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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Editor's Take: Steps in the Right Direction for U.S. Futsal



The U.S. National Futsal Team, under coaches Keith Tozer, right, and Vava Marques defeated England, Malaysia and Poland to win the FA Four Nations Tournament in Newcastle, England.

By David Knopf
Futsal World Editor

A little wisdom and encouragement are in order following the U.S. National Futsal team’s surprising results at the FA Four Nations Futsal Tournament in Newcastle, England.

If you’re reading this, chances are good you already know Keith Tozer’s team defeated host England 2-1, Malaysia 8-0 and Poland 4-2 to bring home its first title in recent memory.

It’s remarkable that Tozer and longtime assistant Vava Marques achieved so much with largely the same group of part-time futsal players that was eliminated from 2012 World Cup competition at the CONCACAF regional qualifier.

But things are changing, both with U.S. Soccer’s growing regard for futsal as a factor in the development of youth
players and the partnership of Tozer, Marques and United States Youth Futsal in already producing a promising national-team player from the futsal grassroots  in Lucas Stauffer.

Stauffer, in part a product of his father’s USYF-affiliated SportsTutor Futsal Academy in Owensboro, Ky.,
scored twice in the title game against Poland and is just 18. He's also a talented outdoor player.

What’s ironic is that the U.S. might not have gone to England had the Pan American Games not decided to eliminate futsal from its next competition. U.S. Soccer had already approved the trip for Tozer’s team, which was able to play in the Four Nations Tournament instead.

"It was a blessing in disguise, how we played and all the contacts we made there with the FA (Football Association)," Tozer said.

Marques, like Tozer, is the owner of a USYF league. They’ve coached together 15 years, often with national teams cobbled together in quick order with indoor soccer players. 
The Tozer-Marques partnership had achieved respectable results under the circumstances, at least until other nations in CONCACAF stepped up their futsal involvement and U.S. Soccer hung tough with the status quo.

“It definitely hurt us big-time in the qualifications because we hadn’t played much,” Marques said after the England trip. “Every tournament we’re going to have four or five players who hadn’t played futsal before.”

Lucas Stauffer may not be a Falcao, Kike or Fernandinho, but he is a model of what the U.S. can produce with players who grew up with futsal and are experienced. And he’s just the first gem in what Tozer, Marques and USYF hope to discover in a series of Futsal I.D. camps in the next year.

The first was held in Kansas City this year and four others are planned in different parts of the country, including Cleveland, Boston, Dallas and San Diego, all strong USYF markets. The long-range plan is to identify youth players at those camps who will form regional teams and eventually feed the national program.

"Hopefully, we'll find another Lucas Stauffer," Tozer said. "They're out there."

With the number of players involved with futsal, it’s only a matter of time until Tozer’s MISL players give way to a generation of players brought up with the game.

It’s an exciting development, but one that will take time to achieve. The encouraging thing is that U.S. Soccer appears headed in the right direction with its recent inclusion of futsal in the annual schedule of the new U13-14 youth national team.

And aside from the pleasing results in England, Tozer and Marques came home with an invitation to play in a November international tournament in Poland. With its success at the Four Nations tournament, it’s hard to imagine U.S. Soccer not approving its team’s involvement.

Tozer said after the tournament that the national federation was thrilled by the result, and rightly so.

"It came at a great time for us," Tozer said. "We talked among the coaches that we needed a result."

As you’ve read in the newsletter in recent issues, England has taken huge strides to catch up with its European competition in futsal. Peter Sturgess, the FA-appointed manager, has done more than improved the Three Lions in the 5v5 game ­– he's developed a national structure for futsal at the youth and adult level that currently surpasses what we have here.

In separate phone conversations, Tozer and Marques each made note of the national scope of the FA’s plan.

“England is very organized and way ahead of us,” Marques said. “I was really surprised how organized they are, how they’re taking futsal as part of the (national) program.”

