The Futsal Way
As I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, I had planned to move these girls into gyms the winter of 2004/2005 to begin Futsal Training. The collapse of the Woodbury Soccer Academy and the subsequent blanket-reservations-of-all-available-dome-space-regardless-of-need from the Woodbury Soccer Club (their board's trump card as they attempted to dissuade Woodbury families from leaving the club and following me to begin the Bangu Tsunami Soccer Academy in the area) helped set my feet on the path towards incorporating Futsal Training throughout our entire Academy program.
I won't describe futsal here again. For those of you looking for more information, you can visit the following link to The US Futsal Federation
I will go into here why I think it is such a great development tool for young players.
More Touches Under Pressure
The game is played 5v5 in the relatively small confines of a basketball court. These factors contribute to two very important futsal benefits. First, it becomes nearly impossible for players to "hide" (drift out of the way and avoid the play) and they must interact. This interaction means numerous opportunities to get touches on the ball. The second benefit to the futsal training environment is that most of a player's touches are touches under pressure from opponents, for it is very difficult to touch a futsal ball in a game without being pressured. More touches under pressure = more experience under pressure = more confidence and composure under pressure.
More "Real Time" Decisions
Since the futsal ball is low-bounce, it is at the players' feet more often than not. This allows the players to have many more opportunities to make decisions on the ball in a futsal game than they would get to do outdoors with a regular ball.
Now people may argue that futsal is too easy for the players because of just this fact, that they don't have to focus on ball control as they would in the "real" outdoor game. However, in our Minnesota climate you have to take what you can get. I'll readily sacrifice work on ball control in the winter months with the benefit of the girls developing their on the ball decision making instead.
Constant Involvement
Anyone who works with young female soccer players knows that it is very difficult to keep the girls' attention at times during coaching sessions. And I deal with players who, in general, are the more serious and dedicated players. Or, at least I deal with players who have more serious and dedicated parents :)
The futsal ball is a low-bounce ball so it tends to be on the floor much more than in a regular outdoor game on grass. Couple this with the play on a fast, hardwood surface, and you have a lightning quick game at times. There is very little opportunity to "tune out" during a futsal game, and thus the players are more involved mentally in the game. They have to constantly read and adjust to what they see and to how the game is flowing, and when they are checked in like this their development is accelerated.
Fun, Fun, Fun!
The futsal game is fast and action-packed, and there are plenty of goals scored. Also, as mentioned above, the constant involvement and frequent touches on the ball translate into more enjoyment for the players. I think my girls love futsal for this simple fact... they get to play/participate more often when on the court.
If the girls enjoy what they are doing and have plenty of touches on the ball, there is little doubt that development will follow.
The Great Equalizer
I believe futsal is a great equalizer. The more skillful players - who sometimes get lost in the shuffle on the larger outdoor fields when mixed in with the big, strong, athletic horses - shine brightly indoors. Futsal provides a terrific opportunity for me, as a coach who has constantly preached skills development to the athletically-gifted-but-raw-technically girls, to say, to hammer my point home to the athletes as they initially struggle with the small confines and fast play of the futsal game.
Moreover, for the smaller, skillful players, futsal provided an environment that, in general, serves as a terrific boost to their confidence levels as many times (due to differing stages of muscular development) the smaller player does not "show" as well at the higher levels of play at the younger ages. I think this is why I like the futsal game so much. I was always the smaller, skillful type player as I didn't hit puberty until I was about 24. It was sometimes tough to make a mark on the outdoor field at a younger age as there were always bigger, stronger players around me. However, each winter when we'd head indoors, I'd become king of the court as the bigger, stronger donkey-type players didn't have the ball control to be very effective in tighter situations.
More Cost Effective
The going rate for dome time here in Minnesota is about $170/hr for a half a field of space. For gym space, we are paying about $24/hr plus $30/hr for custodial overtime. This helps minimize the costs spent by families in our program while providing an excellent training option for the players.
More Focused Training Environment
Though I use futsal to have the girls play Street Soccer (pick up games with minimal coaching), when I do want to make a point, I'm in a focused environment, not having to raise my voice much to carry over the voices of 4 other teams training in a dome at the same time, while also not having to battle with the distraction that those dome training teams also bring with them. This helps lend to more effective coaching and increases the chances that the girls will be able to process, distraction free, what I'm saying.