Soccer program gets facility upgrades
May 29, 2023
The soccer teams have been sharing the turf football field with the football team since it was put down in 2011. But the teams will now have their own turf to play and practice on as the new soccer field takes form.
“Being able to be on turf is a big deal for us in a few ways,” junior Gavin Armstrong, midfielder, said “Having turf all year round allows us to practice outside whenever possible, and we don’t have to worry about whether or not other sports will be out on our field. It was hard practicing during the rain or playing games when it was raining and we weren’t able to play on the football field.”
Other teams have had some major upgrades to their playing surfaces and visual improvements as well. The football field had turf replaced, improving play and the visuals for fans along with the baseball field upgrading their backstop netting to allow for a better view from behind home plate.
“We have been upgrading a lot of our facilities around here recently,” Mr. Mike Campbell, athletic director, said. “The baseball field just got a new backstop, the turf on the football field. We’re trying to upgrade to first class facilities around here. Our athletes have been working harder and performing better so we want to reward them for that with nice stuff.”
Level of play is also an important side effect of playing soccer on turf. Most grass fields are not well taken care of and can often have holes, divots and uncut grass. But having the turf field for soccer, athletes will not have to worry about rolling an ankle while taking a penalty kick.
“In my opinion, my favorite thing about having a turf field is the consistency,” Armstrong said. “The field will always be consistent, and nothing plays as an advantage for anyone. One of the worst things about grass is the holes everywhere. Not just at our home field but everywhere else that has grass. Ours is one of the better maintained, but getting turf is going to be awesome.”
Scheduling and hosting events more often will be better improved for coaches and Mr. Campbell.
“Having the facelifts not only on our soccer field but other areas give us better chances of hosting events,” Mr. Campbell said. “Having county here, having sectionals here, having invitationals and weekend tournaments hasn’t been a thing Greenwood has done for awhile. But with us getting nicer stuff, it brings in more crowds for home games and helps us to receive host opportunities.”
Most athletes say that playing on turf improves their skills and they feel more confident r on a better kept field. Soccer players are no different from the masses.
“Playing on turf is a lot more fun than grass,” sophomore Alex Baugh, midfielder, said.
“Whenever we go somewhere with turf, everyone’s a little bit more excited and there’s a different feeling playing there. The ball rolls better, and it feels like we run faster and just play better overall.”
The construction of the new stadium and soccer field is expected to be finished by the start of next school year.
