Artificial Turf

Washington Township, which features some of the area's quickest football players, should benefit from its new artificial-turf field. "It makes us look even quicker," coach Tom Brown said. "The turf gives you a lot more traction, and some of our kids can fly. " Wide receiver Tracy Brown and running backs Ryan D'Imperio and Nick Baccare are probably the Minutemen's fastest players. D'Imperio has been converted from fullback to halfback and will carry much of the load for Township, which is No. 1 in The Inquirer's South Jersey preseason rankings.

Since mid-April, a political spat in Moorestown has moved from council chambers to front lawns, where hundreds of signs have blossomed among the daylilies and hydrangeas. "Council - don't violate our open space trust," say the placards, created by a group known as Moorestown Save Open Space. The debate doesn't involve dividing farmland into home sites or bulldozing a park for a big-box store. Instead, some Moorestowners are angry that the Township Council agreed to spend money from an open-space trust fund to revamp athletic fields, including one to be built with artificial turf.

Megan McElvogue admits that going from the grass of her high school field to the artificial turf at Boston College was the biggest challenge of her career as a lacrosse goalie. The challenge didn't come, however, until her second season at BC. The Upper Merion High graduate got to play on grass in her first season at BC because the team didn't have the use of its regular field and played its games on grass at Bentley College in nearby Waltham. McElvogue played in all of the Eagles' 15 games, recording a .644 save percentage.

On the day after, Wes Hopkins's left knee was just as bad. The All-Pro free safety is still out for the year after surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn medial cartilage. But some more details have become available: Eagles trainer Otho Davis said the injury might not have been so severe if the Eagles had been playing on natural grass last Sunday, rather than on the artificial turf at Veterans Stadium. "On natural grass," Davis said, "I think the foot would have slid or given more.

The Radnor Township school board on Tuesday night discussed whether to install an artificial-turf field at Radnor Middle School, which opened in September as a state-of-the-art "green" building. After more than six hours, the meeting ended with unanswered questions and without a final vote. Board members discussed the cost-effectiveness of turf versus grass, and whether an artificial surface would fit at a school that has promoted a "green" approach. The $48 million school in Wayne has oxygen-producing plants on its roof.

Children aren't at risk for lead exposure from synthetic athletic fields, according to a report yesterday from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The commission evaluated synthetic athletic fields after lead was detected on some New Jersey fields, raising worry about exposure to children. But the commission said no tested field released amounts of lead that would be harmful. "A variety of artificial turf products were evaluated for risk exposure to lead and the bottom line is parents should not be concerned about harmful levels of lead in artificial turf," said Julie Vallese, a commission spokeswoman.

Agnes Irwin School can go ahead with its plan to build a playing field with artificial turf and bleachers in a Radnor Township park where it wants to conduct gym classes and host sports events. On Feb. 23, the Delaware County Court denied a petition from a group of Radnor Township citizens who filed a civil action in 2011 designed to block the plan. They argued that the planned use would illegally interfere with public use of Radnor Memorial Park. The seven-acre park is on Matsonford Road in Wayne, across from Radnor Elementary School.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) sent a letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday, urging the agency to expand its investigation into possibly hazardous lead levels in artificial turf. Menendez also asked the agency for recommendations on how parents can protect children who play on artificial grass fields, lawns and playgrounds. The CPSC, which has investigated lead in children's toys and household products, did not return messages seeking comment. Menendez made his request a week after the federal Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory recommending that worn, frayed sports fields containing nylon fibers be tested for lead.

Complaints always surface at this time of the year from teams that play in state championship soccer games, because the state finals are usually played on artificial turf. All of this year's boys' and girls' soccer finals were played on artificial turf, either at Kean University or the College of New Jersey. The NJSIAA likes to have its championships on turf because it affords the luxury of staging multiple games in one day. All four public-school state girls' soccer finals were played at the College of New Jersey on Saturday.

There's a chance now for a new beginning. The old turf is gone, and a new plastic rug is down. No longer is the playing surface of Veterans Stadium the color of an overcooked lima bean. The tobacco-juice stains in the outfield, testimony to the presence of a certain centerfielder, are gone. The depressions and dead patches around first base and third are gone, too. The plastic turf called the worst in the National League by many baseball men has been replaced by something bright and shiny and new. "They had the reputation not just for bad turf but, you hate to say it, dirty turf," said George Toma, the longtime field superintendent from Kansas City who served as a consultant on the $1.85 million project.

