Reading is fundamental to Hopewell community

Longtime paramedic helped revamp soccer association

By: Jim Green
   While many kids try to emulate controversial pro athletes like Barry Bonds or Terrell Owens, youth soccer players in Hopewell Valley for more than a decade have had a true role model to look up to.
   Mark Reading has been saving lives as a paramedic for 28 years, including serving on a Capital Heath System emergency response team that rushed to Ground Zero in New York City the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The Hopewell resident also been a volunteer officer with the Hopewell Valley Soccer Association for the last 12 years — including five years as president of the HVSA and the travel-oriented Hopewell Valley Soccer Club, helping to oversee the ongoing merger between the two organizations. Currently the HVSA head referee, he continues to apply the lessons he learned on 9/11 when helping to develop the Valley’s young people.
   "Every day counts, and every moment counts," Reading said. "I think what you realize is the joy of every day, and for me part of that is soccer and being with the kids. It really reinforces how important all those moments are — every time a dad is our there with his kids, every time a kid gets a chance to play — that’s very important stuff."
   Reading, 49, witnessed first-hand the power of community under the most extreme of circumstances, as people came together to overcome the terrorist attacks of 9/11. His response team set up a triage and treatment center on the West Side of Manhattan to aid victims and rescue workers, and also helped with the search for survivors — including pulling the last survivor out of the wreckage on Sept. 12.
   "I don’t know how to describe it," he said. "It was overwhelming, is probably the best way to put it. In the midst of all that tragedy, there were a thousand wonderful things — the people that showed up to work there, all the teamsters and the ‘hard hats’ and the people from all over the place that came together to make the most positive response possible — it was a amazing event, but truly overwhelming."
   It is Reading’s strong belief in community that has led him to take such a large role in the development of the HVSA over the years. He’s always considered soccer to be an important piece of the fabric of the Hopewell Valley, and he should know —he’s been playing, coaching or officiating soccer here for the better part of 38 years.
   "The soccer program, as well as the other sports programs in the township, are truly community programs," he said. "They provide opportunities for kids to develop personally, as well as in their chosen sport. As community programs, they’re run by members of the community, and for the community, the positive outcome is really hard to overstate. Kids really have to have that opportunity to play. When you relate it to health issues, such as obesity and child diabetes, this has long-reaching effects. The kids become good community members and lead as community-oriented individuals themselves. The generations you see still playing in Hopewell Township speak well to that."
   Throughout the years, Reading’s devotion to his community has served as an inspiration to other parents in the valley.
   "It was when my children first entered our community youth soccer program that I first became aware of Mark Reading and how much he did for our community’s youth," said Houston Landis, the HVSA director of team development and player representative. "He was president of the soccer board, refereed games and prepared fields. In short, he was everywhere. It was not long before I realized how much effort and time Mark put into making the program successful while always remembering that it is about the kids. It is impressive how much time Mark is always willing to give to help our kids. Mark’s ability to work with others to get things done is remarkable. Mark Reading is the ultimate community volunteer."
   Reading first got into soccer as an 11-year-old recreational player, going on to play in middle school and for Hopewell Valley Central High School. When he was 25, he got into a serious car accident, suffering ligament damage in his left knee, and his surgeon told him to stop playing. He followed that advice for 10 years but couldn’t stay away from the game he loved. He began competing in the Yardley over-35 men’s league when he was 35 and played another 11 years before hanging up the cleats at the age of 46. His two children — daughter Lauren and son Greg — came up through the HVSA system and both went on to star for the high school team, with Lauren graduating from CHS in 2004 and Greg currently a senior. Greg started on defense this past fall as the Bulldog boys team captured the Central Jersey Group III sectional title.
   "That team was a perfect example of what a developed program provides," said Reading, who noted that many of the other players on the team have parents that were heavily involved in the HVSA. "These kids were guys who have played together since they were 8 years old on a variety of different teams — both recreational and travel and then through school. That was just a dream team, and they really melded together well, which is wonderful to see as a complete team effort. That’s a result of the environment where they grew up."
   Although he doesn’t seek credit for it, Reading helped develop that environment through the last 12 years, as his children participated in the HVSA. He began by coaching his daughter’s rec team and gradually began taking a more active role before becoming president both of the HVSA and the HVSC in 1999. He stayed in that position for five years, helping lay the groundwork for the merger of the two organizations. They functionally merged in early 2004, although the corporate side of the deal still is being hammered out.
   "He’s not afraid to stick by his values if he has a cause or an issue that he wants to see changed or to champion," said Dave Marr, the HVSA registrar. "He’s not afraid to stick his neck out and pursue that."
   With the pooled resources of the restructured HVSA, players and coaches in both the recreational and travel organizations now are privy to some of the best training available, including that of the English School of Soccer and Elite Soccer. Also, the players receive top-flight equipment, and the Valley’s limited field space is fairly distributed.
   "All the teams have better access to training programs and development, as well as all the financial and administrative issues that go into two organizations providing essentially the same services," Reading said. "The two organizations work more closely together, and the direct benefit is going to go to the kids. The kids get a broader exposure to the game as we get better at providing those opportunities. Otherwise, it’s just one coach and how much a single coach can bring to the team he or she is running."
   With his kids getting older — Lauren is a sophomore at Lehigh University, while Greg, who is being heavily recruited by collegiate lacrosse teams, is scheduled to graduate from CHS this spring — Reading decided last year it was time to step down as president and take the role of head referee, where he helps develop young referees for the HVSA.
   "It’s a great way to get kids involved — getting them used to dealing with parents and controversies — they’re great life lessons," said HVSA board member David Coats, who grew up with Reading in Pennington and has known him since they were 3 years old. "That’s one of his causes. He really advocates bringing these kids in. It’s great for our program, and it’s better for the kids, because they deal with situations they have to deal with throughout life, and they do it in a controlled environment. Mark is a go-getter. He’s very energetic. He sets some goals and objectives and works toward them. He’s very committed. He’s great."
   Reading still is giving plenty of himself to the HVSA in his new capacity — although, with the demands of his job as an overnight paramedic for Trenton-based Capital Heath System, no one could have blamed him if he decided to step away entirely.
   As a senior in high school, Reading began working with the Pennington First Aid Squad — which he still is a member of — before completing a two-year training course to become a paramedic in 1977. He’s been coming to the aid of critical patients around Mercer County ever since, although the defining moment of his career clearly came on 9/11. A member of a 12-man crew sent by Capital that morning, he arrived at Ground Zero around 11 a.m.
   "I don’t think it really sunk in until we were up on the Turnpike, and we could see the smoke rising above the city," he said. "Then it became clear, the level of devastation. Anyone with any survival instincts wants to turn around, but going there is very much what we were trained to do, and we were there."
   Reading and his crew helped search for survivors and recover the remains of those who were killed in the attacks. They finally returned home early on the morning of Sept 13.
   "Although I never would want to do it at all, I never would shy away from doing it again," said Reading, who was an hour away from being sent to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina before it was determined his crew was not needed.
   Despite his heavy workload — he works rotating overnight shifts of two days on, two days off, followed by three days on and three days off — he doesn’t envision himself ever leaving the HVSA entirely. He might step down as head referee in another year or so, but he’ll always want to be a part of the community bonding that soccer creates.
   "You’ve got generations playing one after another," said Reading, who also is involved in Hopewell’s Recreation Foundation and Recreation Association — which helped develop the much-needed new fields at Timberlane Middle School — and has served as Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 41 for more than a decade. "It’s a community program where people go out and play together. The adults are involved. Even at the recreational level, it’s very much a community program. You get people involved at all different levels. It pays huge dividends for the community, because you have so many people involved."