By David Knopf
Futsal World Editor
davidknopf48@gmail.com
Trevor and Kyle Gee had already experienced an innovative
approach to futsal training at the Barefoot Futsal Academy in Charlotte, N.C.
It’s a facility where instructors Guillermo Uribe and Paul Roderique not only
have players train in their bare feet, but emphasize freedom of expression
where players are encouraged to develop the technical skill and courage to
take opponents on anywhere on the court.
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Pictured, from left, Yang Scofano, a Brazilian trainer, Trevor Gee and Kyle Gee. |
But even the advanced training techniques in Charlotte
couldn’t compare to what the boys discovered during a two-month immersion at a
futsal academy in Curitiba, Brazil.
Trevor, 10, and Kyle, 9, were able to make the trip thanks to Uribe’s connection with Yang Scofano, a Brazilian who runs a futsal center in
Charleston, S.C. Scofano was sending his 10-year-old son home to live with his
mother in Brazil for the summer, and attend the storied futsal academy.
“I said Yang, I’ve got a kid who’d be perfect for that,”
Uribe recalls telling Scofano. “I’ve never had a kid as good as that (Trevor).
He needs to see that and get pushed by it. It’s hardcore. You’re going to live
there, you’re going to train 20 hours a week.”
Eventually, both of Rod Gee’s sons were granted permission
to attend the academy and spent two months in Brazil with their father, whose job as a
commercial real-estate marketer gave him the freedom to travel and work outside the
office.
Trevor and Kyle trained with Brazilian boys their
own age, most of whom spoke Portuguese and a few words of English. While they
were in Curitiba, the Americans took lessons in Portuguese to improve their ability to communicate.
Rod Gee said the academy’s advanced training level was
everything that Uribe predicted.
“The biggest thing that was different was that when they
were doing drills they were more game-like, where they work on quick transition
to attack or counter-attacking,” said Gee, who played college soccer at George
Washington University. “They really want to emphasize the transition part.”
The speed of play was also a step up from what Trevor and
Kyle were used to, he said.
“It was definitely quicker and faster,” Gee said.
While the Brazilian parents were generally complimentary of
the Americans’ ability, even with their year and a half of futsal training in
Charlotte they still tended to use outdoor techniques instead of futsal-specific skills such as trapping and turning with the sole, and shooting with the toe.
“Some of the parents said they were decent, but they were
still soccer players,” Gee said.
The academy in Curitiba has trained players who went on to play professionally at top European clubs. Like their peers in Brazil, the players were exclusively developed through futsal until they 13. The futsal culture in Brazil serves as the nucleus for the larger soccer culture.
“Going to Brazil and playing at these clubs is an ultimate
soccer experience,” said Gee, who hopes to return with Trevor and Kyle someday.
“I hope it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
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| Guillermo Uribe |
The boys are back in Charlotte now, where Uribe and
Roderique work with them and other academy participants three times a week.
They train twice a week, then use the third day to play futsal games.
Barefoot Futsal and its associated U.S. Youth Futsal winter
league, while not as intense as the Brazilian futsal experience, contain
elements of it, Roderique said.
“We believe we are replicating a lot of that with our
academy,” he said.
He and Uribe, both outdoor soccer coaches for years, made
the transition to pure futsal training techniques about 18 months ago. “I’ve
coached outdoor soccer for 20 years, and this is the best system I’ve
encountered,” Roderique said.
The proof comes, he and Uribe say, when Barefoot players are
organized into outdoor teams and travel to play in tournaments.
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| Paul Roderique |
“When we travel, our kids stand out,” Roderique said, “their
foot skills, the players who are willing to take players on anywhere on the
field.”
Though he was born in the U.S., Uribe spent summers in his
family’s native Colombia and learned about futsal. In developing his own
philosophy, he eliminated shoes from most training sessions so the players
would develop a more intimate feel for the ball.
“When you’re going barefoot, there’s no middle man between
the ball, the foot or the brain,” he said.
Players learn how to correctly strike the ball, in part because of the pain they encounter when they use a more vulnerable part of the foot.
“It basically teaches itself,” said Uribe. “There is no
better way to develop or train than with bare feet.”
The goal, he said, is to develop “a true futsaler,” who
plays with proper futsal techniques minus the shoes.
“It’s like you playing the piano or guitar with gloves on,”
he said.
Uribe said that he and Roderique have also adopted the South
American custom of training to salsa and other musical genres where the
beats-per-minute can be adjusted to dictate the tempo at which the kids play.
“In South America, there’s always some music out there,”
Uribe said. “It’s my way to bridge the gap. I’m not going to get American kids
to play 20 hours a week,” as is customary in Brazil and other South American
countries.
Uribe said that he and Roderique also face the challenge of
convincing parents to go against the grain of the soccer culture around them.
“You have to have a buy-in,” he said. “The parents have
soccer teams and clubs around them, and let’s face it, the kids go to school
and everyone’s on a soccer team.”
Barefoot Futsal players may travel to friendly tournaments
and play in their futsal league in the winter, but the emphasis is on technical
ability, developing an intimate relationship with the ball and the confidence
to take opponents on. Winning on the weekend, a prime goal in the outdoor
soccer world, will come later, Uribe said.
“The challenge is to build the new breed, the futsaler,” he
said, “using your sole, using your toe. It’s been a fun ride so far. The kids
are so pliable at this age. They’re just sponges.”
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You can learn more about Barefoot Futsal at http://www.f5futsal.com/Home.html
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