Futsal: the Future of US Soccer?

[revelationx]

Playing Futsal at a young age is hugely advantageous in developing close control and technique.

If this is widely adopted by American youth then you'll be further down the path to developing the American Ronaldinho. So in other words it will be a good idea to implement it.

[antifan]

In Europe and South America, all the basketball courts double as futsal courts.

Just stick a small goal by each hoop.

What I would give for more of these types of courts here in the U.S. They're so much fun to play on.
There's an basketball court in just about every school in the country. Why no one has made an effort to promote futsal yet is a mystery to me. Actually its not, i only heard of the game a few years ago. He're a link to the rules of the game with a description of the court;

http://www.fifa.com/en/regulations/regulation/0,1584,13,00.html

It even looks like the penalty area is about the same as the high school three point line. Like you say, all you need is the goals, and the ball. Do they even sell Futsal balls in this country?

[Wildcatter Orange]

Do they even sell Futsal balls in this country?

Nike gave every kid who participated in Joga Bonita a free futsal ball, I believe.

[antifan]

Nike gave every kid who participated in Joga Bonita a free futsal ball, I believe.
Thanks, I looked into it online, and they sell them at Walmart, so availabilty shouldn't be a huge problem.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product... (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=5026740&sourceid=0100000030910868402498)

The goals are harder to find and pretty expensive, 540 bucks for the one i saw at buy.com.
http://www.buy.com/retail/Product... (http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.asp?sku=200792033&SearchEngine=NexTag&Type=PE&Keyword=200792033&Category=Sport&adid=17662)
Edit: Or Amazon has the KwikGoal Portable Futsal Goal for $570 a pair.

[sidefootsitter]

http://www.esoccergoals.com/recommended-usage/products.cfm?action=view&key=HX059

you can play futsal with even these goals (8'x6'), about $100 ....

[HSEUPASSION]

I much prefer Futsal to indoor. The temptation to kick the ball off the walls is just too much for kids, and indoor doesn't stress control the way futsal does.

I agree with this. Futsal stresses control, Indoor soccer is all about high scoring.

Futsal is just as fun to play as indoor aswell.

[bmurphyfl]

Here's an article from Atlanta about them replacing tennis courts with soccer courts.

It's an old article so I had to use the Google cached version:

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:3_vMxCP3J_wJ:www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/0623metsoccer.html+tennis+courts+soccer+atlanta&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

And if you want to get angry, check out this article about some of the Lost Boys from Sudan being blocked from using the local baseball fields in GA to play soccer:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/0708metsoccer.html

There will be nothing but baseball down there as long as I am mayor," said Swaney, who is serving his fifth year.

Lastly, here's the link for the Soccer In the Streets organization if anyone wants to get involve or volunteer:

http://www.soccerinthestreets.org/

[ETucker]

Futsal would be fantastic for US players.

The heavy ball makes taking on another player 1 v. 1 very difficult and also limits the aerial game. Thus, players can't rely on tunnel vision/footskills and have to improve their vision, touch, and movement off and on the ball. They also can't just resort to hurling long balls.

In Argentina it's called "Futbol Cinco" and you can't go more than two city blocks in Buenos Aires without running into a pitch (Canchita)! And everyone knows the Argentines have pretty decent vision and first touch. Mere coincidence?....

If anyone lives in DC, there's a futsal league in Dupont and at Georgetown me and some other students play once a week in the basketball court....

[purojogo]

when it comes to hoing skills alone...adn mybe i am jumping the gun here....

from watching Fox Sports, the Latin American version......saw two thing that could perhpas be used, although it might apply more to youth players

-'Futbol tenis' putting a net -about a meter high in the middle and using the ground a a sort of ping-pong table -delineated to be a rectangle of about 6 meters by 3 meters -my guess-.... it is good for control the ball and accurate passing,heading of balls,chest trapping usually 1v1 or 2v2 limited number of touches per side so learning good ball control is essential....

Futevoley....or wahtever teh Brazilians call it... this time the net is at an altitude of veolleyball and can be played 2-3-4-5 on each side using only feet
and if you have beaches like those in Brazil all the better....


IN adition to futsal i mean.....
they seem to be other forms of cheap alternatives to improve-develop some skills and hopefully players....

[deron]

Are we sure the Brazillians are good because they play futsal or some other game? Or... are they good because they play and play and play and play no matter what no matter where?

