It’s a debate that has raged between athletes for years: artificial turf or grass, which is better? The verdict is finally in.
Baseball, football, soccer, and lacrosse players alike share their preferences on playing on turf fields rather than grass fields. Different sports have different views on what they prefer to play on, with advantages and disadvantages for both fields.
“[I like] turf better because when I play on grass, it’s not as level and there are some patches of dirt which can cause people to roll an ankle and severely injure themselves, unlike a turf field where it’s all leveled out and even, ” said sophomore soccer player Begad Elharazi.
Turf was first made in indoor stadiums because it was hard to maintain grass with a lack of sunlight to keep the grass healthy. The main reason for the invention of turf was the ease of maintenance-turf stands up to heavy use such as sports, and requires no irrigation or trimming. This makes it much easier to upkeep.
On the other hand, artificial turf does have its downside: limited life, periodic cleaning requirements, petroleum use, toxic chemicals from infill, and some heightened health and safety concerns. Turf burn is common amongst athletes that play on turf often. Grass presents its ups and downs as well.
“If it’s a well-kept up grass field, I prefer grass over turf because the Bermuda grass is all natural and more fun to play on, but on the downside is when it rains because it gets torn up and takes a while to recover,” said Senior football and lacrosse player Corey Hart.
Grass fields are fast-growing, tough, and very nice to play on; that’s if they are very well taken care of, which is one of the main reasons why it’s popular among athletes across the world. A major downfall, however, is that it takes a lot more labor to maintain a grass field at optimal playing conditions.
It’s obvious that athletes from all different sports share their own opinion on the conditions they play on, and none of them are wrong. There are different pros and cons for each sport when playing on turf or grass fields, and these athletes have their own personal preference about it.
“Defensively it’s a lot easier to field ground balls; it makes the game equal for hitters and defenders as with turf fields it gives the hitters an advantage because the ball doesn’t slow down when it hits the ground and makes it more of challenge to field the ball cleanly,” said sophomore baseball player Andrew Kobylski.