BY DANIEL BRNJIC (’17)

As turf football fields have become the norm in the world of high school athletics, many still wonder why Granville has not put one in yet.

“It has been talked about for years,” Athletic Director Mr. Kevin Jarrett said.

In his six years as athletic director, he has seen this topic for a long time.

“It would be a million dollar investment for the football team and any other team who wants to play on it, but for one million dollars, a good amount of thought should be put towards it,”  Jarrett said.

Many schools in the Licking County League have turf including Licking Valley, Watkins Memorial, Johnstown and Newark Catholic. As of late Granville has dominated the LCL in multiple sports, yet Granville does not have turf.

Turf is not a necessity for high school sports. Many athletes are partial to grass, and believe that some sports belong on grass. Jarrett is a believer in the idea that no teams should be forced to play on turf. For example, even if Granville had a turf field the soccer team could still play on grass.

That being said, turf does allow for yearlong practices even in the dead of winter, and allows for teams who play away on turf to have a chance to prepare.

The general consensus is that turf at Granville will not occur anytime soon. The seniors and juniors have already written off the idea of playing on turf.

“Turf is tricky business,” said junior Garrett Drum. “It is a hard an expensive decision that will take place long after I have graduated.”

It still seems that Granville do not need turf at Granville, but the school wants one because other schools have them.