Ranking the SOC Fields!

[socman]

Lets hear it. Combine SOC I and SOC II and come up with a list of the best soccer fields around!

Schools:
West
Waverly
Wheelersburg
Northwest
Minford
South Webster
Valley
Clay
New Boston
Eastern

[socman]

My 2 cents...

1. South Webster -Huge field , flat, soccer only
2. Valley -Turf, Huge, only complaint is that the turf is too fast for soccer. I prefer Jackson.
3. New Boston -History, great complex!
4. Minford - Soccer only, usually in great shape!
5. West - Most improved, good size.
6. Northwest - Your average football\soccer field
7. Wheelersburg - flat, but very very narrow and grass is usually really high.
8. Waverly - Very uneven and grass is usually gone by mid season.
9. Clay - Hard, rocky, lots of dirt
10. Eastern - Very small field with divots and mounds throughout the turf.

[ndc soccer]

I think you almost have to put valleys top of the list. With turf you never get that unexpected bounce, and the ball will always roll the same. The speed of play is just something that comes to you after you play on it. I know when i go play during the summer there the first couple outings are rough lol not used to the speed but once you settle in, you usually can control it. i prefer turf, enless its a mint field, but those are hard to come by.

[rxburgfan]

good list. pretty much have to agree with socman. new boston is great nostalgia.

[goUK]

great
West
South Webster
Valley

good
New Boston
Minford

bad
Waverly
Wheelersburg
Northwest
Clay

Eastern- never been

[jeepmadness]

New Boston #1 hands down. Cant beat the atmosphere.

[maintenanceman]

In my mind (and rankings) no football field could be ranked anywhere near the top.

So:

1. New Boston: Great history, beautiful location. If only the field/locker rooms were in better shape.
2. Minford: The field has gotten better over the last few years, the addition of the new building puts this over Webster. If only the Minford soccer team would use/take control of the away football locker rooms.
3. Webster: Great field. Seating leaves a little to be desired
4. Valley: Turf is wonderful. I understand that it makes the game faster (how is this bad?) but when you are used to playing on the crap we often see this one is a welcome respite.

The rest aren't worth raking/too close to call.

[UUsokkr12]

1. Valley: You can't beat the turf. Had the opportunity to play on it a couple times in high school and played on it a few years in college. IMO the only fields that you will find better, that are grass, in Ohio are at Rio Grande and Cedarville Universities.

2. Webster

3. Minford

4. New Boston: I have NB at four because of the atmosphere, loved playing there, but the quality of the field itself is lacking.

10. Clay: Field is horrible. I know from personal experience that the Clay admins just don't really care about soccer to get involved to help. But, that's with Clay all around, they don't really have one quality field for any outdoor sport.

5-9. I haven't seen the rest of the field lately. I know that playing on a football field is always tough. Usually there isn't any grass, grass is too thick for soccer, or there are too may divots.

Note: I'd like to see more schools take interest in how a futbol pitch is supposed to be built and cared for.

Good topic!

[CharlieHustle]

As far as "fields" go, South Webster by far keeps their grass in top-notch shape. But by far the best place to play is New Boston, the atmosphere is electric with such a great history in that stadium. Being an alum of there, i had the pleasure of playing soccer there. You can't beat playing under the lights of that stadium. Although old, it's absolutely beautiful.

[soccerguru]

I have played in college and coached in 3 states and my opinion is you need a separate field from football. And a field with proper drainage and watering systems are a must. Minford field was very rough last year and Wheelersburg field was not worht stepping on. New Boston has good character but the field was in rough shape. Eastern had a nice field as well as West. Valley has to have the best surfaces to play on but it is hard on teams who only play on it once a year.

[rxburgfan]

webster has good field to play on. waverly and w'burg stuck with football and i don't see that changing for quite some time. one of the best around is piketon. has to be the best local and it is a turf field. love to play there but few opportunities. i hope they get a high school team again soon.

[ndc soccer]

Piketon's field isn't turf? They might have a team in a couple years. They've had a Junior High team and hopefully the numbers will rise again soon. IF the grass is cut low then it is a nice pitch to play on, but sadly it's not cut low enough and the sprinklers are broke and havent been fixed so there is some dead spots.

[rxburgfan]

i stand corrected. i used turf as in grass. the term "astro truf" is long gone like the relic the "astro dome". too bad about the deterioration of the field. played there many times and it is a great place to play.

[ndc soccer]

Many times? I think 'burg has only played there once? in the 06-07 season? I could be mistaken tho, because I was away at school then.

[rxburgfan]

maybe piketon can make a come back. never want to see a soccer program disappear. too hard to rebuild here in the southern part of the state.

[smurray]

Waverly to break ground on their new field house this spring and then hopefully a new stadium next year with possible turf coming as well.

[rxburgfan]

that would be great. hopefully, the loss of jobs in the area will not affect plans.

[Senators_soccer]

Having played on New Boston's field I would say it's awful, Unless you scrimmage them before season the grass is going to be mostly dead. The atmosphere there is one of the best around though. Actually being in a stadium just for soccer loved it. And as it was said in previous posts it has great history. Just wish the field was taken better care of.

[rxburgfan]

great location for previews. "if" only they could keep it up. however, usually looks good early season and previews.

[Mine'z_BiGGer]

NEW BOSTON FIELD HANDS DOWN!!!!!