Whatever level of football you play at, being able to have consistent training sessions throughout the season is vital to match preparation and maintaining fitness levels. As we head into the lovely weather that winter brings, training can often be disrupted either through waterlogged pitches or even frozen grass.

So you may be thinking about ways to get around this, perhaps looking at using artificial pitches?

Here are a few reasons for choosing an artificial surface over a grass surface:

Less postponements

With an artificial sports surface the weather doesn’t have as large an impact. If your league allows you to play on artificial pitches then it may also mean that your fixtures go ahead without facing a backlog of postponed matches before the season ends!

Maintain fitness

People argue that using fake grass isn’t the same as training on grass but the reality is that in some ways, it is actually much better. Being able to maintain your fitness throughout the winter will mean that you are less likely to pick up injuries when you play a match. When your fitness levels drop through cancelled training sessions, you can soon become more susceptible to strains and other injuries.

Always remember to warm up properly, regardless of the type of surface you are playing on, as not warming up is one of the biggest injury causes and can be particularly problematic in colder weather. And don’t forget the cool down either, or you will be sorry in the morning when your legs have tightened up!

Less maintenance

Anyone who has held a role of responsibility at a football club will tell you that one of the hardest jobs is getting the pitch set up for matches. With frequent mowing required, line marking, nets to put up and take down and even attempts to remove excess flooding, removal of rubbish like glass or even dog dirt it really isn’t easy. Using an artificial pitch, there is much less maintenance involved and it is a huge attraction for clubs looking to make the switch.

If you are using a pitch that is open for public use then the chances are that you can turn up with a burnt out car in the middle of your pitch or someone may have set up a bonfire right in the goalmouth! Other common problems with public football pitches include people using it for quad biking and horse riding, which does not make for a good playing surface!

Doesn’t get damaged

By the time a team plays on a Sunday afternoon of a well-used grass football pitch, it can resemble a farmyard, with missing pieces of turf and muddy sections created by the high number of people churning it up over the last few days. It is not ideal for playing football on and may even be a cause of injuries if divots are not seen to. With artificial sport surfaces, you do not have to worry about what state the previous teams have left the pitch in, it will be ready to go. No fighting for earlier kick off times or spending half an hour before the match trying to make quick pitch repairs.

There are many good reasons to consider switching your training or even your matches over to artificial pitches and more teams across the world are going in this direction. Fake grass has developed massively over the years and now you can get pitches that have shock absorbing and bounce properties that fully reflect natural grass. Click here to see some examples. If nothing else, the idea of less maintenance is a huge draw for most football clubs.

Posted on November 9th, 2017 by scott
Filed under: Article