PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Though it’s taking some getting used to, SAD 1 soccer players are looking forward to their first season on the new field turf that was installed this summer at the Dr. Gehrig T. Johnson Athletic Complex at Presque Isle Middle School.
“We had a round-robin tournament a couple of weeks ago and played on the new field,” said Shantelle Cyr, a senior captain of the Presque Isle High School girl’s varsity soccer team. “It’s a lot faster and your touches have to be really good. Sometimes our passes go a little farther because the field is smoother and shorter. That’s the main thing … we have to learn to control the ball better on the new field.
“Back when this was grass, we used to dribble the ball along the sidelines and zigzag back and forth and it would get tiresome doing it that way,” said Cyr. “Now, you barely have to touch the ball and you don’t get as tired doing little things like that.”
At the December 2006 SAD 1 board meeting, directors voted to replace the former stadium field with man-made turf, which offers a consistent, dependable playing surface during varying and extreme weather conditions.
“I think it’s really going to pay off when we have playoff games,” said Allisen Donovan, a senior captain for PIHS. “We may have to clear the field of snow, but it won’t cut up the field like it did in the past. It won’t be a mud pit like we’ve played in before.”
Ralph Michaud, PIHS girl’s varsity soccer coach, said the artificial playing surface will greatly help his team.
“As far as consistency,” he said, “the field is always going to be the same no matter what the weather’s like. We recently practiced in the rain and we never lost traction … it wasn’t slippery at all. In October, the field is going to be the same as it is right now. That consistency will be an advantage for us.”
With the new field turf, gone are the days of what had become known as the “mud-bowls.”
“With the old stadium field, three of the last five years we had to plow the field for playoffs and when we did that, it took the top layer of the grass off and it was just mud,” said Michaud. “It wasn’t true soccer … you’d kick it and the ball would stop in the mud. That’s not how true soccer is meant to be played.”
Michaud said the old field would drain so well that it would get “extra, extra firm.”
“I compared it to a horse racing track where you could hear the horses run,” he said. “We could actually hear the athletes running on the field and I can’t imagine what that would do to your ankles, knees and hips.
“I practiced the last half of a recent practice and I thought I’d be sore the next morning but I wasn’t,” said Michaud. “It really does make a difference as far as running. It doesn’t feel like your pounding your body. Before we had a lot of hip and knee issues. Now, even after practice, the girls have some energy left.”
While running will be easier on the body, scrapes won’t be.
“Scrapes now are more like a rug burn because the field is plastic,” said Michaud, “whereas before, especially if the field was wet, you’d slide.”
“As a goalie, that’s why you have to wear pants because you’ll get a mark going all the way up your leg,” said Donovan. “It hurts more than it did on the old field, but you get used to it.”
Calling the improved soccer field “a jewel of our community,” Michaud said he’s proud to coach in a progressive school district.
“I’m proud to coach here, and I emphasize to the girls that they understand how fortunate they are to play on this surface,” he said. “Not all schools have them, and we’re lucky that we do.”
Donovan said the new field should give the Wildcats a competitive edge.
“Other teams don’t have this kind of field, so when they get on it, it will be their first time,” she said. “We’ll be playing on this all the time and will know how to hit the ball. We’re looking forward to a great season.”
Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said the field project cost $650,000, while nearly an additional $100,000 was spent to install a new track.
Coca-Cola and Maine Mutual Group have each agreed to donate $5,000 a year for 10 years or $50,000 each, while Key Bank of Maine has pledged $3,000 a year for 10 years, or $30,000. Buck Construction donated the use of equipment and did the initial prep work.
“Buck Construction removed 14 inches of soil and then put down a foot of crushed rock,” said Dave Sowers, SAD 1 operations supervisor. “The field turf, which is a green pad, was then laid, and then sand and rubber particles went on top of the turf.
“Underneath the gravel is a drainage system that’s about 16 to 18 inches down and backfilled with stone,” he said.
Crews from Northeast Turf Hue, Inc. did the actual field turf installation. The project began in late May and officially wrapped up Aug. 1.
The South Portland company has installed fields in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and 10 other fields in Maine.
Previously, SAD 1 spent about $32,000 a year on maintenance costs for the stadium field. In the new funding plan, the district will appropriate an additional $8,000 bringing the total up to $40,000 per year for 10 years, or $400,000. In addition, $12,000 per year ($120,000) from athletic gate receipts will be used to pay for the field turf, as well as commitments from local businesses.
“We’ll be saving money on maintenance,” said Johnson, “because we won’t have to spray chemicals to keep the turf green and there won’t be any mowing involved. The only real maintenance involved is using a brushing machine when the turf starts getting flattened down from having people running on it all the time.”
Players had been on the former stadium field for 16 years.
“It was wearing out,” said Johnson. “It buckles, and after the turf loses its firmness, it disintegrates very easily at the end of the season.
“Another issue was the use of the old field was very limited,” he said. “Because we were constantly trying to keep the turf upgraded, usage was limited to the varsity teams. It wasn’t used as much as we would have liked to have seen.”
It is estimated that use will increase from approximately 50 hours per season to over 500 hours.
“Every student athlete will have access to the field,” said Johnson. “In addition, 450 Presque Isle Middle School students will be able to use the soccer field for physical education classes in the spring and fall.
“The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department could also use it,” he said, noting that the field turf can drain six inches of water in three hours. “It could be opened up for clinics, and surrounding school systems could use it, as well.”
Teams from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Northern Maine Community College also intend to use the field. Rental fees are still being finalized.
Safety was also a factor in deciding to go to an artificial turf as field turf’s stable playing surface results in fewer injuries to athletes.
“There are 20,000 ground up tires in a soccer field of 80,000 square feet,” said Johnson. “As we would go to championship games in the south, we were seeing athletes who were playing on field turf. We started to explore what it would cost, the pros and cons, and ultimately the board voted to authorize the installation of artificial turf.”
Recognizing that state soccer championship games rotate each year from Eastern Maine to Western Maine, Johnson said with the installation of field turf, Presque Isle’s ability to compete for a soccer state championship game – or track and field regional championship – would be increased.
“Until now, we’ve never been in a position to even be considered to host a championship game,” he said, “because all of the fields that are used for state championships – in recent years – have been artificial turf.
“A state championship game or regional track championship meet hosted in Presque Isle would bring hundreds of fans from outside Aroostook County to Presque Isle restaurants and motels resulting in a positive economic impact in our community,” he said. “We’re presently adding bleachers and getting ourselves into a position where we have a field that’s comparable to any of the fields in southern Maine. We don’t want to take a backseat to anybody.”
With the new section of bleachers, seating at the Johnson Athletic Complex will increase from 300 to 500.
Johnson said the “real value” of the field turf will be seen in late October.
“Right now the fields are green all over Aroostook County,” he said, “but when you get toward the end of the season when the temperatures are in the 30s and 40s, and all the fields are deteriorating, our field will be in the same shape it’s in now. The athletes won’t be playing in mud like they have in the past. It’s really going to make a difference.”
The superintendent said he is extremely proud of the new field and hopes everyone will support the county teams that play on it.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Johnson. “It’s everything that I thought it would be, and we now have a field that everyone can be proud of and have access to. It’s a community and a county asset.”
(A dedication ceremony for the new field will be held at 6:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24 prior to the 7 p.m. Presque Isle High School boy’s varsity game against Fort Kent. In the event of rain, the game will be held, but the dedication ceremony will move to Tuesday, Aug. 28).
