Home field advantage. The number one comfort and source of confidence for a sports team. It all starts in your head and what better comfort is there than feeling at home, feeling the Saxon pride on your home turf…Or grass in Langley’s case.

Because of our lack of a turf field, sometimes home games aren’t even at home. The slightest drizzle or drop of rain will get a long anticipated home game moved to another unfamiliar field. All of a sudden, the other team has that small boost (as insignificant as it may seem) to start the game off with a shot of confidence.

Practicing indoors on days with inclement weather really proposes a disadvantage for teams who play games outdoors too. Our field hockey team had to practice indoors for six days, with a game the day after. Obviously the indoor surface of the aux gym is totally different from outside, and the sudden change of surface caused us to be unprepared outdoors. Football practicing in the main gym is an even bigger change of pace. It “throws off the routine of practicing every day and affects the preparation for games,” said senior captain A.J. Holtberg.

A turf field is also relatively low maintenance. Besides from the work that is necessary for installation, turf needs no watering or mowing, and requires no other labors. The arguments about turf being worse for the environment fail to consider the fact that because it requires no watering or mowing, it would utilize less water and fuel.

Also, what is always a huge issue with Langley? Our spirit of course. Every year the SGA, faculty, staff, coaches and sports teams rally together to try and unify all students under one umbrella of Saxon pride. And what tends to unify us the most? Sporting events. With turf fields all field teams would be considered equal. Field hockey, soccer, and football would all share the same field for home games, bringing more fans and spirit to events.

Therefore, we should turf Langley because it is more convenient, low maintenance, and contrary to popular belief, more environmentally friendly in the long run. The only issue happens to be the initial cost, but with the support of the Langley students, parents, athletes, and community, we can all come together to turf our fields.