Could FieldTurf Mean Bad News for the Bears This Season?

Club Bad News Bears will not only face 7 human opponents this season, but will take on its first synthetic opponent.  For the first time in club history, the Bears will play on FieldTurf™ during their Field #1 games at Houston Amateur Sports Park.  Before anyone gets excited, let's weight the pros and cons of playing on FieldTurf™.

Pros:

• FieldTurf™ is composed of rubber strings to simulate grass and tiny rubber pellets, which simulate dirt.
• FieldTurf™ is softer than AstroTurf™, which is basically playing on carpet that is on top of concrete.
• On wet conditions, your jersey won't get muddy (it might get a bit stained from the rubber pellets).
• Faster performance and more durable than real grass.

Cons:

• Tiny rubber pellets protect muscles and joints (since this continues to be widely debateable to the manufacturer's claim, this is a con).
• Turf burns.
• It's not real.
• More bouncy than real grass.

The Bears will need to find a way to make this adjustment (especially for those that have not played on FieldTurf™ before).  Although this is exciting as far as the experience goes, improper preparation will see another "should have been" season pass the Bears by.  So, how does one prepare?

Soccer cleats are not a problem, as cleats are proven to exceed players' expectations on FieldTurf™.  This means that traction should not be a problem, even on wet conditions.  The ball will be coming off the ground faster, meaning passes will have to be more controlled and defending the ball will need to come with more attentiveness.  FieldTurf™ is not forgiving, so any falls to the ground could leave you feeling this technology's "sting" for the remainder of the game (and then some). 

Preparation will be completely mental.  The field will still be the same dimensions and the rules will still be the same for both teams (hopefully).  The key is not to let FieldTurf™ get inside your head.  It may take a few team mistakes to become familiar with the characteristics of the field, but it's not impossible to be successful on the field.