Courtesy: Durham Region.com


Whitby Iroquois U13 boys win first Futsal Cup

OSHAWA - The Whitby Iroquois U13 boys' team stepped up at Durham College during the Ontario Futsal Cup, coming away with the championship trophy in its first-ever futsal tournament.

In an exciting first day of play, the Iroquois defeated SC Toronto 6-3, Toronto BCFA 6-3, SC Toronto again 6-4 and finally Toronto BCFA once more with a score of 8-3. This put them in first place and earned them a spot in the finals on Sunday.

In the final they faced the Richmond Hill Raiders and won the hard fought battle, 2-0.

Futsal is a format of five-a-side football (soccer) that is played extensively throughout the world. The term 'futsal' is an abbreviation of the Portuguese 'futebol de salao' or the Spanish 'futbol sala', both of which translated literally mean 'indoor football'. It is played on a pitch approximately the size of a basketball court, with a ball that is smaller and heavier than the outdoor football and has a reduced bounce.

The ball forces a player to use skill rather than the ball's bounce to propel it. As a small sided game, players are constantly placed in situations where they must receive or play while under pressure or in confined spaces.

The game places considerable demand on technique, movement, tactical awareness and fitness. Futsal is a great skill developer, demanding quick reflexes, fast thinking and pinpoint passing. The speed of play is such that you are forced to make quicker technical and tactical decisions.

In addition to their regular training, 10 members of the team, under the guidance and instruction of assistant coach Mark Purdy, trained once a week over the past several months to prepare them to meet some of the best teams in Ontario at this tournament.




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