Agnes Irwin School can go ahead with its plan to build a playing field with artificial turf and bleachers in a Radnor Township park so it can conduct gym classes and host sports events. On Feb. 23, Delaware County Court denied a petition from a group of Radnor Township residents who filed a civil action in 2011 designed to block the plan. They argued that the planned use would illegally interfere with public use of Radnor Memorial Park. The seven-acre park is on Matsonford Road in Wayne, across from Radnor Elementary School.

Agnes Irwin School can go ahead with its plan to build a playing field with artificial turf and bleachers in a Radnor Township park where it wants to conduct gym classes and host sports events. On Feb. 23, the Delaware County Court denied a petition from a group of Radnor Township citizens who filed a civil action in 2011 designed to block the plan. They argued that the planned use would illegally interfere with public use of Radnor Memorial Park. The seven-acre park is on Matsonford Road in Wayne, across from Radnor Elementary School.

They've been knocking on the door for a few years. On Tuesday, they barged right in. Camden Catholic won the Central Jersey Group 2 championship in field hockey with an imposing, 4-0 victory over Collingswood before a large crowd that surrounded the Panthers' grass field in Knights Park. Sophomore Tara Vittese scored two goals, and sophomore Alyssa Olenick and junior Rachel Turan added goals as fourth-seeded Camden Catholic (16-4) won its first sectional title since 2007.

Madison Weary graduated from Kutztown University in 2010, and she's already gotten her first championship as a varsity coach. The 24-year-old Weary guided Unionville to the field hockey title in the Ches-Mont League American Division on Wednesday with an easy, 7-0 win over Coatesville. "I was given a talented team," said Weary, a special-education teacher who was an assistant coach for the Patton Middle School track team last school year, her first in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.

Madison Weary graduated from Kutztown University in 2010, and she's already gotten her first championship as a varsity coach. The 24-year-old Weary guided Unionville to the field hockey title in the Ches-Mont League American Division last Wednesday with an easy, 7-0 win over Coatesville. "I was given a talented team," said Weary, a special-education teacher who was an assistant coach for the Patton Middle School track team last school year, her first in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.

Clint Tabb looks at Camden Catholic and sees the green in those uniforms. He also sees blue and orange. "They remind me of an old Shawnee or Cherokee," said Tabb, whose Pennsauken team will visit Camden Catholic on Friday night for a West Jersey Football League showdown. "They are coming to run the ball, and they are strong up front on both sides of the football. " Both teams are 5-0. Pennsauken is No. 2 in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings. Camden Catholic is No. 9. The game looks like a classic matchup between Pennsauken's high-powered offense and Camden Catholic's sturdy defense.

Since mid-April, a political spat in Moorestown has moved from council chambers to front lawns, where hundreds of signs have blossomed among the daylilies and hydrangeas. "Council - don't violate our open space trust," say the placards, created by a group known as Moorestown Save Open Space. The debate doesn't involve dividing farmland into home sites or bulldozing a park for a big-box store. Instead, some Moorestowners are angry that the Township Council agreed to spend money from an open-space trust fund to revamp athletic fields, including one to be built with artificial turf.

The Union have a narrow focus in preparing for Friday's Major League Soccer game in Portland against the expansion Timbers. Portland's field is among the most narrow in MLS and is made of artificial turf. According to a team official, the dimensions at Jeld-Wen Field are 70 yards by 110 yards. The only other MLS pitch that is as narrow is Toronto's, which is 69 yards by 105 yards. So the Union moved their practices this week to YSC Sports in Wayne, which has an artificial-turf field with dimensions similar to Portland's.

With the field hockey playoffs in full swing and higher-seeded teams playing on their own fields, which are sometimes artificial turf, they would appear to have an advantage over opponents that play on natural grass. "It's truly a different game," West Deptford coach Linda Decker said of the synthetic grass. "If you are not [usually] playing on turf, it's a huge disadvantage. It is a much faster game [on turf]. You will see a lot more pushing rather than hitting the ball, so it changes the timing of the game.

If he said it once, he said it 100 times. In fact, as Roy Halladay was shuttled from the news conference dais to individual standup interviews with all the television and radio stations and then back for another lengthy stretch of questioning, he probably did say it 100 times. "This is where I wanted to be," said Halladay, who was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Phillies yesterday. Over and over, the pitcher many call the best in baseball said he wanted to play only for the Philadelphia Phillies.