Thinking about signing your child for soccer?
Think Futsal Instead. Here is why. If you’ve never played futsal, it can be hard to imagine how it’s so much different from soccer. Allow me to help you visualize the difference between playing futsal and soccer. Think of Futsal as the next generation soccer experience for children. Kids develop soccer skills playing constantly with the ball, high intensity activity to improve speed, agility vision, creativity. It's a fun way to learn real dribbling, passing, shooting, tackling and much more – all leading to immediate improvement. Futsal provides better ways to develop skills: Especially for young players ages 6-12, Futsal is a much better game for a players development. Most of a player's learning comes from playing, especially at the young starter ages of 3-6. The size of the court and speed of Futsal means 6 times more opportunities for a player to touch the ball vs soccer. It also puts players in constant situations where they need to think fast to solve problems, constantly be forced to protect the ball, work out of tight situations among other. Soccer is normally played as an outdoor game on large fields, whereas Futsal is a form of soccer that is played mostly indoors on a much smaller courts. Futsal is also played around the world in outdoor courts anywhere. The smaller field size ensures a game of Futsal is fast-paced and more intense, with more opportunity for goal scoring. Another difference is in the number of players. There are eleven players for each team in the game of Soccer, while Futsal is played with five players on the court. Less players at one time means more opportunities to touch the ball. There are three substitutions allowed in a game of Soccer, whereas there are unlimited substitutions in Futsal. Once again players can come in and out of the game as often as possible, giving them more time to play. There are many other differences between the two games in terms of tactics, positioning, and the skills required. However, the fundamentals of the two games are essentially similar, making Futsal a great option for Soccer players and vice-versa. If players become good at playing in a faster surface like a futsal surface they will immediately stand out on turf or grass.
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Over the years, soccer has been labeled as a "Thinking Man's Game". The term has been derived from the game's uninterrupted, steady flow of play without timeouts or many set plays, full of player engagement, creativity, situational recognition, adjustments and problem solving on the fly is what it is called a "player's game".
In soccer a player must be a thinker, problem solver and a creative machine without much help from the coach at every single minute of the game. There are unlimited options, combinations and opportunities to score goals. A player's imagination and creativity is the only limitation in the game of soccer. Because of this game setting nature players grow not only in their game but in life as well. The ability to constantly think, adopt and solve has massive benefits in everything. Well, futsal adds to the mix, a faster playing surface, restrictive smaller playing area, less time to think, react, adjust and solve game situations. The pressure is multiplied ten fold. If soccer is a "thinking man's game", then futsal is a "thinking man's game" on steroids. Futsal will absolutely, unequivocally, without any doubt grow a player's soccer game. WHAT ARE COACHES SAYING ABOUT FUTSAL, CENTRAL JERSEY, EX ALBANIAN PRO SOCCER PLAYER, VANI MEHMETI1/26/2021 What are coaches saying about futsal and Central Jersey Futsal - In this video learn what ex Albanian Professional Soccer Player Vani Mehmeti has to say.
"I think futsal is great development tool for young ages staring with 5 or 6 years old all the way to 13, 14 and older ages", Vani says. Just like many other coaches who have developed their soccer skills by playing futsal in their native countries, Vani is a big believer in futsal not only as a development tool, but as a sport as well. He goes on to mention how US must build more futsal courts and make it easy for youth soccer players to have access to futsal courts everywhere like it is done in many other countries. Being able to play unstructured and unsupervised small sided games like futsal will help build a player's confidence, creativity, and ability to get out of tight spot situations as well as improve their 1v1 skills. One of the challenges futsal specific coaches/trainers face is getting players into a futsal specific session. Not an outdoor soccer training session played indoor but a futsal specific session, performed with a futsal specific ball on a futsal specific training environment and futsal specific playing surface with futsal specific activities.
