Courtesy: St. Thomas Times Journal


Teen soccer league starts trial season

by Patrick Brennan

For those high school soccer players looking for a place to play after the turf season wound down, the search is over.

Play started Saturday in the new Elgin HighSchool Futsal League at Central Elgin Collegiate Institute. Organizers say they styled high school as one word to be distinctive.

The league follows most of the accepted format for indoor soccer, also known as futsal.

Andrew Buttigieg said teams will play on a gym-floor- size playing surface with four players plus a goalkeeper on each side. There is no offside rule on the small playing surface.

Teams play with a smaller, heavier ball to minimize the chance of shots floating high.

Games are based on two 25-minute halves and a maximum 10-player roster per side.

There are other futsal leagues operating in the community, but players there are primarily older.

"There was no indoor league for high school students," Buttigieg said. "If you were a high school student, there was no place to play with your peers."

The league has no direct affiliation with Thames Valley Regional Athletic Association, which organizes sports for Thames Valley schools.

For now, there are five boys and four girls teams, although that may change, Buttigieg said.

Teams are made up mainly of players from the same school, although a couple of teams have mixed rosters, Buttigieg said. In one case, girls from West Lorne who drive in to play, are grouped with Arthur Voaden players.

For the first year, the league will operate until December.

"It's more of a trial season to get the league off the ground," Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg said the league will not use a playoff format, but a one-day championship round.


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