Courtesy: Annapolis Capital


County team gets foothold in U.S. finals

By MATT LUTZ For The Capital

July 09, 2008

Arundel squad bidding for futsal championship

The Maryland Futsalers are hoping their concentration on team play over individual accomplishments will push them far into the 2008 Futsal National Championships.

The Maryland Futsalers is a team of futsal players who will play in the national championship tournament at the Baltimore Convention Center from tomorrow through Sunday.

Futsal, a game somewhat in the mold of indoor soccer, is played on a regulation sized basketball court with five against five, one goalie and four field players.

Developed in Uruguay in 1930, futsal is popular in South America, particularly in Brazil. The key component of the fast-paced sport is to key in on individual skill.

The ball is smaller than a normal soccer ball and is heavier, giving it less bounce. The object is to make small quick passes. Rules are primarily the same as soccer with one difference being out of bounds balls are kicked in rather then thrown in.

The sport is growing in popularity especially in the Northeast and on the West Coast where a lot of the best American teams are from.

The Maryland team enters the field as an at-large team after reaching the semifinals in the Massachusetts regional where it finished third after losing to the tournament's eventual winner. The team previously placed third in the Maryland State Cup in November of 2007. Having the tournament in its home state and its previous wins got the squad an at large in the national championship.

The Maryland team consists of high school players from throughout Anne Arundel county.

The roster includes: Ryan Santos (Arundel), Dave Obeng-Darko (Arundel), Pat Halligan (Arundel), Alex Leblanc (Arundel), Russell Miller (Arundel), Christopher Saul (Chesapeake), David Grimes (Glen Burnie), Joshua Danza (Archbishop Spalding) and Kyle Arrildt (Old Mill).

"Once fans become familiar with the game (futsal) it can be at times more exciting then soccer," said Ron Santos, who coaches the squad.

Futsal was picked up by many players including seniors Halligan and Danza, who both had played indoor and outdoor soccer and saw many of their soccer friends had picked up the game of futsal.

The team gathers some of the best futsal players from around the state of Maryland and they will play against some of the best competition from around the nation.

Making it to the national championship has been quite an accomplishment for the players.

"It's a huge accomplishment and something later on in life I can look back on and see what I accomplished," said Halligan, who helped put the squad together.

Ron Santos, an assistant coach at Arundel High, has been playing soccer himself about 30 years and has been coaching 14 years. Santos's was contacted by the players about coaching. He had coached many of the players in indoor and outdoor.

Santos takes a different approach than most coaches with his fustal players and introduces the concept of community. Santos still makes those decisions coaches make, but asks the team for advice in certain situations about what they think they should do.

"The key to our success is to not get our head down after we give up a goal and play together," Santos said.

The team will begin play in the championship tomorrow at the convention center and will face some of the best competition in the country.

Halligan said of their chances this week, ''The reason why we have such a good chance is we our playing for the person next to us rather then the individual."

Winning would be a bonus for the Anne Arundel futsalers.

"It is my last time playing with my friends and it would be cool to win," Danza said





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