It is crazy when players step into these sessions for the first time and parents realize that there are other coaches, trainers and programs that can help their child’s soccer development along side with their outdoor soccer team training. It is not against the law to want your child get better, however you would think that many parents have been thrown into mental prison this entire time with their reactions once they learn of futsal and it’s development benefits towards the outdoor soccer game. The fear of going away from a club atmosphere is the biggest problem. Afraid if you do not sign up for their clinics you will not start the next game. The fear of having your coach find out that you step away from their “optional” training session for someone or something else. Furthermore, it is always great to see and hear the responses and reactions from players and parents after their first futsal training or game. Some of the most common player remarks are how much fun it was to play, how quick of a game it is, the fact that they get to touch the ball countless times and how many goals they scored. On the parents side common remarks include that they never realized how much their child would love the game, how many times they would get to touch the ball, how they are involved in the game every single moment instead of daydreaming on one side of the field while the ball is on the other side, the fast pace actioned packed situations and off course the amount of goals scored which make all children smile. Wake up and smell the coffee. Explore and see what else is out there. Your child will know RIGHT AWAY if it is something that will benefit them. Learn from everything and everyone. Stop being brainwashed by the same thing over and over. If your coach and your club truly want what’s best for your child’s development they will not only be open to alternative methods to develop your child’s soccer skills but will encourage it as they want the best players on their teams. Think about it… Your club wants the next best thing. The next standout player. That player is the player that does everything to make them better. The number of kids and their parents who were scared to seek, discover and enter the outside world of training, away from their club team and coach are the same kids who are cut and when you ask the coach why they were cut or what can they do to get better, the coach will tell you to train more and work on certain things. Ironic do not you think? Any coach or program that does not allow you to see what is out there should be a clear red flag. Why would that ever be the case? Maybe they have the fear of you learning what else is out there? Maybe they are scared to lose out on your extra $300.00 for their ‘optional’ training program? Another mystery is why would your coach/club charge you an extra fees to make you better? Isn’t that what the 3-4x week training sessions are for? So now you must pay another cost to train with the same kids and the same coach probably doing the same type of sessions you did during team training? Why can’t you go out there and see what is available for yourself? When your kid enters high school, you will punch yourself for not seeing all the possibilities out there to make them better. Following is a quick video on how creating space in futsal will massively develop a player's outdoor soccer game. We often see players on the futsal court trying to play a position and stay at that position while their teammate possesses the ball. (This is what they been may have been taught by their soccer coaches). That creates and amplifies the problem that since the futsal playing space is restricted the player possessing the ball will not have options and will be forced into trying to keep possession under the defender's pressure. Although this develops the players ability to keep possession with own personal foot skills it does not allow the team to advance the ball and penetrate.
In the outdoor game of possession, although there is a basic shape a coach will use with players primarily maintaining their position, players are also asked to pass and move, recognize and make timely runs, overlaps and basically move away from their primary position in an organized fashion. Meaning, if the left back over laps maybe the midfielder will drop back to cover that position, if both the back and the midfielder play together to advance the ball, one of the center backs will shift to cover the left back position of maybe the defensive midfielder, (if there is one), will drop to cover that spot. The bottom line is that in an organized manner although players have primary positions they will shift and move out of positions to either advance the ball or cover for each other. Learning how to recognize and create space with timely runs off the ball, thus providing additional options to the ball handler in the futsal restricted space will massively develop a player's outdoor soccer game. We are excited to announce that our new registration platform will be gotsoccer. With almost everyone familiar with the platform and a member of gotsoccer this partnership will make the customer experience seamless and easier to navigate. Please visit gotsoccer to view all the new events that we have added and register today. One can find a list of our new programming here: www.centraljerseyfutsalleague.com We look forward to a great fall/winter futsal season. #centraljerseyfutsal #yearroundfutsal #futsalfirst #madebyfutsal
Continuing Futsal Education and how it is the number 1 development tool to the outdoor soccer game, we would like to point out certain benefits that no one can deny. The first one is to be considered in direct comparison to a similar 5v5 game on indoor turf . Take the following points into consideration: Not only a smaller playing area with less players playing at a time, but also a much faster playing surface, which makes ball control harder, and with a futsal specific ball which is smaller and less bouncy allowing the quicker development for ball handling skills.
