In a previous article about changes to youth development in Australia, I documented the implementation of small sided games at junior levels. Another key change which must occur is encouragement of kids to play futsal, a game which is often referred to as indoor football but this description does not fully recognise how different futsal is to the outdoor game as well as the important skills it teaches the players. Futsal is a staple diet in the upbringing of a Brazilian footballer and it is something that we should be feeding our kids too.
Recently, Craig Foster advocated that the small sided games should be supplemented with the kids playing futsal which brings out different skills to the outdoor:
Body & Sole
Futsal really encourages players to learn how to use the sole of their feet to control and dribble the ball. It teaches the player how much pressure is needed to bring the ball to a stop with their sole and not have the ball bounce off their feet. It also shows a player how to dribble with the sole of their feet by brushing the sole over the top of the ball, a skill which I think players would otherwise completely miss if they only play the outdoor games. One great benefit about this style of dribbling is that unlike dribbling with the side of your foot, the ball will only ever go as fast as you are running because it will only roll as fast as your foot is going over the ball. If you dribble with the side of your foot, by slightly over or under touching the ball, it can get away from you or get stuck between your feet.
More Is More
The slightly heavier ball used in futsal is easier to control because the ball has less bounce than normal balls. The fact that the ball is easier to control will hopefully teach the kids to cherish the ball by facilitating their comfort and confidence on the ball. Some kids are naturally confident and will demand for the ball even after losing it on numerous occasions. Others, even they are quite technically gifted, will inevitably lose confidence and might fall into the tendency of booting the ball away for fear of making a mistake. I think futsal is a great way for kids to build confidence about their own ability to control and handle the ball and this is really helped by using a heavier futsal ball. The hard surface also makes the ball easier to control as the movement of the ball across the court is very predictable which is not always the case in outdoor games.
Can’t Jump, Can’t Run, Can Play
Futsal is a great physical leveller for the kids. The ball is rarely in the air so being tall and being able to jump isn’t really an advantage. The field is the size of a basketball court so having bundles of pace doesn’t really give you the same edge as it would in a larger, outdoor field. It is a game in which the physically superior kids are not rewarded for their physical attributes like in many other sports at junior level as such rugby, basketball or athletics. It is a game that very much rewards the technically gifted player and the teams that realise that scoring chances are best forged by retaining possession and moving into the opposition half in a controlled way.
On The Ground!
Expanding on the above point, futsal actually provides disincentives for many of the “bad” plays which kids might pick up at junior level. The “boot and run” counter attack strategy is almost impossible to pull off due to the small field and the fact that the opposition keeper usually pushes up to provide a safe passing option and will cut-off any attempted counter-attack. We are a nation that plays predominately through the air as evident in the game against Qatar. Playing through the opponent through short, interchanging passes is something the Socceroos have struggled with. In futsal, passing through the opponent is the best avenue to goal and the application of these skills in the outdoor game is evident in the play of some of the world’s best teams such as Arsenal and Brazil.
Pressure Cooker
The dimension of a basketball court is roughly 15m by 30m and that needs to accommodate 10 players in futsal. For a full field game, you have just over double the number players but you increase the length and width of the field fourfold. Space is a premium in futsal. For those that watched Australia’s game against Qatar or the Olyroos’ game against Mexico, you would probably have noticed how uncomfortable the Australian players look when the opposition pushed up and rushed the player in possession. In futsal, you are basically always under some form of pressure when you have possession. The only thing that changes is the degree of pressure. There is no position for players to hide from the action. Even the keeper needs to be comfortable with the ball at his/her feet because the keeper is often involved in the play as the safe option. Pressure is a constant that is inbuilt into futsal and this constant pressure is not always present in the outdoor game as exampled by the lack of pressure experienced by the Socceroos when Qatar sat off during the first half. In futsal, pressure is not something that you learn to handle when the occasion arises as in outdoor game, it is something you live. The next generation of players don’t need to learn how to “handle” pressure because it is something they should be absolutely comfortable with, and the best training for this is futsal.
I Told You So
In this pressurised game, team-mates will develop their off the ball and support movement. I have documented this in relation to small sided games and the principles apply here to futsal. The article provides a full explanation and explains how players naturally fall into good off the ball movement which can be non-existent in full field, outdoor games where players just try and get the ball down the other end as quickly and safely as possible. Futsal also encourages players to keep their heads up and not look constantly at their feet as well as concentrating on passing to the stronger foot of team-mates.
