Courtesy: Fremont Tribune


Soccer players utilize futsal

By Chris Weber/Tribune Correspondent

Imagine two teams consisting of four players and a goalkeeper.

It may sound a little bit like soccer, but it's called futsal and is played on a basketball court.

It's also how the Midland Lutheran College men's and women's soccer teams stay in shape during the offseason.

The term futsal is the international term used for the game. It is derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word for soccer (futbol of futebol) and the French or Spanish word for indoor (salon or sala).

In his fifth year of coaching both MLC teams, coach Dan Sullivan said futsal has been a part of their offseason training every year.

“Basically it's indoor soccer,” he said. “It's been our winter conditioning. I've seen huge benefits and the players love it.”

Sullivan said other differences between soccer and futsal are that the goals are smaller (7 feet tall and 10 feet wide) and the ball is smaller and heavier.

One of the men's captains, Dave Montgomery, believes that futsal gives the Warriors an edge once the official season starts.

“It helps with quickness, and when we get outdoors we're better,” Montgomery said. “A lot of soccer programs don't practice year round and this gives us that opportunity. Some of the players that come in from smaller high schools aren't use to it. With a whole year of play they're a much greater player.”

Women's captains Lena Legband and Jessica Hald both believe that the offseason practice has benefited the team.

“It's very fast-paced and it helps us with control and distributing,” Hald said. “When we go from futsal to spring ball it takes some time to adjust but overall it makes us better.”

Recently several members of both teams traveled to Milwaukee to a national futsal tournament.

Sullivan said both teams lost close games in semifinal play.

“This was the first one of its kind,” he said. “They hope to make it an annual tournament.”

During the road trip, Legband saw additional benefits of the offseason play.

“Futsal helps us with our one touches for games,” she said. “It's a whole different pace and it helps us know where to pass the ball quicker. But it also brought out a lot of leadership qualities when the upperclassmen stepped up. It helped with team unity.”



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