Olive Branch High School Football Field Gets New Turf
Machinery plowed up earth for what could be the finest playing surface in the state of Mississippi on Monday. That surface is in Olive Branch. Through a community-funded campaign, Olive Branch school will build an almost $700,000 turf field to replace the surface of the old football field. While the field is still sacred to Conquistadors, it is no longer so fragile as to prevent widespread use by the school and community. Tim Cowan, of Athletic Surfaces Plus, said there are three positives to installing such a field at Olive Branch High School: * Playability - it can be used in any weather; it can be practiced on, played on and still will be in great shape Defeat Acne with Three-step Approach A Faster Way to Shop for Life Insurance The Secret to Getting Highly Discounted Cruise Tickets * Safety - it's safer than natural grass. Studies from Penn State University have showed construction of turf fields of this particular type are from 1 percent to 20 percent safer than plush grass fields. * Maintenance. Instead of mowing, fertilizing and spraying the field needs only be brushed monthly. Scott Samsel, Olive Branch High School head football coach, said the statement the community made in its support of this project is important. "I hope our kids understand the privilege it is to be a part of a program at a school where the community support is so great," Samsel said. "It's a first-class program." The idea for the project came about in February and with the rapid expansion of DeSoto County School, Samsel said he and others thought the best way to build the field was to go to the community for support. "We got a lot of people involved," Samsel said. "We couldn't have done it without Tim Cowan." Not only will the field look great and be easier to maintain, it will bring some advantages to the high school football program. Samsel said the turf will afford more practice time in the off season and allow other groups and activities to use the field without destroying it. He said the field is also safer. "It's about as far away from the old turf as an auto is from a covered wagon," Samsel said. The field surface is made of monofilament and will be set on top of three-quarters of an inch of rubberized pellets. The field should be laid down in about six weeks and will be ready for play in the fall season.
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