La Salle synthetic turf officially blessed and opened
TROY » The new turf at La Salle Institute is officially put in, the keys are in Athletic Director Andrew Santandera’s hands, and now, it has gotten it’s official blessing.
“It’s a bit nerve wracking now that we have to keep up with it,” said Santandera on how it felt to finally have the keys to a shiny new turf in his hands Friday night. “We have to get trained on it and keep on it so it stays looking so nice. It’s like that new car where you don’t want anyone touching it yet, but it’s nice to have the nice Friday night football game on it.”
Friday night La Salle hosted a ceremony unveiling the new turf to the La Salle community before the Football team lost to Columbia 2014. At the ceremony, Santandera gave a speech alongside President and Principal Jo-
seph B. Raczkowski thanking the La Salle community as well as sharing how important the turf field was to La Salle.
“It’s extremely exciting, especially for our soccer team, our lacrosse team, and our football team,” said Raczkowski. “This is the first time that we’ve had a facility such as this. La Salle has been around for 168 years and only about 20 years ago we put in our first football field. This is a step well above anything we could have every expected.”
The turf also received the blessing of Honorable Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard, gracing the field for years to come.
La Salle spared no expense at upgrading their athletic facilities, utilizing the same turf at their facility that the New England Patriots use at Gillette Stadium put.
“Clark Company out of Delhi, New York was absolutely fantastic to work with,” said Santandera. “They were very open, they were very honest, they were communicating. Their timeline was right on. They pulled out this morning. I was in here at 6:30 and the trucks were leaving. They were fantastic to work with and everything, for the most part, went pretty smooth.”
The decision to upgrade the turf comes alongside the decision to upgrade the weight room and a is a commitment to improving athletics at La Salle.
“We hope that it does all of that,” said Raczkowski. “We hope it brings more students into our building. This is a great school, I’m a La Salle graduate of 1972 and this school is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This school made me excel in my life.”
The addition of the new facilities is a commitment to the athlete and is an effort towards drawing athletically gifted students to the La Salle community.
“Obviously as a private school we try and draw students and that is part of that,” said Santandera. “The facilities, the athletic facilities, and the facilities as a whole, are always a part of that so yes, I think we hope this turf will help bring us up to the next level of competition.”
The turf may have more of an immediate impact. The turf gives students a sense of pride and confidence. A look good, feel good, play good, mentality for the La Salle atheltics.
“Their high school kids,” said Santandera. “I think that does help them. They have brand new uniforms, brand new locker rooms, brand new strength and conditioning center. So you do have to look good to play good. Their high school kids, it matters to them.”