Acccording to Tozer, eight regional directors work under Peter Sturgess, with each director overseeing the futsal development of around 160 players. The regional groups get together for four tournaments a year, he said.

As we’ve reported in previous newsletters, England sees the success outdoors of Spain, Italy and Brazil, and blames a share of its recent international 11v11 shortcomings on its failure to embrace futsal for youth development the way those powerhouses have.

In comparison, Marques thinks the U.S. is headed in the right direction, however gradually.

“We’re taking baby steps, but we need to do what the FA is doing,” he said.

But Marques acknowledges that imposing a national futsal program is far easier in a compact country – England is roughly the size of Oregon – than in the sprawling U.S.

That being said, U.S. Soccer, the Tozer-Marques futsal team and USYF have taken steps recently that are encouraging. 

Until the ID camps, propose regional teams and U.S. Soccer-endorsed futsal for national youth teams bear fruit, Marques said the program will rely on players who have performed well under challenging circumstances.

“What I’m so proud of is our soccer players who train with futsal for three or four days and then go against teams like Brazil” that draw their national squads from professional teams, Marques said. “If we could get together more often it would be great. You can’t get an A without doing the homework.”

Have a comment? Write the editor at davidknopf48@gmail.com. 

United States Youth Futsal developments ... past, present, future

Keith Tozer (white shirt) leads a U.S. National Futsal Team training session. Photo courtesy of Soorena Farboodmanesh.

It's been a big year for United States Youth Futsal ... the addition of new leagues, including Keith Tozer's in Wisconsin; a record number of teams at the national tournament; the first in a series of Tozer-led ID camps for promising youth futsal players; the first formal Summit for USYF league owners, including an opportunity to watch U.S. National Futsal Team training sessions; a USYF player (Lucas Stauffer) not only playing for the U.S. National Futsal Team, but scoring two goals in the championship game of the Four Nations Tournament in England; and having Stauffer's coaches with the national team (USYF league owners Keith Tozer and Vava Marques) leading the team to the title.

What do they say on those late-night infomercials ... but wait, there's more. And there is for USYF.

  • The first US Youth Futsal camp will be held July 19-22 in Gardner, Kan. in association with the Sporting Kansas City affiliate club Sporting Blue Valley. Among others, the camp for boys and girls U10 to U16 will feature a coaching staff that includes Peter Vermes (head coach, Sporting KC; member of 1989 U.S. National Futsal World Cup team), Jon Parry (director of coaching, Sporting KC academy, member of 1996 U.S. National Futsal World Cup team), Keith Tozer (current U.S. National Futsal Coach and coach of the Milwaukee Wave) and Ty Stauffer, founder of the SportsTutor Futsal Academy in Owensboro, Ky. and father/coach of Lucas Stauffer. The camp will offer technical and tactical futsal instruction, as well as futsal games. The camp will be held at New Century Fieldhouse, site of the USYF National Tournament. Information is available by emailing ryan.maxfield@usfutsal.com or at www.usyouthfutsal.com under the Events tab.
  •  As youth futsal evolves in the U.S., organizers such as Jason Miller (Massachusetts Futsal Association) look for ways to provide appropriate competition to test higher-level teams. With that in mind, Miller recently
    Jason Miller
    announced the collaboration of MFA with Futsal New Hampshire (Futsal NH) to provide "the highest level of competitive youth futsal league play in the Northeast.
    Along with our colleagues at Futsal NH, we (the MFA) have launched Eastern Premier Futsal (www.easternpremierfutsal.com), which will be the first-ever regional premier league in the Northeast and perhaps the country,” Miller said. “It is designed for elite level futsal and soccer clubs that must meet qualifying criteria to participate. At present top clubs from three states are already committed to participating.”
    Starting in December 2013, EPF will offer divisions in U10, U11, U12, U13, U14, U15 and U16 age groups for boys and girls whose teams meet the criteria for premier level futsal.
    Teams ages U10 to U16 that meet one of the following criteria will be eligible:
    • Futsal teams that reached the semifinals of the previous year's US Youth Futsal Northeast Regional Championships
    • Soccer teams currently in the New England Premiership (NEP) 1st or 2nd division
    • Soccer teams currently in the Massachusetts Premier League (MAPLE) 1st or 2nd division (or equivalent)
    • Soccer teams currently in the Super Y, Region 1 or Sub-Region 1
    • Soccer teams that were (in previous year) State Cup finalists in NH or semifinals in MA
    Teams that do not meet a criterion listed above may apply to the EPL Competition Committee to be considered. The EPL Technical Director and Competition Committee will make all decisions regarding admittance of special applicants. 
    Teams will play a schedule of 10 games on Sundays, including two doubleheaders. Miller said the league will begin no earlier than Dec. 1 and will end no later than Feb. 23, 2014.

