Artificial Turf Supporters Cite Injuries On Natural Grass Fields

Courtesy of The Express-Times
Writen by Michelle Pittman
November 03, 2006

The condition of athletic fields throughout Easton Area School District might be giving school board members headaches, but student athletes are suffering concussions, black eyes and sprains, their parents said.

The ruts and holes on the field hockey playing area have caused all of those injuries and more in the past year, Cathy Kovaks said Thursday at the district's buildings and ground committee meeting.

Kovaks, whose daughter plays field hockey, said the sport requires a smooth playing surface, such as one provided by artificial turf, to prevent the ball bouncing erratically and injuring players.

"These girls are trying to hit a very small ball with sticks and they can't always look down the field to see what's ahead of them," she said. "Installing turf is a permanent solution to the problem."

Committee members said they have yet to see a full proposal for the installation of artificial turf, but would like to move ahead with the project.

"Let's get all of the information so we can make a solid recommendation to the board," board member Al Capecci said.

But board President Richard Siegfried said that isn't enough.

"We need to fix the current field hockey and soccer fields," he said. "We need to look at everything."

At Thursday's meeting Athletic Director Jim Pokrivsak also presented a $25,000 proposal to fix the varsity baseball infield.

Pokrivsak said there are "lips" along the first baseline and throughout the infield where water collects in low spots, boring into the infield. The low points cause the ball to fly up at unpredictable angles. He said players could get injured because of the poor conditions.

Siegfried said the board allotted money to fix the field just two years ago, and wasn't sure they should rush into a major overhaul.

"If I were a coach in this district, I would be irate," board member Pat Fisher said. "You wouldn't put students into a classroom with broken chairs. You can't put athletes on bad fields. It's a liability."

Jim Heck, who has petitioned the board to allow soccer games to be played at Cottingham Stadium, said he wasn't sold on the artificial turf. He reviewed a list of potential maintenance costs and asked if the board had considered that in its deliberations.

"Every time a grass field gets beat up, it can't be used," board member Roy Cortez said. "With turf, we'd be getting between 10 and 15 years of use. I'd be happy if we could get five years from our fields now. We can't get three years without them being destroyed."

District maintenance manager Tim Cayce said the district can't expect the current fields to be used for three seasons and have grass grow over the winter.

"The way I see it, we have three options," Cortez said. "We can install turf. We can buy new fields. Or we can start cutting sports."