US kids could play all the games that makes the rest of the world good, but if they don't put in the same amount of time then I don't see the games having any more effect.

[USASoccerFanatic]

did you guys know that eric wynalds used to play futsal?

[sidefootsitter]

Are we sure the Brazillians are good because they play futsal or some other game? Or... are they good because they play and play and play and play no matter what no matter where?... They're good because they have great football academies, a fantastic group of athletes and a tremendous love of the game.

[deron]

They're good because they have great football academies, a fantastic group of athletes and a tremendous love of the game.

Are they known for their academies? I've always associated Holland with the academies, and Brazil with the street. I didn't know Brazil had good academies.

[sidefootsitter]

Are they known for their academies? I've always associated Holland with the academies, and Brazil with the street. I didn't know Brazil had good academies. They have great academies... they export thousands of players each year. We just know of the guys who go to big clubs but there are Brazilian players all over the world. IIRC, there were something like 30,000 in total.

[swedust]

I do believe that the mark of the next era for USSF will be going beyond just promoting international soccer and getting people to games + getting games on TV. Turning more attention towards grassroots development of the game (i.e., not just making the Bradenton class bigger) will be a sign the federation has taken a step forward.

Futsal would be a great place to start, but let me utter soccer purist sacrilege (or is it heresy? I can't keep it straight...) and suggest that the name needs to be Americanized for it to gain popularity. In the US, kids should be encouraged to play "court soccer."

[HSEUPASSION]

Thanks, I looked into it online, and they sell them at Walmart, so availabilty shouldn't be a huge problem.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product... (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=5026740&sourceid=0100000030910868402498)

The goals are harder to find and pretty expensive, 540 bucks for the one i saw at buy.com.
http://www.buy.com/retail/Product... (http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.asp?sku=200792033&SearchEngine=NexTag&Type=PE&Keyword=200792033&Category=Sport&adid=17662)
Edit: Or Amazon has the KwikGoal Portable Futsal Goal for $570 a pair.

I got a 5-a-side goal for like $50. I'm sure those are a viable option aswell.

Futsal's laws are flexable enough that you can play it on a basketball sized court (28m long x 15m wide).

[leg_breaker]

But those who survive these pitfalls end up with superior ball handling qualities, just like the Brasilians and the Dutch do by playing in the streets.

Playing on lumpy surfaces full of obstacles just encourages long balls, as it's the only reliable way to move the ball up the pitch. Brasilians might play on the streets or on dirt fields, but they're flat and hard.

[feyenoordsoccerfan]

Playing on lumpy surfaces full of obstacles just encourages long balls, as it's the only reliable way to move the ball up the pitch. Brasilians might play on the streets or on dirt fields, but they're flat and hard.
In the old days, before city councils started to tarmac a great number of streets, the Dutch played on cobble stones, that were indeed very hard, but by no way flat:)
But we should not forget that futsal is great for learning controlling the ball, but it is no substitute for the need to develop spatial awareness etc.

[ButlerBob]

They're good because they have great football academies, a fantastic group of athletes and a tremendous love of the game.


They have great academies, but what do they have most of their younger players play...futsal. I was in Brazil last year for two weeks with two soccer teams. Pretty much every where you go, there are futsal courts or combo basketball/futsal courts. One of the clubs that we had our teams train with mentioned that with the younger kids they consentrate on futsal. They do this so that they get used to working with the ball and the skills involved with that.

I think in the US that futsal would be a great tool to spread the game in the urban areas. Like was mentioned earlier there are tons of basketball courts every where. Earlier this year I organized a weekly pick up soccer game. Most of the times we only got 6 - 8 people. When this happened we would play futlsal on a nearby basketball court.

[JohnR]

Thus, players can't rely on tunnel vision/footskills and have to improve their vision, touch, and movement off and on the ball.

Exactly!

People think of Brazilian ball as this brain-dead, solo tricks thing. But as you point out, it's really the opposite. American youth soccer is solo big fast guy running. Futsal is a lot of quick touches & flicks, using the teammates.

My kid and friends played in one of those Joga Bonita tournaments. At club, they're all fast dribbling solo hotshots. But they learned quickly that they had to move the ball quickly, creatively, and with precision, and that their touch in receiving had to be correct. They started to work with each other much more than they do in regular club soccer.

My kid's club coach next year is Brazilian. I'm told that indoors, he sometimes brings out the futsal and has them work with that. Should be fun.