“It’s always important to support local sports and local youth programs,” said Anthony, owner and stylist at Westfield Barbershop & Shave Parlor in Westfield, NJ.
Recently, the Westfield Barbershop, right here in town, partnered with the boys’ varsity soccer team, offering them all the same haircut as a way to make their mark in the community.
In recent years, the soccer team has gotten matching haircuts as a form of team bonding just before the season starts. Alex Rokhsar, the boys team co-captain, has been going to the barber Anthony for years. Recently, Anthony made the switch to open up his own barbershop called the Westfield Barber Shop. Within the past couple of years, the team has been getting their haircuts from different barbershops, but this year was different. Rokshar said, “We just had to go with Anthony and get him on board. He’s been a very loyal barber of mine and always wants to support the boys varsity soccer program.”
Anthony, the owner, loves being a part of the community and giving back to high school teams. He said, “Being a barbershop here in town is all about community. It should be a place where everybody can get along and support each other, so it’s a no-brainer when I get the chance to open up the shop to support all the local high school teams.”
During home games, the team has ball boys surrounding the field, always wearing their bright orange shirts. This year, as part of the sponsorship with the team, Anthony put the barbershop name and logo on the back of the shirts to promote the shop. Anthony was very pleased with how they came out, saying, “They [are] nice and vibrant, so everybody could see them.”
Sophomore Andrew Johnson, a forward for the team, shared his thoughts on the sponsorship. He said, “It’s pretty cool that we have people in the community supporting us.”
Rokhsar appreciates the support from the barbershop and feels that this partnership will have a huge impact on the team and the community moving forward. He said, “Whether it be making ads for businesses, sponsorships, handing out tickets, or anything else with the community, we think this will have a long-lasting effect both on the program and the community. We think this is going to have a long-lasting impact.”