    For information: Email: info@easternpremierfutsal.com
    Phone: 603.657.5649
    Twitter: #epfutsal
    Web: www.easternpremierfutsal.com

    - David Knopf, Futsal World editor, davidknopf48@gmail.com

Doug Reed on decision-making in futsal



Editor's note: Doug Reed, the English futsal player who splits time between the national team and, most recently, a professional team in Serbia, is a student of the game. He’s been featured in the newsletter before and is a supporter of the game around the world.

Blog author Doug Reed played for a futsal team in Serbia this year.

To advance our understanding of futsal, Doug publishes essays that analyze factors that contribute to success at the game. In the following post, he looks at what qualities put the world’s best players a step ahead of others.

You can follow Doug’s blog at www.dougreedfutsal.com as well as on his Facebook page.

-- David Knopf, davidknopf48@gmail.com

 

The Art of Futsal - Part 1 - Decision Makers


Excellent decision making is, in my opinion, the most important attribute a player can have. The best players in the world are the intelligent players. In Part 1 of this post I would like to discuss the skill of decision making and in Part 2 I will describe the best method of training in order to develop this quality.

Decision Making


The objective for any player in a match situation is to choose the optimal solution. The characteristics of the game of futsal complicates this task as there is a limited amount of time and space available. Split second and correct decision making is key to taking advantage of the small, short-lived opportunities and the most important attribute in the game, ahead of any technical skill.

Alemao in action for Spain. Uefa.com
 

When I think of clever players, names such as Kike (Spain) , Alemao (Spain), Fernandinho (Brazil) and Prudnikov (Russia) come to mind. They appear to be always one step ahead of the game. Their clever actions might be an unbelievable pass to create a goal or just the ability to close a passing line when defending a 2v1 situation.
 

To understand what makes a good decision maker let's first look at the process for making decisions. I have split this into four stages;
  1. Observation of the current match situation (positions of team-mates, opponents and ball; score; knowledge of your qualities and those of team-mates and opponents; stage of the match; previous events in the match and many more things)
  2. Using tactical knowledge and past experience to select the optimal solution relevant to the current game situation
  3. Execution of the selected solution (technical action)
  4. Observing the outcome (successful pass, recuperated the ball etc.) and obtaining feedback

An important quality for the first stage is awareness. To be able to choose the correct solution it is crucial to have the appropriate information about the situation you are in. Without this you might be a fast and precise decision maker but you will still likely make a poor selection. This includes awareness of what is likely to occur in the future, otherwise known as anticipation or reading of the game.

 

Included under past experience, in the second stage, is a consideration of the outcomes and patterns from previous decisions. The more times the player goes through this process (i.e. making a decision), the more knowledgeable they will be about what the likely outcomes for any given action in each type of situation. This can be used to improve future decision making.
 

Each time this whole process is completed, the more evidence is available to verify what solution will be successful. This is the principle used in research. If you test the effectiveness of a medicine on 10,000 people you can be much more confident about your results than if you tested it on just five people.
 

