Turf fields are becoming popular in colleges, high schools and even middle schools across the country. Field hockey is a completely different sport when played on turf than it is played on grass.
When starting to play field hockey most girls learn to play on grass. I prefer to teach girls how to play on grass because it forces them to learn how to use all of their strength to create strong passes and teaches them to really keep their eye on the ball and stay down on the ball when stoping passes. When the game is played on grass the movement of the ball is very unpredictable. Grass can make a ball can take sudden hops causing a player to miss the ball. The main difference between turf and grass is the speed of the game. The ball moves faster on turf making it very important to be in very good conditioning shape.
Turf also allows teams to play in many different weather conditions. Whether it is a nice sunny day or pouring down rain, field hockey can always be played on turf. This saves many schools and leagues from having to make up games throughout the season.
While turf is the most preferred surface to play on by the athlete, it can become a challenge to change back to grass once an athlete has become comfortable playing on turf.
Turf Pros:
-Can be played on in any weather condition
-Turf allows better ball control for athletes
-Minimal maintenance
Grass Pros:
-Once you play on grass it makes playing on turf easier
You may wonder that if their are more pros to playing on turf than grass why doesn’t everyone have turf. Well, the initial cost of installing turf is very high and many schools and facilities can not afford the start up cost of having a turf field installed.
