Virginia Field Hockey Players Have Blue Turf Advice For Football Hoos

The Virginia football team plays at Boise State this week on blue turf.
Virginia field hockey player Colleen Norair’s advice for her football counterparts this week: “You’ve got to be aggressive, you’ve got be fast. You’ve got to play with the Virginia mentality.” ~ Kris Wright

The Virginia football team frequently splits practice time between its outdoor practice field at the McCue Center and the one inside the George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility. This week, the Hoos might want to try the field on the other side of that building, though.

University Hall Turf Field sits on the other side of the practice facility as the home of the UVA field hockey team. The surface is blue. The football Cavaliers, of course, head to Boise State on Friday night for an 8 p.m. showdown on the blue turf at Albertsons Stadium.

“I don’t know, I hadn’t even thought of that,” Virginia defensive lineman Eli Hanback said smiling. ”That might be a good idea. … It will be exciting and it’s definitely something different. I’ve never played on a blue field and it’s a notorious blue field so it will be fun.”

Getting reps on the field hockey field may not happen, but the Hoos do have familiarity with Friday’s surface. Boise State’s blue field is FieldTurf, a brand of artificial turf that is designed to try to more accurately replicate real grass.

UVA has the advantage of practicing on the same surface in preparation for the game. The McCue Center and George Welsh building have field turf surfaces. The players should have some comfort level with the feel of the field if not the color.

”This should be interesting,” Cavalier receiver Olamide Zaccheaus said. ”It’s kind of good that we practice on turf because I know it’s blue turf. The biggest adjustment for us will be the time zone and stuff like that.”

While they might not use their field, the field hockey Hoos know how to be successful on the blue hue. They’re currently ranked No. 5 nationally and knocked off No. 1 Duke earlier in September on the University Hall Turf Field. Since installing the blue turf in 2011, the Cavaliers have won more than 75% of their games at home.

And it sounds like Zaccheaus already has the right frame of mind to translate some of that success. Some of UVA’s players had never played on blue turf prior to becoming a Hoo and it didn’t change their approach. They adapted quickly.

“No honestly, it was pretty similar,” sophomore Erin Shanahan said. ”Actually, you can probably see the ball a little better.”

Still, the Broncos bank on a bit of an intimidation factor with their blue field. They’ve been especially tough to beat there. Since 1999, they own a 112-6 record (94.9% winning percentage) on the smurf turf. Bronco Mendenhall’s BYU teams lost there in 2012 and 2014. The success overall included a 65-game regular season home winning streak from 2001-2011.

The good news for the UVA is that the current home winning streak for BSU stands at only eight games. The Broncos lost twice at home in 2015.

The field hockey players said the biggest key of all is to throw away any intimidation factor or doubts. Go in there and make it Hoo turf instead of blue turf.

“Probably it’s just intimidating because it’s our colors and it’s our turf – it’s very distinctively ours,” Virginia sophomore Catesby Willis said of UVA’s home field before giving some good advice. “They’ve got to make it their turf. … I’d just say you have to be aware of the difference and the way that it looks. When they’re practicing before, just make sure they’re getting good looks on the ball.”

“You’ve got to be aggressive, you’ve got be fast,” Cavalier sophomore midfielder Colleen Norair said. ”You’ve got to play with the Virginia mentality.”

“It reps the Hoos better I think,” UVA senior Becca Zamojcin said. “Just own it.”

Photo Gallery From Virginia’s Field Hockey Win Against Richmond

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