Last month, Colby hosted the University of Maine at Farmington in a field hockey. Colby plays on a rug-like turf, while UMF plays on grass.
The game was decided in the first 10 minutes. While the UMF players adjusted to the faster surface, Colby scored three quick goals, and went on to a 5-0 victory.
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“Once we did (get used to it), we adjusted fine, but it catches you off guard,” UMF coach Cyndi Pratt said. “Just the speed of the game — it’s different, and you have to be ready for it. No matter how much you talk about it with a team, until you play on it, it’s hard to simulate the differences on our grass field.”
It wasn’t a big deal in the larger scheme of things. It was a non-conference game for both schools, so it was more preparation for those conference games. But what if a high school team had to face the same problem in its biggest game of the season?
It has happened several times, and it could again this season. A few years ago, Gardiner had a playoff game at John Bapst, and Gardiner lost in part because of the switch from grass to turf.
“They played their home games on Maine’s turf,” said Gardiner coach Sharon Gallant, then an assistant to Moe McNally. “We had not been on turf all season, so it took us the entire first half for our kids to get into the groove on turf. The second half, we outplayed them, but we were down. Not long after that, Moe said, ‘We need more turf time.'”
Nowadays, both the regional and state championship games are played on turf. Gallant said she would never put the Tigers in the position of the regionals being their first turf game of the season.
“No way,” she said. “I wouldn’t do it.”
No one disputes that field hockey is a much different game on turf compared to grass. Skills like aerial balls and reverse-stick chips are much easier and therefore more prevalent on turf. The ball moves faster and truer, creating a more fast-paced game that showcases individual skills.
“Everybody’s going to play on turf eventually,” Skowhegan coach Paula Doughty said. “It’s a turf game now. A big, strong team can kill you on grass. The more skilled teams are going to win on turf.”
But unless an angel investor gives your school millions of dollars to build a turf field, how do you get on turf?
Amy and Brian Bernatchez helped come up with a solution to that problem. The field hockey field at Thomas College, Bernatchez Field, is named after them. Thomas, located in Waterville, does not charge a fee for teams to play on either that field or the nearby soccer field, which is also suitable for field hockey — much more suitable than grass, anyway, turf proponents will argue.
“When we designed the field hockey field at Thomas, we designed it to be as close as possible to Astroturf, but still get away with having soccer and lacrosse games on it,” Brian Bernatchez said.
Some teams are taking full advantage. Gardiner played four games at Thomas this season, including the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference runner-up game. Messalonskee moved its senior game against Skowhegan to Thomas, and will play its first-round game against Oxford Hills there on Tuesday. Oak Hill, the No. 1 seed in Western C, scheduled practices at Thomas — a 39-mile drive from the school. Both Gardiner and Messalonskee have home fields that are at the bottom of a hill, and also a little bumpy. Oak Hill plays on a middle school field that is more than a little bumpy.
Skowhegan has one of the best home fields in the state, but Doughty estimates it’s about 70 percent of what a turf field would be.
“It still has bounces to it that a field hockey field doesn’t have,” Doughty said. “It’s as good as you can get. It’s got putting green grass, like a field hockey field should have. My kids go up and down the field, pulling the weeds.”
Brian and Amy Bernatchez, who also run the Maine Majestix Club program, love that teams are moving their home games to Thomas. But they feel everyone should be doing more to help local field hockey players get experience on turf. They say there are large parts of the week that could be used for games and practices, but one or both fields aren’t being used.
“The championship games are played on turf,” Amy said. “If you play on turf, it will make you better on grass. It’s just so frustrating — why aren’t people using this turf? The kids love playing on it. Nobody complains, ‘Oh, we have a turf game tonight.’ They’re thrilled.”
Brian Bernatchez’ dream is to have all central Maine rivalry games on the turf at Thomas or Colby — ideally in a double or triple-header.
“If you had all the rivalry games there back-to-back-to-back, there would be so much more revenue,” he said. “There would be so much money at the concessions. It becomes more of a festival atmosphere.”
Amy and Brian are both aware of the obstacles to playing on turf: Teams aren’t always willing to give up a home game, where the fans have easier access and maybe the football team comes by to watch and start a cheer. Teams would need a bus and have to pay the driver, instead of walking out of the school to their field. And some teams might just want to avoid a game on turf.
“Some coaches I know don’t even want to play a regular season game on turf, because they think teams like Messalonskee and Skowhegan will have an advantage,” Amy said. “Grass is the great equalizer, and then you throw in a little bit of rain, and anything can happen.”
But the Bernatchezes are also concerned about the future of the sport. Field hockey isn’t an easy game to pick up, and they’ve seen what it’s like for younger players to try the sport on grass.
“You can see that they’re athletes,” Amy said. “We have told so many parents, ‘I know she’s frustrated now, but if she sticks with it, she’s going to be amazing.’ When you’re little, it’s a little bit easier to put a foot behind a soccer ball than it is to put a stick behind a field hockey ball.”
The state of Maine has long sent more than its share of field hockey players to the Division I level. The University of Maine is ranked No. 20 in the country, and the Black Bears’ lineup against No. 15 Northeastern on Sunday included three starters and two reserves just from central Maine. Out of the three best Class A Maine high school teams over the last 10 years — Skowhegan, Messalonskee and Scarborough — two of them are from central Maine. Contrast that to a sport like tennis, where the southern Maine schools (often referred to as “the ones with more money”) dominate the sport to the extent that it’s rare for any school north of Lewiston to win a state title.
For Brian and Amy, that’s their real issue: It’s not just a team losing a playoff game because it doesn’t have enough players who are used to playing on turf. It’s that Maine, and central Maine in particular, is known for having great field hockey, and they feel more time on turf is needed to keep it that way.
“It’s the direction the game has gone,” Amy said. “We’re really missing the boat here. The more these girls play on turf, the better they’re going to play on turf, and the more opportunities they’re going to have to play at the next level.”
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
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