I'd argue that these intelligent players were not born great decision makes. They have gone through this decision making process thousands and thousands of times and each time used the feedback to improve their future decision making by a marginal amount. For the majority of time this is not done with conscious awareness.

 

They have mastered the principles, patterns, techniques, tactics, variations and ideas of the game. Through practise they have internalised these concepts to where it might be described as having a natural feel for the game.

What differentiates these players is how their use their experience. There are many players that have played many games and gone through decision making process many times and in many situations. Often these players are complemented as being experienced. Yet this attribute, experience, is only an advantage if that feedback is used to improve future decision making. Otherwise that experience counts for nothing.

 

 I've seen players who have been playing for many years yet they are still making the same mistakes they made when they first started. There is a quote that describes this that has been attributed to Juan Lillo, the mentor of Pep Guardiola;

"You don't have 20 years of experience, you have repeated the same year 20 times"

Learning


I once came across an article about skill acquisition in sprinting. It stated that there are four stages of learning. Through my personal experience I agree very much with this process of improving at any skill. These were
  1. Unconscious incompetence - When you don't know about something you can't yet do.
  2. Conscious incompetence  - You know what to do but haven't yet mastered it.
  3. Conscious competence - You can do it but only with conscious thought, it is not automatic.
  4. Unconscious competence - Performed perfectly without any conscious effort or thought.

The top players are, of course, at stage 4 in this model. The ability to make correct and precise decisions without conscious effort is a necessity at the highest level where the tempo of the game does not provide time to deliberate the options.

Creativity


This knowledge is also what underlies creativity. Creativity
Prudnikov playing for his club team. Uefa.com
looks like some spontaneous action that has come from nowhere. I would argue that this is not the case. It is built on a foundation of deep understanding and technical mastery. This is what former chess player Josh Waitzkin describes as 'numbers, to leave numbers'. Once the players have mastered the game, the player simply carries out what to them seems the best and most logical option. To the spectator, who is much less knowledgeable and incapable of executing the same action, it appears as if it was a huge leap into the unknown.

 

You may observe one of these futsal artists do something that seems contrary to the prescription of a specific tactical concept or instruction. However they have such a deep understanding of the underlying principle and ability to read the game situation they can figure out the optimal solution which may sometimes appear unorthodox. My former coach, Mico Martic, always says, "There are no formulas." What he means is there is never a definitive answer in futsal. You must read the game situation and act accordingly. This is the real essence, beauty and art of futsal.



Saturday, June 22, 2013

Letter to USYF: After Summit, future's bright for USYF, futsal in America



Editor's note: The following was sent to USYF Development Director John Sciore after Jason Miller (Massachusetts Futsal) attended the USYF summit in Milwaukee in conjunction with U.S. National Futsal Team training for its trip to England and the Four Nations Tournament:

John:

The US Youth Futsal summit was not only a terrific opportunity to observe national team exercises and to bond with other futsal leaders, but the meetings and conversations seem to have been incredibly productive.
The groundwork laid in Milwaukee will undoubtedly have an enormous impact on the continued growth and success of


Day two of the USYF Summit in Milwaukee: Back row, from left: Jason Miller, Otto Orf, Sean Bower, Jon Parry; front, Soorena Farboodmanesh, Coach Tozer, Mark Litton ( National Team Goalkeeper Coach). Photo courtesy of Soorena Farboodmanesh.
the sport we are all so passionate about. We are grateful for the leadership of National Director Jon Parry and Technical Director Keith Tozer.
The Futsal ID camps scheduled to take place in five cities each year (Kansas City, Cleveland, Boston, Dallas and San Diego) and the subsequent formation of the regional teams to compete at the annual US Youth Futsal Festivals, plus the coaching education program are groundbreaking steps toward advanced player and coach development.

We couldn't be more excited to be part of US Youth Futsal, whose focus is uniquely aimed at the growth of the sport.

 

- Jason Miller
Director, Massachusetts Futsal Association
Director, Eastern Premier Futsal