How Sports Surfaces Improve Performance

The surface on which an athlete plays, will have a significant impact upon their performance. It’s important that you are aware of this before making any assumptions about the outcome of a game. Sure, Team A might have a better track record than Team B, but are they used to an artificial pitch? And if the game is going to be played on one, all bets are off (figuratively speaking!) So it’s important to have a grasp of how different sports surfaces can affect (and in some cases, improve) the performance of the players.

The Science Behind Performance Boosting Surfaces

How and why can certain surfaces help to boost player performance? Well, the exact science behind it can be explained in relatively simple terms. The pressure which the studs of football boots press down onto the surface and the extent to which it resists and pushes them back all factor in. By measuring these things, experts have been able to determine what sorts of surfaces help athletes to play at optimum capacity.

Of course, this can go both ways. If a team is used to playing and practising on a surface which has been especially designed to optimise their performance, then they may suffer when playing on a normal pitch. These are all important, contributing factors when trying to predict game results.

Playing in Rainy Conditions

If a team is going to play on a wet pitch in rainy conditions, it’s going to have an impact on their performance levels. The trouble is, it’s hard to know whether it will be a positive or negative impact. Some players will excel in the rain, whereas others will struggle to play to their normal standards. In some cases, one team will be affected one way and the other team will be affected the other.

Rainy conditions are probably the biggest rogue element when it comes to predicting the outcome of games. First of all, random rain showers often can’t be predicted and, even if they are, you’d need to weigh up the team’s track record in the rain and then compare it to the track record of the opposing team. If you think you’re pretty good at figuring this all out, then you might like to start thinking about betting.

Negative Impacts from Artificial Pitches

While specially prepared surfaces can be very useful when it comes to boosting players’ performances, artificial pitches can sometimes have a strongly contrasting effect. What can happen is that the players can sustain much greater injuries than they would on regular grass, which then demoralises them and makes them play worse.

This is why it’s very important for sports teams to properly consider all of these factors before deciding on their sports ground solutions. It’s also equally important for fans to consider these aspects when determining which team is most likely to win a match.

A lot of people think about the skill-levels of teams and individual players, but they fail to consider the impact of the surface being played on. Everything plays its part and while some surfaces will enhance the player performance, other pitches will lessen it. Next time you’re watching a match, try and keep these things in mind. When have you known a surface to impact the result of a game?