Courtesy: Business Gazette


Enthusiasts play international form of soccer

by Katherine Mullen - Staff Writer

An empty, concrete warehouse near the Frederick Municipal Airport is not exactly the playing field that FC Frederick soccer players are accustomed to, but Bo Eskay sees it as the perfect place for a game that requires experimentation and creativity.

Until the ground thaws and the soccer season begins in March, FC Frederick, a nonprofit soccer club, is allowing players to experiment with "futsal," an internationally recognized form of indoor soccer.

FC Frederick has offered futsal in the past at school gymnasiums, though this winter is the first time the club has organized an eight-week futsal program on a large scale by using the warehouse every day.

The club's athletes, ages 6 to 16, meet weekly inside the warehouse for an hour or more of futsal, a game that forces players to learn control of the ball, encourages them to take shots and experiment with different moves.

The facility is bare bones and cold, with scuffed, gray floors and foam-covered poles. Thick, white lines on the floor outline four narrow courts (about 30 by 60 feet) and there are no side walls to restrict the ball's movement.

A futsal ball is smaller and heavier than a regular soccer ball, so it doesn't bounce much. No one guards the knee-high goal posts fixed at each end of the court.

Eskay, president of FC Frederick, calls futsal "the purest, non-pressure environment" for soccer players. Coaches step back and let the players make decisions, call fouls, substitutions and keep score.

"It's basically self-regulated by the kids," Eskay said during a break in between futsal games on Sunday.

No more than five players are on the field at one time.

The point of the game is to let players express themselves, experiment and get creative, which is something that hasn't been emphasized in many U.S. soccer programs, he noted.

In Brazil, a country that produces some of the best professional soccer players, children learn futsal first before joining formal soccer leagues, Eskay noted.

Eskay believes that futsal allows for better player development and helps keep athletes involved and interested in the game. "It's way more fun for the kids," he said.

Scott Mohler of Frederick sat in a folding chair on the sidelines Sunday afternoon to watch his daughter, Julia, 7, play a co-ed game of futsal.

Other parents had also gathered near space heaters to watch their children play, though some were doing crossword puzzles, reading or texting on their cell phones. Popular music pulsated through the warehouse above the sounds of sneakers hitting futsal balls and running on concrete.

Mohler said his daughter has learned to stop and control the ball with the sole of her foot, a move that is unique to futsal.

At a cost of $50 to join, playing futsal has kept Julia active and given her a fresh touch on the game so that "come springtime she won't miss a step," he said.

Frederick resident Rachael Grove also noted improvement in her 6 year-old son's techniques. This winter is Carson's first time playing with FC Frederick, she said.

"He loves it. He really seems to have increased his control of the ball playing on this surface," she said.

E-mail Katherine Mullen at kmullen@gazette.net.

-> Derived from the Spanish and Portuguese words for "soccer" (futbol/futebol) and the French and Spanish words for "indoor" (salon/sala)

-> The international form of indoor soccer

-> Played on basketball-sized courts, indoor and out, without sidewalls

Source: United States Futsal Federation (www.futsal.org)







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com