attendees at the Charitable Foundation's High School Coaches Clinic earlier this month – said no matter the ups or downs his student athletes have faced, the field gives them motivation as the season gets going.  

"We've had some tough times but our kids are working very hard," Mullins said at the High School Coaches Clinic. "And we've got a brand new turf field that the Redskins helped provided and so that's going to be exciting for us to start."

Mullins, an admitted lifelong Redskins fan, has already applied some of what he learned from the clinic and sprinkled it into his program.

"A drill, or a technique, any little thing that we can see how practice is structured, some of the things they do to warm up," he said. "Any little thing we can do to make our practices better for our players is going to help us."

While the first of many events was important Friday evening, the Redskins want to be partners with local community for years to come. 

"We want to be your great teammate for future success on the field," Allen said. 

RELATED LINKS:
-- Redskins Announce High School Field Grant
-- Charley Casserly Delivers Keynote Address At High School Coaches Clinic

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