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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Video Picks: Lights, Camera, Action



Well-produced highlights video from the 2009 UEFA Futsal Championships in Russia. The highlights – with a helpful emphasis on feet as players maneuver with the ball – are interspersed with interviews and commentary, either in English or with subtitles. Well done, UEFA!


Falcao: Every which way but loose
We’ve clearly included these “top futsal goal” choices in a previous newsletter. Why post them again now? In light of Falcao’s very viral free kick goal in a recent exhibition, we feel obliged to repeat ourselves but include a question. How does the spinning free kick Golaso compare, say, to the Falcao rainbow-header goal here? Let us know which is your preference and why, and we’ll print your comment. Email it to the editor at davidknopf48@gmail.com. Include your name, city and anything else you’d like. FYI: Falcao’s goal is the fourth in this video, but the others aren’t exactly cream cheese, either. Some of these are so good they need to be viewed in slow motion to get the full effect of the footwork.


And for a point of reference, here’s Falcao’s well-executed training-ground goal you’ve probably seen before … the goal’s so popular, there are probably a dozen You Tube versions, one with 272,000 plays. That’s what we like to see … the word “futsal” on all those computer monitors. The only thing we don’t like about Falcao is that little squiggly-doober over the letter “A” in his name. OK, Mr. Wiseguy, it’s Falcão.


We "liked" futsal goalkeeping coach Andy Reading. Have you?
Check a preview of the new training video that Andy Reading, the English futsal goalkeeping coach, is working on. If you think his series would be useful, search for “Andy Reading” on Facebook and “like” his page and you’ll receive updates. Andy was recently featured in our newsletter in a two-part Q&A.


Want to keep up with futsal videos in between newsletters? John Hassis, videographer and all-around promoter of United States Youth Futsal, posts frequent video links on the USYF Facebook page. "Like" the page and bring the results of John's video scouting into the comfort of your own home. Here's the link:


Hot Links from the Futsal Griddle: Here, There, Everywhere



USYF Leagues


A Cape Cod Futsal girls' team.
Cape Cod Futsal, a USYF affiliate, is the subject of a feature story in The Barnstable Patriot, a local newspaper.




Our friend Luis Orellana, president of USYF Naples Futsal and the new USYF Bonita Futsal in Bonita Springs, both in Florida, has it right. Futsal's where you find it ... even a pickup game on a tennis court will work.


Futsal taking hold in Wales


Announcement of a new nine-team futsal league in Newport, Wales. The league follows an established eight-team league in Wrexham, also in Wales. Both leagues are endorsed by the Wales Futsal Trust, which appointed a futsal development officer. Wales in part of the United Kingdom and is located on the west coast of the same land mass that includes England and Scotland. Ireland and Northern Ireland occupy a separate island west of Wales.

 

Futsal Wales is keeping an eye on United States Youth Futsal, too. Good decision, lads. And good luck to you. Check the repost of our comparison of futsal and walled hockey rink soccer.




More on the English/U.S. relationship


The reality – and possible danger – of American footie culture thinking everything English is better than American when it comes to the international game is examined in this Match Fit USA post. It ties into our theme this month that, when it comes to futsal, the US and England are pretty much in the same boat developmentally.


This was written in 2010 (before the (outdoor) FIFA World Cup), when ESPN announced its hiring of Englishman Ian Darke to call some of the games. Brian Phillips’ “Run of Play” blog post analyzes the love-hate relationship between England and the USA when it comes to influences on the world’s game.


Peter Strugess, England's National Futsal Team coach
Here’s an interview with Peter Sturgess, head of England’s National Futsal Team and program for developing youth players.

Pretty serious about futsal, UEFA is


How serious is UEFA about futsal? Serious enough to produce a video on the roles of futsal officials.

 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Success has been plentiful, but opportunity still abounds for USYF, futsal in the U.S.



By David Knopf
Futsal World Editor

Over the past year, we've read about the achievements and growing sphere of influence of United States Youth Futsal, an organization that was well-represented at a coaches' clinic in Spain and recently welcomed Keith Tozer, the U.S. National Futsal Team coach, as the owner of a new USYF affiliate in Wisconsin.
Keith Tozer, U.S. National Futsal Coach and USYF league owner.

Tozer, a former national team player himself, has announced plans to begin a Milwaukee-area USYF league in 2013 and has already organized a series of futsal tournaments in conjunction with the Milwaukee Wave, the team he has long coached in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Luke Stauffer
We've also learned how Luke Stauffer became the first USYF-bred futsal-specific player to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team. It's a breakthrough Tozer and USYF leaders hope eventually will develop into a pipeline for the national team, which has long relied on crossover MISL players. Quickly trained, those indoor players have been asked not only to adjust to a different game, but to compete against increasingly sophisticated, well-organized CONCACAF teams with futsal-specific players.

That task is becoming less and less realistic, but as a new generation of American futsal-developed players emerges there's hope the U.S. can field a competitive side.

