Courtesy: Princeton Packet


LSTS sending six teams to futsal nationals

Baltimore will serve as first East Coast host

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor

Futsal’s popularity grows every year, and Life Skills Through Soccer has been at the forefront since LSTS coach Jorge Roman started having his teams play it in 1995.

LSTS will send teams from six divisions to the U.S. Futsal National Champions that will be held on the East Coast for the first time in their 23 years at Baltimore’s Convention Center. Play runs from Thursday to Sunday.

”This year we’re sending the most we ever have,” said Roman, the 2006 NSCAA/Adidas Youth Coach of the Year. “We started with two teams going three years ago, and we had two teams go the next year. Last year, we got three. This time, we’ve got six.”

They will be vying for a national title in six divisions. Teams going are the U12 boys’ team that was a 2007 New Jersey State Cup finalist, the U14 boys’ team that was a 2007 national finalist, the U14 girls’ team that won the 2007 State Cup, the U15 boys’ team that was a national finalist in 2005 and 2007, and the U16 girls’ team that won the 2007 national title and the U16 boys’ team that won the 2005 national title.

”I’d be lying if I said people’s expectations weren’t high,” Roman said. “We’ve been lucky. Every time we go, we come back with something in our hands. We’ve been doing well on previous stages. If we don’t win, we want to be pretty competitive.”

Futsal is an indoor version of soccer played five-on-five on a basketball-court sized area without the use of walls. No contact is allowed.

”The reason I encouraged kids to play it, it helps their other game,” Roman said. “With it being 4v4, it teaches the shape of the field and spacing. The game is fast, so it allows a lot of action. There’s a lot for the goaltenders. It’s a pretty good exercise for those guys.”

Roman has seen the LSTS players benefit from playing futsal when they move back to the outside full game in the fall and spring. Playing futsal has made for stronger LSTS teams in the full game.

”The success has been replicated because we’ve been doing do well in futsal,” Roman said. “The style of our outdoor teams is professional. Futsal is styled after professionals.”

It has also helped LSTS that it has used its own players — not picked up outside club players — to fill its futsal teams. Players are familiar with each other and work well together.

”I think we’re taking the most teams that have ever been taken out of New Jersey,” said LSTS director of operations Alan Ehrenworth. “Six teams is pretty unique. This year, I don’t know if there’s a club taking more than one team. Futsal is going really great.”

Futsal is still most popular in states like California, which has hosted every previous futsal national championship, but it has grown in eastern states like Maryland and Massachusetts. Traveling to California was something that the LSTS players looked forward to, but having the chance to win a national title closer to home will be just as satisfying.

”The kids would rather go to California,” Ehrenworth said. “They like the thought of California. We’re happy it’s on the East Coast. If there’s not that many West Coast teams this year, it might be back in California.”

Futsal isn’t hurting for popularity. The U.S. team has drawn some attention by qualifying for the Futsal World Cup that opens in Brazil at the end of September. This year, futsal expanded the age groups that will compete for the nationals. U.S. Futsal is already calling the national championships the biggest yet in its 23 years, and the LSTS is happy to have so many teams qualified.

”Jorge started the Princeton Futsal League,” Ehrenworth said. “We just wanted to keep the kids playing in the offseason. U.S. Futsal started growing and it’s kept growing.”

LSTS is hoping to capitalize on futsal’s popularity and its success in reaching the nationals when it opens its registration in August and September for its teams. Teams like the U16 girls and the U16 boys that are going to Baltimore benefit from having enjoyed success together before, and the players on those teams are also reaping the benefits of playing futsal in addition to the full game of soccer.

”It’s definitely catching on,” Ehrenworth said. “Jorge is the master of it. The guy is incredible. Our success has a lot to do with him.”

Roman foresaw that futsal would continue to grow and how much it could benefit a player and a team. Now six teams from Life Skills Through Soccer have the chance to see how high they can finish at the first nationals to be held a little closer to home.

”It’s pretty exciting,” Roman said. “Regardless of not going to California, everyone is excited. When you go for so many years, you create a competition with some of those teams, especially the ones from California. You look forward to seeing how good they are and playing them.”






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