Opinion By Marcus Smith

I want to begin by recognizing the work that has gone into bringing the track and field complex to this stage. A great deal of effort and investment has clearly gone into these facilities, and that is something the community can appreciate. But we are not finished yet. While things may look great, we need to make sure the athletic surfaces truly work for all users, not just for the track.

We now have a facility that should be a source of community pride, and it should be set up and maintained in a way that supports our athletes and their ambitions. Our school system prides itself on enabling student success, yet the current maintenance approach leaves the grass too long for effective play. Yes, students are out there practicing and competing, but we need to ask an important question: are they being given the conditions they need to reach their full potential?

Have you ever tried to hit a golf ball out of the rough? You are not going to get very far, very fast. In many ways, that is what it is like trying to play field hockey, and likely even soccer, on the school’s fields today. The grass may look green, healthy, and lush, but it is far too long for anything other than frustration for our student-athletes. 

NFHS field hockey rules call for a maximum grass height of 1.5 inches, yet our pitches are often lucky to be mowed to anything under 3 inches. When the ball itself is less than 3 inches tall, that makes skill development, ball movement, and success on the field unnecessarily difficult.

We can and should do better. A field that looks good is not necessarily a field that plays well. You may see students out there playing soccer and field hockey, but looks can be deceiving. A good lawn does not automatically make a good athletic field.

I hope you will join me in urging the school committee to match the promise of these new facilities with the level of maintenance they require. If we want our athletes to succeed, then we need to give them facilities that are designed and maintained to support that success.

Marcus Smith has lived in Amherst since 2014. He is an assistant field hockey coach at ARHS and has been in that position off and on over the last 10 years, in addition to coaching at both Westfield State and UMASS. He has a student athlete in 8th grade and future student athlete in 4th grade in the Amherst school system.