Why Futsal you ask?
Many top soccer players started out at their young age playing Futsal, as it taught them early on about the necessary skills to succeed on the big soccer field. Some of the current players who got their start playing Futsal include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Christian Pulisic and many more. Here you have 5 reasons why you SHOULD PLAY Futsal. 1. Adaptability Futsal is a game that can be played on any hard surface, indoors and outdoors. A gymnasium, a cafeteria, a convention hall or a parking lot, a skating rink, a tennis court or anything else. All you need is a ball and shoes. It also happens to be the perfect addition to soccer. Almost any soccer tactical session can be adapted to be played on a futsal court or vise versa. It is perfect for training concepts on the “micro”, younger age groups, before bringing it to the big 11v11 soccer field. 2. Improves Athletic Intelligence Futsal's fast-paced and non stop nature aids in improving a player’s spatial intelligence and ability to learn to read the game in a short time period under pressure. 3. Speed of Play The futsal small playing area requires players to not only play quicker but also to think quicker and make faster decisions. In futsal, you only have a split second to decide what to do with the ball before you are put under high pressure. 4. Ball Skills and Control As per Dr. Emilio Miranda from Sao Paolo University, a futsal player will have 600% more touches on the ball during a futsal game, than a soccer player will have in a soccer game. This naturally aids players to master their touch on the ball and give them confidence to hold on to the ball more, than just kicking it way out of fear of losing it, as well make them more confident in taking on players in a 1v1 situation. 5. Creativity In our opinion the single most important reason to play futsal is that it encourages players to be creative and think out of the box. Because the futsal court is much smaller than a soccer field, and a player gets so much more touches on the ball, they try things that they would never risk doing on the soccer field. As the director of Central Jersey Futsal, I have watched over the years, girls’ teams increase in numbers and in their quality of play. I thought about why we are witnessing such a growth in the girl’s futsal game and these are the five top reasons I came up with. NO CONCUSSIONS The biggest and most important reason in my opinion is the hardly any concussion effect. In outdoor soccer where players must head the ball as part of the game, concussion numbers are through the roof. It has gotten so bad that US Youth Soccer instituted a rule change that players could not head the ball until the age of 11. That means all 10-year-old players and younger are not allowed to head the ball which takes away a major part of the soccer game as well as the fun of it, but safety must come first. The number of concussions is even higher among female players at all ages. Yes, even the older more developed ages all the way to college and pro players. Well problem is solved, as futsal uses a low bouncing ball and the game is mostly concentrated around foot skills. The ball does not get lifted off the ground at high levels very often and for those players that do lift the ball, the recipients of those high balls are taught to control the ball with other parts of their bodies rather than their head. Furthermore because of the limited playing space it is not often that players will try and serve a high ball for a header. Long balls and high crosses are not a normal part of a futsal game. SIZE IS NOT NEEDED It is well documented that American soccer coaches love size gifted players. On both sides of the game, boys and girls, American youth teams have been traditionally known to be dominated by tall, fast, physical kids, relying mostly on the size and not on their skills. This is where futsal is a game changer as it primarily needs quality skills from its players to be successful and size comes a far distant second. Futsal is the breeding ground for the development of skills which will massively aid the outdoor soccer game of any player. Now, smaller female players with great technical skills have an outlet to play and excel after they have been constantly told by outdoor soccer coaches that although they are good players, their luck of size will not get them far in the game. HIGHER IQ AT YOUTH AGE It is well documented that girls mature faster at the younger starter ages than boys do. In fact, the college recruiting process starts a year earlier for the girls than the boys. Girls are much more coachable and their ability to absorb information is much higher at the younger ages. Futsal requires earlier and faster information absorption so female players can find themselves excelling at futsal much younger than boys. Exposing female players to