Deciding it was time for a change, the district trashed the old turf on the football field that didn’t quite fulfill what all the football players needed. With new turf this year here at Shadow, students feel as if they can up their football game, saying it was as if the turf wasn’t giving them the spotlight they deserved.

When the turf was first added in the summertime, early football practices were in motion. Students ran to the field to see what all the fuss was about, laying on the turf as if they were about to make snow angels. While still excited about the newest update to Shadow Ridge, some students still reminiscence on all the funny accidents and scrapes the old field would cause them.

“It wasn’t even turf, I don’t even consider it grass,” said Audrey Gadeski, a returning varsity girl’s flag football player. “It was more of a hay material that would get all over you when you fell.”

Not missing anything about the old turf, students easily began to warm up to the new sleek look of the field. Being one of the first schools in the district to design and receive their turf, Shadow got to add more custom features to their field, such as the school’s name, the mascot, and new sidelines for the girl’s flag football team. Incorporating this feature for the team was a huge step up for the school, making many of Shadow Ridge’s students proud and making the girl’s flag football team feel more noticed.

“It brings a lot more light to women’s sports by making the game easier for viewers and players to understand and by including everything they need,” said freshman football player, Jacob Bilyeu.

Making students happy was one of the best things about this new turf. Football is such a huge part of student life at Shadow and this element definitely upped the game. Other high schools had this same change on their football fields too. Coach John Gibbons, who transferred to be a football coach for Shadow Ridge had the exact same experience. He does not miss the old playing grounds at all.

“The grass always died and there were potholes in it, it was a harder playing surface,” said Gibbons. “I think it’s a leveled surface too so kids can play faster.”