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Young men in a sports huddle on an indoor field

Western Pennsylvania Residents Welcome Opportunity for the Next Generation

Rocco Martini is a champion for local youth, passionately fostering their aspirations and development in Beaver County, the lifelong place he’s called home.

Generations of the Martini family have lived in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It’s a closeknit community outside of Pittsburgh where neighbors become friends, and eventually, like family. Rocco Martini’s friends and colleagues jokingly call him the mayor of Beaver County because he rarely meets a stranger. He remains close friends with his childhood classmates, many of whom he bonded with through sports.

Work in the community is everything to me. This community has given me so much throughout my life, I want to contribute and give back any opportunity I can.

Rocco Martini
Man in front of manufacturing complex

A new starting lineup

Beaver County was once a thriving industrial hub, renowned for its steel, iron, and glass manufacturing. These industries were the backbone of the area's rich history. However, as time passed, these industries declined, forcing many residents, including Rocco’s grandfather and other members of the Martini family, to seek new career paths. It took time for the county to recover, and people had to reimagine their future.

As a kid, Rocco dreamed of being a professional athlete – specifically an NFL player. Even at an early age, he knew sports and education went hand in hand. As he grew older, he understood he needed the grades to play, and with such strong ties to the community, he wanted a career that could make an impact close to home.

That love of sports and community is still with Rocco today. He is a football coach at his alma mater, Central Valley High School, and a health and safety specialist at Shell Polymers Monaca in Beaver County. It was his senior year of high school when Shell broke ground on the polyethylene manufacturing complex, and he decided to major in health and safety management with the hopes of future employment at the local Shell facility.

Where the love of sport and community meet

By a stroke of luck, Rocco met Jim Christiana in the sixth grade. Jim became his mentor, and over time, the pair bonded even more over a shared vision to create a facility that promotes sports and education, encouraging active involvement from families. Jim is the founder and CEO of M:7 Sports Inc.

In 2024, Shell partnered with M:7 Sports to support its inaugural building in Pittsburgh. Titled the M:7 Shell Sports Complex, the building is a state-of-the-art 40,000 square foot indoor facility, dedicated to providing year-round training and competition opportunities for youth programs and school districts from Pennsylvania, Ohio and beyond. The complex gives athletes a safe and collaborative space to train and play and offers growth opportunities through mental health assistance, educational programming, and workforce initiatives.

Facilities like these add such value to the community. I had great coaches and mentors growing up. I learned so much from them and want to contribute to students’ lives by helping them make the right decisions or be better at something they love.

Rocco Martini

The next quarter

The M:7 Shell Sports Complex extends beyond athletics. This innovative facility is set to become a cornerstone for local youth, offering a versatile space where they can excel in the classroom and on the field. Academic competitions, STEM camps, workforce development projects, career fairs, back-to-school events, community meetings, and mental health awareness programs are just some of the events community members can expect to see as the facility progresses.

Three you men looking at tablets

As coaches and mentors, we want to inspire children. Knowing not everyone will be a professional athlete, we want to instill tools in them to be outstanding individuals in the community, especially as Beaver County continues to grow.

Rocco Martini

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The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this content “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience to reference Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this content refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. The terms “joint venture”, “joint operations”, “joint arrangements”, and “associates” may also be used to refer to a commercial arrangement in which Shell has a direct or indirect ownership interest with one or more parties. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.