Courtesy: Chesterfield Observer



County youth enjoy fast-paced Futsal

By Joey Matthews

Fast and furious. That's perhaps the best way to describe the frenetic pace in the increasingly popular sport of Futsal.

And lots of Chesterfield County youth are participating in the sport, which is a modified game of indoor soccer. Seven of the 35 teams playing in the U-TURN Greater Richmond Futsal Winter League are from Chesterfield, said league president Greg Simmonds.

He coaches the Chesterfield U-15 boys team that suited up for the first time in January to play for the league. The U-15 team brought an impressive pedigree into its Futsal league debut. The majority of players also played on the Chesterfield United team that finished in the quarterfinals of the prestigious State Cup tournament the past two years, Simmonds said.

"They're good players, and this will be a good team," he said.

He's thrilled the U-15 players are taking part in the Futsal league.

"This is a great sport for players to develop their skills and fundamentals more. Most coaches know it's the best way for kids to develop their individual skills. It's a highly skilled game."

In this league, teams compete on four regulation-size basketball courts that have been modified into miniature soccer fields. The U-TURN Sports Performance Academy in Richmond sponsors and hosts league play. Players are in constant motion, moving, cutting, passing, dribbling and looking for scoring opportunities. It takes teams only a matter of seconds to advance the ball past midfield, then the goalkeeper quickly crouches, anticipating a shot on goal.

"There is no tackling and no contact," Simmonds said. "Everybody touches the ball constantly."

The full-speed-ahead action of the game matched with its emphasis on fundamentals development had Chesterfield U-15 players looking forward to playing.

"It's a good place to work on your skills and then try to throw them out in a regular soccer match," said Jesse Roberts, a Midlothian High School freshman.

Plus, he added, "It's fun. It's more of a highly skilled game, and there is less contact."

Fellow Midlothian High freshman Gage Herpin said it's a great substitute for playing indoor soccer, which many players do during the break between the fall and spring seasons.

"I like it better than indoor soccer because it's more like actually playing outside. You can work on your touches [and] positioning because it's on a lot smaller field. You have to know where everybody's at on the field."

Brandon Pugh, a Monacan High School freshman, said the Futsal experience can only help him and his teammates as they work to improve for their play in the Chesterfield United League, which attracts 2,000-plus youth each year.

"We can get more chemistry playing here together," Pugh said. "It just helps us get better together. It's a smaller field, and you pass and talk more. We can take the skills that we develop individually and as a team and take that to the bigger fields that we play on in the regular season."

Though he's fielding a strong team in the Futsal league, Simmonds said winning is not the primary objective that he has for the team. "I want the kids to come out and just play and have fun," he said. "In the process, they can learn to make quick decisions on the field, better passes, dribble better and come together better as a team."

Futsal also is a popular sport worldwide with over 12 million players from over 100 countries playing. Several international soccer stars grew up playing the game and credit Futsal with helping them to develop their world-class games.

The Richmond league is a part of the Super F League, which is the largest U.S. Soccer-affi liated Futsal league in this country, according to the U-TURN Greater Richmond Futsal Winter League Web site.

For more details on the local league as well as the national and international scene, go to www.richmond.superfleague.com.









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