New year, new turf. Although our school is under some serious renovation and students are being forced to cram into trailers for classes, there is one thing to be excited about. We finally got something new: the turf!
The original faux-grass turf field was just plain worn out. The “lifespan” of a turf field is about 10 years old and that synthetic surface debuted in the fall of 2006. The turf was uneven, and turf pellets were everywhere and several Spring sports games and practices had to be cancelled or postponed one day because the turf was insufficient and unsafe to play on.
“The old turf was more rubber than actual turf. It was one of the worst turf fields I’ve ever played on,” said senior Matthew King, a Varsity soccer player.
The total cost of the turf came to $500,000. With the construction going on, it has some students wondering why WS couldn’t have used this money for something else. It’s something that not only affects student athletes, but other students as well.
“It’s not even that nice of turf, I’ve seen better. They could’ve used the money for student parking or something. The old turf didn’t even bother me that much, I was so used to it,” said junior Mary Ormsby, a field hockey and lacrosse player.
There are many student-athletes, however, who like the new turf and are grateful for it. It is not as bumpy as the old turf, it’s shinier, and it makes WS appear a little bit nicer to other schools when WS has home games.
“I think the turf was needed. The friction between the turf and the ball made it harder for us to control and pass the ball. Now the games will be faster,” said junior Daniel Elinan, a soccer player at WS.
Elinan and other student-athletes believe that the turf affects the way that they play. Head football coach Jason Eldredge believes that turf impacts injuries, but not on how athletes play. The newer the turf, the softer it is, so when an athlete falls on it, they are less likely to get injured. According to Eldredge, it does not influence the way that they play.
“The turf has nothing to do with the way we’ve been playing. It has to do with our attitude and our mindset. We lost our first game on the new turf to a team we had no business losing to,” said Eldredge.