Also encouraging are the innovative training methods that USYF affiliates such as Barefoot Futsal in Charlotte, N.C. are using in conjunction with their leagues to develop young futsal players who can think quickly, have the foot skills to maneuver away from pressure in tight spaces and can combine with their teammates.
Sporting KC academy players compete at futsal each winter.

In Kansas City, where USYF was born 15 years ago, the academy teams from Major League Soccer's Sporting KC franchise compete at futsal each winter. The director of the club's youth program was himself a National Team futsal player, as was the head coach of the MLS team.

Similarly, there are USYF league owners on both coasts and the Cleveland-Akron area who represented the U.S. in futsal internationally and are now translating their experiences into opportunities for young players.

It's an encouraging time, but there's still much work to do.
As USYF builds futsal at the grassroots level, there have been rumblings, rumors, suggestions and dreams about futsal becoming more than what it is now -- a youth sport for the offseason and an excellent training tool for players of the outdoor game.

Many of us envision futsal as a sanctioned sport for high schools and colleges, a reality already in place for a college conference in Western Canada. In fact, a player for one of the colleges in the conference recently wrote the newsletter to say that he's on scholarship to compete in futsal and soccer and that others, male and female, should apply, too.

While there's always resistance to change -- ask anyone who's tried to add a soccer program at a high school where there is none -- it's realistic to imagine high schools and colleges with established soccer teams to transition them into winter futsal programs.

The Olds College Broncos of  Canada play futsal in their conference.
Aside from travel, most of the infrastructure -- players, coaches, uniforms, gyms, buses and bus drivers -- already exists. Add futsal goals and balls and certify referees, and you're in business.

Of course, selling the idea to state athletic authorities, local school boards and athletic directors -- and coming up with funding --– are big hurdles, but hurdles that promoters of school soccer have already overcome.

With vision and persistence, it can happen for futsal and be a natural outgrowth of what forward-looking organizations such as USYF have already accomplished.

Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Certainly not.

The same can be said for a semi-professional or professional futsal league in the U.S. It's a popular conversation topic among the game's advocates and participants, and a topic that Tim Sheldon recently addressed in a www.futsalonline.com column.

Having the MISL convert to futsal  has been the topic of speculation.
In his column, Sheldon -- a longtime observer and supporter of the game -- suggested that MISL consider converting from its current model of walled indoor soccer to futsal. The obvious advantages would be that an existing infrastructure -- a league organization, franchises, franchise front offices and staff, name recognition, a fan following, players and coaches etc. -- are all in place.

The disadvantages, of course, are equal or greater. While indoor soccer with walls is an outmoded model in increasingly soccer-sophisticated America and Canada, there's no way to know how diehard bang-it-off-the-wall indoor fans would respond to the finesse and smaller scale of futsal.

The guess here is that many of those fans are rooted in indoor soccer's hockey heritage. It would take a major miracle for the league and club owners to risk whatever already-small financial equity their sport possesses on something newd.

Were Keith Tozer to successfully argue for a transition to professional futsal -- and we have no idea what his position would be on such a transformation -- it would be a leap forward for those of us who see all the advantages that exist in replacing indoor soccer with pro futsal.

It would give our game additional exposure, provide the better players in USYF leagues something to aim for and would develop players for Tozer's national team.

The reality, however, is that developing a pro or semi-pro futsal league (or leagues in different parts of the country) from scratch is more likely. Many have suggested the games could be played in large high school or small college gyms -- where costs would be lower -- on a regional basis where travel times and expenses would be less, too. 

Such a model might include a team from St. Louis, for example, playing teams in Kansas City, Chicago, Milwaukee, Wichita, Springfield and Tulsa. The natural set-up would be to have professional franchises in cities with strong USYF leagues ... places where a pipeline of futsal-specific players would already exist.

If it's hard to envision a future with professional futsal in the U.S. and Canada –- or, for that matter, high school and college futsal –- just consider what the prospects were for a pro outdoor league in North America in the early 1990s. Not very promising, right? 

Today, MLS is firmly entrenched and has a bright future. There's no reason why futsal, on a proportionately smaller scale, couldn't enjoy the same success.

Stay tuned.


If you'd like to comment, feel free to write Futsal World Editor David Knopf at davidknopf48@gmail.com.

England, U.S. face similar opportunities, challenges in futsal



By David Knopf
Futsal World Editor

As we turn the corner on a new year, it's as good a time as any to reflect on where we've been and where we're headed.

John Sciore
United States Youth Futsal's seen great grown, in part because of progressive, hard-working leadership, an entrepreneurial model and the support of people like Development Director John Sciore, who not only runs a very successful USYF league of his own in St. Louis, but hosts a regional tournament and manages our national tournament, which takes place in Gardner, Kan., a Kansas City suburb, Feb. 15-18.

As many of you know, when John receives an inquiry from a potential league owner he follows up – and stays involved as the individual is guided through the maze of finding a facility, marketing the new league, recruiting teams, securing licensed referees, purchasing goals and balls, and soliciting media interest in futsal, what for many can be a strange new word (and world).

I know from my own experience as a traveler in the futsal wilderness – I started the first sanctioned league in Missouri in 1997 with four teams – it can be a discouraging job without some direction and support.

