By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Lutcher football coach and athletic director Tim Detillier didn’t have to think too long when asked if the new turf field at “The Dog Yard” met his expectations in its first season of use.
“It met my expectations,” said Detillier, “and, really, surpassed them.”
Lutcher is the latest River Parish school to have artificial turf installed at its home field, the new playing surface officially debuting last season.
Destrehan and Hahnville were the first two River Parish teams to have artificial turf installed at their home fields. St. James will be the next team to have it done, with field turf slated to be installed in the Wildcats’ new stadium, which is set to be built within the next two years.
The New Revolution synthetic turf was installed three weeks before Lutcher’s first game last season. Detillier said that the effects were noticeable immediately from a cosmetic standpoint.
“I’m a little biased, obviously,” he said, “but ours is just so pretty, so colorful. The endzones, the sideline, it jumps out at you. It’s so colorful. It’s something you’re proud to walk out onto and call your own.”
But for all the visual appeal, there’s a number of reasons that more and more high school coaches and athletic directors across the state have stated a desire to have that surface installed in their home stadiums.
The top reason is safety, Detillier said.
“It’s far safer, simply because the surface is so consistent, whether its cold, wet, dry … no matter what the conditions are,” he said.
“It’s a softer surface, which can reduce injuries like concussions … you aren’t seeing guys slipping and falling like before. I don’t remember anyone slipping. I feel like we had less injuries this past season.”
It’s also a boon for preparation from a time management standpoint. Gone are the days of Detillier, his staff and players taking painstakingly long stretches to ready the field for Friday nights. Painting lines from sideline to sideline are a thing of the past, as is the need to keep the field well manicured: the grass doesn’t grow, after all.
“It just saves so much time for us,” said Detillier. “Time that can now be spent on helping our kids get better, time that can be spent on game planning and game preparation. And you knew your players were going to help you prepare the field, but now they can take the extra time to work on things themselves. All of that helps your team win games.”
And one final added bonus, Detillier found, was the way the surface played. Detillier and his staff have historically favored speed over size, loading the field with wide receivers and defensive backs on each respective side of the ball.
And the artificial turf, Detillier said, “plays fast.” That’s certainly good news for his Bulldogs, and perhaps good news for St. James as well, as longtime Detillier assistant coach Dwain Jenkins takes over the program next season. The turf to be installed in St. James’ new stadium is the same New Revolution turf installed at Lutcher;  the turf for both stadiums was, in fact, purchased at the same time.
It’s come in handy for other sports, as well. The Lutcher girls soccer team made a run to the Division II state semifinals this past season after playing their home games on the surface.
And even the baseball team has found it to pay dividends: because the Class 4A state championship tournament was played on an artificial turf field in Sulphur, the Bulldogs took infield on the football field surface all week to prepare, before banking victories in the semifinals and finals to nail down a state championship.
And, of course, Lutcher put together an undefeated regular season on the gridiron as well.
“You can do so much more with it,” said Detillier. “It’s been a lift for us, for sure.”