Real Grass vs Artificial Turf

[toddg]

just noticed on Alvarado's schedule.. that our next 3 games are away games, and all 3 will be at stadiums with natural grass..i see that as a plus at this point in the season..for many reasons..but the main reason is theres nothing like the smell of real grass..and sometimes i miss that..

[LionFan72]

Never had the opportunity to play on turf, but I hear that the footing is different, and heat retention on turf is horrible. Not that many fields of grass left, guess the maintenance is lower on turf.

[Old Tiger]

Innitial cost of field turf is pricey but over time maintenance cost make up for that. I've heard that it is better on the joints and such.

[buff4ever]

Never had the opportunity to play on turf, but I hear that the footing is different, and heat retention on turf is horrible. Not that many fields of grass left, guess the maintenance is lower on turf.

The rubber on the turf fields is what heats up under the sun on a hot day. It does however cool off very quickly as the sun goes down. This is only a factor if you are on it between 4-6 early in the year when it is hot. 7th and freshman games and practices. 8th and JV and Varsity games the heat from the rubber is no longer a factor. Have heard on our field if you water it down it cools off right away and would take over an hour to catch back up to the 120 degrees that it was before you watered it.

[jdawg2012]

Footing is definitely different. Depending how how the little rubber pellets are distributed there can be no give in the ground. If you plant to cut back or something your foot will STOP. This is where turf toe comes from, your toes bunching up at the end. I actually have it right now from just playing a pick up game on SFA's field. Not fun. There's also the factor of it being fake grass that doesn't tear up, it tears you up. It will rip the skin right off of you. Also not fun. What buff4ever said about the heat is true, we're out on SFA's field almost daily and the heat is gone after about 30 minutes of the field being in shade. A bigger issue than that is the SMELL. Years of rain and sweat and god knows what else have given it a distinct smell that you will not forget once you experience it.

I've heard more complaints from soccer players about turf than I have from football players. Mainly because of the way the ball acts on turf. It bounces higher and can actually skip across the ground instead of rolling if kicked hard enough.

[FB-fanatic]

Actually heard China Spring cancelled some 7th and 8th grade games in the last 2 weeks after some showers - artificial turf, but didn't want to damage the striping for Friday night.....

[Old Tiger]

The rubber on the turf fields is what heats up under the sun on a hot day. It does however cool off very quickly as the sun goes down. This is only a factor if you are on it between 4-6 early in the year when it is hot. 7th and freshman games and practices. 8th and JV and Varsity games the heat from the rubber is no longer a factor. Have heard on our field if you water it down it cools off right away and would take over an hour to catch back up to the 120 degrees that it was before you watered it.Can't you water like 2 hours before game to cool off turf?

[underthetepee]

artificial because of weather conditions..