Part of the process is educating soccer coaches, players and parents on the game’s value and its international presence. Few may care at first that USYF is affiliated with US Soccer – which officially has come out in support of futsal in the development of youth players – or that our national organization is part of FIFA, which recognizes futsal as the official indoor game for all the soccer-playing nations in the world.

Futsal's a very big deal in other regions – Europe, South America and increasingly Asia – with well-attended, televised and very competitive international competitions such as the Futsal World Cup and the UEFA and Asian futsal championships.

The game is still at a developing stage in North America, Central America, Africa and, surprisingly, countries like England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, for which North Americans feel a special bond.

***

One of the goals of the Futsal World newsletter is to chart the growth of USYF – the creation and growth of new leagues, special events such as the coaches' clinics held in conjunction with the national championship, as well as the success of players, coaches and organizers of our member leagues.

While we observe our own growth, it's also instructive to see what's happening elsewhere, in places where the traditions and obstacles encountered are similar to our own.

With that in mind, we've spent time the past few months corresponding with a professional player, goalkeeping coach and blogger in England who are all involved in English futsal.

Doug Reed, Andy Reading and others – this month we introduce a new contact with futsal organizers in Wales – are as enthusiastic about futsal as we are here. We’re enjoying some of the same successes and facing similar challenges.

Even with the adoption of futsal by the English Football Association, for example, England lacks a professional league and the English National Futsal Team, though improving, remains several notches below the better European teams.

Another parallel – one linked closely to the English influence on outdoor soccer in the U.S. and Canada – is the obstacle English futsal supporters face in 5-a-side soccer, a small-sided game the Brits have long played in the winter and when weather forces them indoors.

The game has some similarities to futsal – smaller field, four field players and a goalie, more touches – but there are significant differences. For one thing, the game is played with a regulation high-bounce outdoor ball and players are not only allowed, but encouraged, to use boards that enclose the field for passing.

Promoters of 5-a-side laud the walls for keeping the ball in play and avoiding unnecessary stoppages, but any knowledgeable futsal participant will quickly point out that learning to accomplish the same things with your feet is far better than relying on a man-made barrier.

English 5-a-side, played indoors and out, has much in common with indoor soccer.
When the English came here in numbers to play and coach in the North American Soccer League, they brought the basic concept of 5-a-side with them. Given North Americans' familiarity with hockey and the existence of hockey arenas, English, Welsh and Irish organizers and promoters who set up shop here adapted their game to our facilities.

As a result, not only did NASL teams field indoor teams in a winter league – the future Major Indoor Soccer League – but many of the same entrepreneurs built or converted facilities for indoor youth leagues. Just as the English/Irish/Scottish preference for physical, direct soccer became imbedded in the outdoor game in North America, so did the traditional 5-a-side game – the high-bouncing ball, dasher boards, ricochets and wall passes and rebounds all became part of the North American mentality.

Fortunately, thanks to futsal that’s gradually changing. At the professional level, the indoor game is at best a fringe sport and a growing share of the youth market has been won over by futsal.
An indoor soccer game in the old North American Soccer League.

But clearly, the process isn’t a revolution, but evolution. Shedding tradition to adopt something new doesn't happen overnight, but it begins to occur as people come to understand the benefits.

In some respects, the U.S. is ahead of England – its footie forefather – in youth futsal. It was only recently, in May 2012, that the English Football Association broadly endorsed small-sided play for youth through U-12, as The Telegraph newspaper of London put it, "for the future good of England".

US Soccer came to the same conclusion several years earlier – that more touches in a smaller area with greater emphasis on development over winning was desirable.

Realistically, it was the international outdoor success of nations such as Spain, Italy and Portugal in Europe that opened eyes in England and Ireland that their soccer-development models were outmoded. It's no coincidence that each of those countries they emulated – much like Brazil in our own hemisphere – had
a professional futsal league that played at the highest level.

While the U.S. may be further along than England in creating youth futsal leagues, England, Ireland and now Wales (read about it elsewhere in this newsletter) have all placed a greater emphasis on forming national adult teams, many of which are affiliated at some level with universities or professional clubs.

In addition, the English and Irish, though their football associations, have relied more more on school futsal to develop young players. By contrast, through organizations such as USYF, the U.S. is depending on entrepreneurs and associations to develop futsal opportunities for kids.

The path these countries choose isn't as important as their ultimate destination – greater development of skillful players for the youth outdoor game, as well as the technical foundation for stronger national futsal and full-field, senior-level outdoor teams.

You’ve read here about the USYF player who, at 16, became the first player developed through futsal to win a spot on the U.S. National Futsal Team. That’s just the beginning. In 10 or 15 years, we’ll look back and that will be commonplace.

What's interesting is that England, with its 5-a-side format, and North America, with its 5-a-side/hockey arena derivative – are facing a common opponent: tradition.

As Martin Luther King might have said, that, too, can be overcome.

We welcome your comments. Write Futsal World at davidknopf48@gmail.com. Include your name and a daytime phone number so we can contact you if needed.