Toms River Field of Dreams

The idea for Toms River Field of Dreams (TRFOD) started when a New Jersey family realized there wasn’t a place for their son and other children with disabilities to play baseball in their community. As they began fundraising, it also become clear that there was no playground that adequately served all children and families either. This struck a chord with Christian Kane and his wife, Mary, because of their son Gavin — the inspiration for this project.

Before Gavin was 2 years old, he was involved in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Now 11, Gavin’s condition continues to improve, and his parents still want him to have the same opportunities as “typical” kids, Christian said.

“We had a playground that we built that was capable for [Gavin] to be able to interact and play with others,” Christian said. “And after [a birthday] party, the kids didn’t want to leave because they were having so much fun, but so was Gavin. They were having so much fun together. Mary and I were looking at each other like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is what we should be doing.’”

The idea started as a wheelchair-accessible baseball field and then evolved into a sports complex after conversations started with MRC. The site location was settled on three acres of land at Bey Lea Park in Toms River, and the Kanes began raising money. “We kept asking people what would make them happy in life, in regard to being included and being able to play. And that’s basically what you see now. You see this multi-faceted complex,” said Christian.

Toms River Field of Dreams opened in April 2022 after 30+ weeks of construction. But even before that, people were eager to get in. This became a teaching moment for the Kanes — redefining inclusion and educating the public on what it is and why it’s important. Christian said it’s more than adding one accessible swing to your playground. “It’s redefining the word inclusion. Teaching the word inclusion, and then, instead of putting it to words, really putting it into action,” Christian said.

When the gates opened on day one, both Christian and Matt Miller felt overwhelmed by the response. Their hope is that other municipalities will see what Field of Dreams has achieved and want to replicate it in some capacity in their parks. “Since we opened, I think I’ve gotten about 14 emails and made 10 calls already to people throughout the country saying, ‘Can I get help? This is where we’re at, we have the property,’ or ‘How do we start to get property?’” Christian said. “It’s like anything. You just try to add on to someone who has already created something. That’s where new ideas come from.”

Adding inclusive components to your parks or playgrounds doesn’t have to be full-scale or cost millions of dollars. Starting small with pieces that don’t take up much space can still have a huge impact.

“There was a 13-year-old girl there who had never swung before on a swing,” Miller said. “Those things blow your mind and educate you on inclusion. If you never deal with this, you don’t even realize that it’s a life issue people have. You don’t second guess it.”

“Listen, we went big. Hate to use a cliché, but we [swung for] a home run. We did it because we knew if we could build one of these, people could take bits and pieces from it. You can take our complex and make it smaller and still have the same effects,” Christian said.