Artificial turf is very common in California, as we have the most of it in the country. It is a substitute for grass that we here at COC use on our football and soccer fields.
It is known to be a lot easier to take care of and is more durable than a grass field, yet the city of Los Angeles will be looking into potentially banning the surface this month.
Some experts believe that turf causes more injuries, but that issue still sparks a lot of debate, as that has not yet been proven. One proven issue is how hot the turf can get, as the plastic sits in the sun all day, building up heat, leading to parents not wanting their children to play on the surface.
Most of the concern comes from a place of player or public safety. One of the College of the Canyons athletic trainers gave his thoughts and experience on the matter
“My previous employer, I was there for twelve years,” said Erick Buitrago, College of the Canyons Athletic Trainer.
“I’ve been here for eight years, and here at College of the Canyons, we have two fields that are turf, and I can’t say that I’ve really seen an increase in injuries with turf compared to grass cause I did see a lot of serious injuries happen on grass too, so they happen on both you know,” said Buitrago.
If the biggest city in our state makes the move to ban the installation of new turf, smaller cities like ours may follow. But are they doing it in the interest of the environment, or in concern for the athletes who play on the surface and their preferences?
“Overall, I would have to say turf just because it’s more consistent, but if you get a good field of grass that is taken well care of, I would prefer that, but that’s hard to find out in California,” said Ayla Noble, a College of the Canyons Women’s Soccer player.
If player safety is not at that great a risk, would it be smart for our city to ban the surface, or can we continue using it as we have for a while now?
