Courtesy: The Salem News


Futsal catching on locally

By Jean DePlacido

DANVERS — One of the fastest growing indoor sports on the North Shore is futsal. It has long been a popular pastime with Europeans, but relatively unfamiliar to many Americans.

The sport is similar to soccer, but on a smaller scale. It is played with five players to a side and a fast, low density ball — a lot smaller than a regular soccer ball.

A little over a year ago, Boxford's Bruce Diver opened his American Futbolito Sportplex in the Danvers Industrial Park off Route 1. He wasn't sure what to expect, but since its opening the place has been a beehive of activity seven days a week.

Many use the facility to tune up their skills for spring soccer leagues or the high school fall season, while others play futsal strictly for fun. Developmental programs for U-8 and U-10 players run continuously.

"It's a great sport and a lot of fun for all ages," said Diver. "Everybody can play, ranging from adults to young children. It's growing very fast, too; right now we have over 1,000 people using our facility.

"Different age groups can compete against each other because there is no pushing or shoving — it's all skill. My main goal is to keep it fair, to keep it fun. And we have one of the only marked futsal floors around."

Local student-athletes have enjoyed playing the sport at Diver's facility.

"It's awesome," said Emily Iuliano of Peabody, a 15-year-old sophomore who plays soccer at Bishop Fenwick. "A group of us (from Fenwick) played futsal last year, and we liked it a lot better than indoor soccer. It's a great workout that's fun and helps you work on control and passing."

Iuliano's FYRE team took on a group of Rockport High players in one of the last league games of the spring session, which concludes the end of this month.

"Futsal is great for footwork and control," said Rockport High sophomore soccer player Molly Bullard. "A bunch of us have been playing (indoor soccer) at Topsfield Arena since we were 10, but we wanted to try futsal. It's a fast game and really good for developing techniques."

The facility is also holding tryouts to select teams for the National Futsal Tournament. The tryouts will be held next Saturday, with final team selections made early next month.

Diver is not a newcomer to the sport. He has been involved in teaching and training futsal players for the last seven years, and has taken teams to the Nationals since 2004 — with outstanding results.

Last year, his team in the Open Women's squad returned home with the bronze medal. The U-19 girls placed third in 2006, and the previous two years that same honor went to his U-16 girls.

Diver went from taking one team to Nationals in 2004 to 42 different teams last summer. He'd like to bring even more this time around.

"We've gone four years in a row and won a medal each time," said Diver, who started coaching futsal at North Shore Tech in Middleton, ran a program for high school-aged kids out of Hockeytown in Saugus, and another for U-10 in Topsfield before opening his own facility.

He's hoping to take a number of boys teams (U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-19), as well as Open girls team, this year. His assistant coach, Jose Ibanez of Danvers, takes care of the boys teams' now.

FIFA regulations allow 12 futsal players per team for Nationals, but Diver brings only nine to allow each participant more playing time. By the middle of April, he will select the final rosters and begin training the players.

Diver ordered his futsal floor from California, a hotbed for the sport. It came in pieces, and he went to work assembling the 5,000 tiles. Working alone, he said it took him four days to complete the project. There is also a small set of bleachers for parents, which is almost on top of the action itself.

A state certified referee, Diver conducts training sessions for United States Futsal Federation officials and can be found at his "home away from home" all weekend and seven nights a week after leaving his regular job at Garelick Farms.

The game of futsal is played with four field players and a goalie on each team. Playing time consists of two 25-minute halves. The rules are the same as soccer, but with three exceptions: there are no throw-ins, no offsides, and slight differences in what the goalies can do.

Soccer players in particular love the sport, but everyone can enjoy participating, said Diver.

"Right now we have a women's group that never played soccer," he said. "They come for the exercise and are having fun.

"My club has tripled in numbers as more people want to get involved. We even have people on a waiting list."

New plans in the works

American Futbolito is starting a summer league program next month that is open to all age groups, with games running Monday-Friday. Other future additions include a PDD clinic for children with autism. Bruce Diver's wife Linda, an occupational therapist in the Lynn school system, is helping get it started.

There is also a sponsorship program in the works to get a women's professional futsal team started. Former Olympian Christine Lilly has visited the facility and talked with Diver about making that happen, a big undertaking that would be the first of its kind.





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