Courtesy: The Daily Journal - San Mateo County


Furious futsal: Indoor facility in Burlingame caters to soccer-like sport

February 21, 2012

by Brian Grabianowski

Present and future athletes from as far as Campbell, San Bruno and even Half Moon Bay ranging from ages 2 to 60 are attending Burlingamers, a center for fine-tuning soccer and even futsal skills for recreation and competitions.

Futsal?
The sport is a close-quarters, fast-paced style of soccer, at the same time independent in its own right with different rules and an essential, unique and aggressive finesse.
Housing more than 130 teams totaling about 3,000 players per week, Burlingamers has developed futsal champions and hosted tournaments out of a modest facility on the border of Burlingame and Millbrae.

Funded by private investors, Burlingamers is an indoor soccer field divided into two courts, the primary interest being futsal.
Donna Colson (with the help of a coach, Dusko Rosic) built, owns and participates in Burlingamers.
“I love the idea of futsal being introduced in the U.S.” Colson said. “Fields are at a premium, and children need a place to play in the off season.”
Colson scheduled soccer professionally for four years before realizing the vision of Burlingamers.

The advocacy of the sport does not solely come from Colson, as about 50 participants showed up for the first week of Burlingamers’ futsal school in December, coached by Mikey Varas.
“Everyone knows soccer,” Varas said. “No one realizes the best [soccer] players in the world train with futsal and are recruited based on those skills.”

The fast-paced activity provided by futsal vastly improves reaction times, as once the players venture into a full sized field, everything seems to be moving in “slow motion,” Varas said.
The coaches at Burlingamers follow a curriculum of two days playing outside, and one day inside per week. Some of the top futsal teams in the country train at Burlingamers, including futsal 415 and the De Anza Force 98 Girls.

“I think it’s a really fun facility,” said Cristina Ribera, a 12-year-old Burlingamers futsal player. “I’ve learned a lot of new skills and I’ve loved spending time there.”
Cristina has been at Burlingamers for about two years, making friends and enjoying the environment Colson created.
“I think she’s done a really great job, keeping it well-running and keeping the teams fair,” Ribera said.

While futsal is currently very popular primarily in Europe, the coaches at Burlingamers hope to spread the sport around the United States and share their enthusiasm. Burlingamers caters to anyone willing to spend a decent amount of time having fun and learning an up and coming activity fit for athletes and non-athletes.




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