Westhampton Beach - As the ground outside Westhampton Beach High School thaws and spring sports teams prepare for their respective seasons, just where they will get down to the business of running drills and playing ball comes down to one thing and one thing only, the condition on the field that day.

Athletic Director Kathleen Masterson addresses the crowd in attendance at Monday's presentation.

Since the first football game of the season, for which the Hurricanes and their visitors played amid a monsoon, the main athletic field at the high school has been playing catch-up. Athletic Director Kathleen Masterson, with the support of dozens of coaches, athletes and community members, is working to make those physical realities headaches of the past. On Monday, Feb. 9, Masterson presented a plan to the school board that, with approval, would replace the grass field with a state-of-the-art synthetic turf at a price tag of $1.05 million.

"It will impact and improve our program, and it will be better for the kids," Masterson said. "That's what my job is as the athletic director, that's what I believe in, and that's why I'm here - because of the 947 kids in this high school, the 600-better in the middle school, and the 500-better in the elementary school. If I can do something to benefit them, I'll fight tooth-and-nail for it."

The board was presented with two options - the installation of a state-of-the-art artificial turf or a complete rehabilitation of the current grass field.

The committee, which was made up of roughly a dozen members of the community including Masterson, Parry, Superintendent Lynn Schwartz and several parents of current student-athletes, has met three to four times a month since first assembling in August. A decision is not expected to be made until the board reconvenes on Feb. 23.

Members of the community came out in droves for the Feb. 9 presentation, although it was unclear as to whether they were intrigued or interested in voicing their opinion publicly. On the record, most or all of those opinions supported the movement toward FieldTurf.

If the school board opts to resurface the lot with grass, it could displace Bill Parry and the Hurricanes football team for a full season.

"You can't put that amount of pressure [on a new grass field] or else it will go right back where the field is today," Doug Gilbakian, father of Westhampton sophomore Forest Gilbakian, commented. "We can't meet our current needs by reconstructing that."

For its durability and safety, the FieldTurf installation is being positioned as a practical move for the board. Arguing that it's economically sound takes a little more work. The FieldTurf project would cost roughly $1,050,000, whereas revamping the grass would run about $600,000 less. However, maintenance costs would bring those numbers closer together. FieldTurf would cost, it was estimated, $5,000 per year to maintain at most. According to Masterson, the athletic department has spent about $40,000 annually on the main field's upkeep.

Timing An Issue
Another issue of critical importance is timing. Should the board choose to replace the grass, it would take 18 to 24 months to grow the new field and prepare it for use. Masterson said that the remaining fields within the district could squeeze in games from the middle school to varsity levels, with the exception of football. Bill Parry's Hurricanes would either have to play all their games on the road, or try to find a surrogate home on a tentative basis, whether it's at nearby Hampton Bays, Eastport-South Manor or Center Moriches. The turf could be installed in one winter or summer, minimizing the ripple effect in the district's busy schedule.

Part of the cause for the deterioration of Westhampton's main field is the increased level of participation in athletics. Ten years ago, only the varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams used the field. With the recent addition of sports like lacrosse, as well as the corresponding JV and youth programs, it was determined that close to 120 contests are played there annually. Westhampton has also laid the foundation for adding field hockey to its interscholastic athletic schedule.

The mucky field conditions at Westhampton Beach could wreak havoc with the school's practice schedule this spring.

Masterson praised the artificial turf's durability and its ever-ready availability. Patchogue-Medford was the first high school on Long Island to install the turf; seven years later, the field has hosted thousands of games and practices from the high school to youth level. Athletic Director Tom Combs estimated they've spent $1,500 total on maintenance, in part because the field has been under warranty.

"It's the best thing in the world," Combs said. "We've played in downpours, we've played in snow, the heat doesn't affect it, the cold doesn't affect it, and the kids don't get muddy. We can play a lacrosse game on it in rain and nobody's slipping, there are no puddles. Overall, it's a safer environment and a better quality of game because of it."

Westhampton Beach Superintendent Lynn Schwartz was among the dozen members in the community to produce an in-depth presentation for the school board.

Westhampton would become the third school on the East End to add turf within the last five years. East Hampton and Southampton began play on their new fields in 2007. Darren Phillips, the athletic director at Southampton, opened the gates to the Mariners' new turf field in October of that year, and the district has reaped the benefits ever since. "The playing surface is great," he said. "We can play out there anytime and we don't have to worry about wear and tear. Whether it's for practice or for a game, that field's used every day during the week and on weekends with youth groups and adult leagues. The kids love it."

From a safety standpoint, FieldTurf has generally passed the test. However, according to the October 2004 edition of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, synthetic turf was more apt to yield skin injuries and muscle strains, whereas natural grass showed to have a higher correlation with ligament tears and concussions. Parry has few reservations about the artificial grass, which has a crumb rubber infill. "It's safer, it's faster, and it's softer," Parry said. "Football is a collision sport. If you hit the ground on a regular grass field, it hurts. The ground on a turf field has six inches of rubber breaking your fall."

Westhampton is also waiting for the results of tests done by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that will determine whether FieldTurf poses a lead hazard. In California, the Center For Environmental Health (CEH) initiated legal action against FieldTurf and other manufacturers of synthetic grass after discovering high lead levels in their product. In a September 2008 story in USA Today, the state moved to mandate the complete removal of lead in future products from FieldTurf Tarkett and AstroTurf. However, FieldTurf was exonerated by New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, which explained that the 12 fields inspected had "very low or undetectable levels of lead." The DEC report was to be released in December.

Westhampton's track not only hosts meets for the spring sports season but also is an important facility for community members.

Since the administration would want to limit games on a new grass field to 20-25 games per year, the athletic department would also have to make sure it abided by Title IX regulations, which require equal use of such a facility by boys and girls programs. The teams would have no choice but to play there because it's the only field with goal posts - that alone is 11 games per season without playoffs.

Whether the board opts for turf or sod will be determined in the coming weeks. Parry hopes the turf's benefits are as stark to the board as they are to him. "In my eyes it's a no-brainer," Parry said. "I hope the board sees it the same way."

The tennis courts at Westhampton Beach are structurally sound, but cracks could be repaired in the coming months.

Getting On Track
The high school's track is also a major concern for the athletic department. Spring track coach Jim Ford said that meet officials are instructed to inspect the track conditions prior to every meet. If a particular aspect of a facility is not up to par, the host team must forfeit points for that event. Ford indicated that Westhampton has passed in the officials' eyes but the track's deficiencies have been consistently noted.

"The track is in bad shape," Ford told the board. "We did try to patch it, but they were band-aids. Water gets in there and it starts to expand again.

A complete resurfacing of the track is expected to cost roughly $250,000, with a warranty attached. Patchwork repair is estimated to run near $100,000. Ford said no major injuries have occurred on his watch, yet divots and cracks in the track suggest they're possible.

"I haven't, but you can see the spots on the track where it could happen," Ford said. "It needs attention. Something has to be done."

Westhampton is also looking into pouring $100,000 into advancing its wellness center. Other points of discussion for the main field were the addition of a concession stand, and renovation of the bathrooms and bleachers. Westhampton is also looking into expanding its wrestling room.

Synthetic turf has been installed at Patchogue-Medford, Dix Hills, Southampton and Coram, and in the case of the Comsewogue and Bay Shore school districts, two fields have been installed.