futsal development at the starter ages of 3 to 7 years of age will set them to a path of skill development that will make them fall in love with the sport much quicker than boys. EARLIER DEVELOPMENT This reason goes hand in hand with the previous one mentioned. Because of the IQ girls seem to possess at the younger ages, futsal is the perfect tool to not only provide a much higher accelerated rate of skill development but allow the female player the chance to succeed at a younger age. This will naturally provide the female player the desire to compete harder at higher levels. Lastly a smaller female player with out of this world skills, developed at a young age through futsal, may give her that opportunity to have her size overlooked by coaches. FUN, FAST, FURIOUS This next reason is why all soccer players, parents and coaches fall in love with the sport. Futsal is extremely fast paced, with constant nonstop action, and lots of goals. Players are around the ball and are involved in the action all the time. There is no down time. No time for a player to get bored. They must always be engaged in the game. Players surveyed on why they play soccer mentioned as top two reasons, kicking the ball and scoring goals. Futsal satisfies both of those needs on a much higher level that soccer does. This also happens to be the number one reason mentioned by all parents that watch a futsal game for the first time. They all love the nonstop action and goals. Loving something you do will make you do it for ever. Experiencing futsal and falling in love with it is why the sport will have a much higher appeal rate than soccer as well as retention rate. Futsal will help not only develop top soccer players but keep youth soccer players involved in soccer much longer and help decline the drop off rate. Top soccer players control the ball with the sole of their foot no matter what surface they play on or what format, 11v11, 7v7, 5v5 – even if the ball is coming really fast they will take it with the sole of their foot.
Being able to use the sole of your foot is more than just a precise way to stop the ball; it also gives you options to instantly move the ball in any direction. It’s a point that you really need to understand. What are the reasons most of us don’t use our sole enough? In the US almost every single youth soccer players begins playing soccer on grass or turf surfaces by most often volunteer soccer coaches and when players try to control the ball with the sole of their foot, it's encouraged by the coaches to use their instep leading to the sole being coached out of the players. Some coaches might say that using your sole in an outdoor game is backward-thinking mentality and there are good reasons for not using the sole (or at least using it more sparingly) in the full 11-a-side game mostly for the following reasons:
However in a futsal game the use of the sole is vital. Futsal sets your foot sole free The sole of your foot can be used for trapping, receiving, rolling and passing the ball, and it doesn’t have the challenges of the outdoor soccer game. You’re wearing flat soled boots, plus the futsal court will be even and consistent all over. If you’re playing outdoors, however, the one thing you do still need to watch out for is the rain. That little bit of extra moisture on the ground will make contact between your boot and the ball a bit more unpredictable. The huge benefits of using the sole The foot sole provides a larger surface area with which you can control the ball, than any other part of the foot, and allows you to move the ball around the court while still keeping contact with it. What that means is that you can move the ball forwards, backwards or to either side quickly in order to get you out of any tight spots. It’s what makes the really good players look so tricky. One look at the top players will make you realize how much they rely on using the sole of the foot. Watch the great Ricardinho play futsal and every other touch seems to be with the sole of the foot. Because of how unique the sole of the foot is, it allows movement to any direction, opens up many different moves like spin, faint, sidestep, roll. You can pretty much use it for anything. |
AuthorNiko is someone who believes passionately that futsal should be intentionally used as a tool for developing soccer players year-round and come first in the developing process at the younger starter age groups of 3-12 years of age. He has a massive amount of experiences, observations, thoughts and ideas from being submerged in the futsal community as a player, coach and operations director waiting to be released that could truly benefit the futsal community as well as the soccer coach that is just getting into the futsal methodology as a soccer development tool as well as the futsal game itself Archives
August 2021
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