Posts by Colin Young

Colin Young

16 posts

For more than 25 years, I have dedicated my career to researching and advancing playing surfaces for sport, play, and leisure. My journey began at Loughborough University, where I was awarded a PhD. I then moved on to testing and certification at Labosport before joining TenCate as Global Director of Research & Development. I am driven by a passion to improve user performance, experience, and safety while championing sustainability. By innovating next-generation surfaces that benefit both players and the environment, I aim to shape the future of surface technology.

ArticleResearchTesting

Cold weather, first frosts and football: why not all turf is the same

Across much of Europe the first meaningful frosts of the season have arrived just as the football calendar moves into a critical period of league fixtures and heavy training loads. At this time of year, having surfaces that stay safe and playable in all conditions is essential for equity and access to the game. However, turf is not one single material, and different systems respond very differently to cold and wet…

Article

Which shockpad gives the highest ball bounce?

A simple question that reveals a surprisingly complex reality beneath the turf. Ball behaviour on hockey surfaces is far from linear. To demonstrate this, we tested three systems: 1️⃣ A rigid concrete laboratory floor 2️⃣ A 15 mm in situ rubber e-layer 3️⃣ A 10 mm closed-cell PE foam pad Most assume the rigid floor will always produce the highest bounce. Yet when tested across a range of drop heights, the…

Article

Impact testing for sports surfaces: what they tell us (and what they don’t)

When we talk about “how a surface feels” or “how safe it is,” we are really talking about impact mechanics. How energy is absorbed, transmitted, and returned when the body meets the surface. In practice, the sports surface industry relies on three main tiers of tests. Each provides useful information, but each answers a different question. Direct impact and compaction tools such as the Clegg hammer These are simple portable devices…

Article

The Rooster Tail! Spray of black rubber.

It may look dramatic in slow motion replays, a spray of black rubber erupting behind a tackle or a hard hit ball. But the “rooster tail” is not something we want to see from a well designed turf system. When there is too much infill in the turf system, the material becomes highly mobile. That leads to: Inconsistencies across the field as infill migrates from one area to another Uneven playing…

Article

Rethinking Ball Roll Testing in Soccer

Ball roll is one of the oldest tests we still use to evaluate playing surfaces. But do we ever stop to ask if it really reflects the game of soccer? The method dates back to the 1930s when it was developed for golf greens. Over the decades it has been adapted, and in many ways bastardised, into soccer testing. While the test has some merits, it should never be mistaken as…

Article

The Limits of Pile Height as a Defining Property for Turf

The Limits of Pile Height as a Defining Property for Turf In many discussions, turf systems are still defined by pile height, or more accurately pile length. While length is an important parameter, it is far from the sole determinant of turf functionality and, in many cases, not even the most influential. A turf system’s suitability for a given application arises from a wide set of interrelated properties that together shape…

ArticleResearch

Surface Temperature ≠ Heat Stress

During summer, the importance of surface choice in managing heat stress is more apparent than ever. Well-maintained natural grass remains the gold standard for thermal comfort. Its ability to cool itself through evapotranspiration, combined with high surface reflectivity and low thermal mass, provides a naturally regulated environment for sport and outdoor leisure. However, not every field can be irrigated or maintained at this level. To understand heat stress, it is important…

ResearchTesting

Grip, Traction, & Cleat Release

In our latest round of player testing, we’ve taken a deep dive into the biomechanics of cleat release, often simply thought of as grip or friction, between the athlete and the surface. Using a suite of high-end sensors, IMUs, and high-speed video analysis, we’ve measured cleat release down to the millimeter. We worked with a diverse group of players (N = 300); male and female, elite and amateur, and tested under…