Pros and Cons of Futsal

Sup guys,

As a quick intro, I am the Academy Director for Toque, a futsal organization that provides quality programs for all types of players throughout Southern California. Our programs focus on developing players to the best of their ability (technical, tactical, and fitness), helping them compete at the highest level of competition possible.

We have worked with several So Cal Clubs and love what we do, BUT I would really love to get some feedback as to what soccer coaches/parents/managers think about Futsal??

The main problem that I see with several groups that I have worked with, and posts that I have seen through social media, web, etc.... Futsal is being misunderstood/misguided and used for the wrong reasons.

Any opinion, thoughts, input , etc. is really appreciated!

Thanks,
Val
 
My first observation is that "sup" is short for "supper" and you are only directing your inquiry to "guys" and not gals. Since I'm a guy that likes supper, I'll respond as follows:

Futsal is good, we don't misunderstand, you are focusing too much on supper and guys, which is OK, because I really like supper ... but guys are hairy and smell. Look at the other meals and be gender neutral.

Seriously, Futsal is great. Good luck in your marketing efforts, but consider being less base and a little more sophisticated in your marketing efforts.
 
Futsal is fantastic for footwork and everyone should play. Only issues are:
1 - Too much parent coaching; an actual futsal coach is far superior,
2 - Goalie play for futsal is different than soccer and can create some bad habits if not careful.
Everyone should play more futsal, more street soccer and more small sided games. Good luck.
 
YES.....but with less coaching, maybe none at all. Let them play freestyle and have fun!
I do think that a few principles of futsal need to be coached. It's the same as soccer in that there is a ball, you get to use your feet and there is a goal. But without a bit of practice, the ball is going out of bounds every other touch.
Patterns, movement and touch need a bit of instruction. The sole of the shoe needs to be used a lot more than in traditional soccer.
This does t mean a coach should be screaming from the sidelines. It's pretty hard to hear on a futsal court anyway.
 
My kid loves futsal.

The big concern I have as a parent about futsal is the increased risk for head injury and arm/falling inujuries when playing on rock hard surfaces. This is only thing I don't like about it.

But I see the huge benefits futsal brings to player development in terms of footwork, foot speed, and ball skills.

My kid's club cut futsal this year. I was really disappointed about it.
 
I don't like it for my GK's in the GK position. To much risk for injury. But put them on the court for foot skills.
 
We are looking for a 06 – 05 boy or girl goalkeeper. We play every Friday at the US5 in Norwalk under the U12 division. My daughters have been playing futsal for two years and I have seen a lot of improvement in their speed and movement with the ball in small spaces. Our games are between 6-8pm, and we only pay referees fees $7 per game. There is no coaching from my side, and no pressure to win. We’re there to support our kids get more touches on the ball and practice their skills.

If you have a goalkeeper who wants to give it try, please let me know!
 
Futsal is a great sport to compliment soccer. Personally I would love to see scdsl organize a spring Futsal league. Maybe Toque can work with one of the local leagues to provide some guidance.

Imagine having our kids play Futsal in the spring and soccer in the fall.

The kids would love it.
 
Futsal is a great sport to compliment soccer. Personally I would love to see scdsl organize a spring Futsal league. Maybe Toque can work with one of the local leagues to provide some guidance.

Imagine having our kids play Futsal in the spring and soccer in the fall.

The kids would love it.
619 futsal has Winter & Spring leagues in San Diego. Well run and worth the time.
 
My kid loves futsal.

The big concern I have as a parent about futsal is the increased risk for head injury and arm/falling inujuries when playing on rock hard surfaces. This is only thing I don't like about it.

But I see the huge benefits futsal brings to player development in terms of footwork, foot speed, and ball skills.

My kid's club cut futsal this year. I was really disappointed about it.

Agree with this post. Futsal is great but very dangerous due to most games being played on hardwood basketball court surfaces.
 
The Norwalk facility US5 has 10 turf Futsal fields and the league has from 15 to 20 teams in each U10 and U12 divisions. Games are played every Friday night for the U6, U8, U10, U12, U14 divisions. Teams are co-ed and some of them are very competitive and others are not, but kids seem to have a lot of fun. Most of the teams are put together by parents who want their kids to improve their skills, so you can imagine a lot of coaching from the sidelines, but overall is a good experience for the kids. The closest we can get to street soccer for $5 to $7 a game depending how many players you have in your team. I have even seen some of the pats' academy players in the U15 division playing there as well.
 
The Norwalk facility US5 has 10 turf Futsal fields and the league has from 15 to 20 teams in each U10 and U12 divisions. Games are played every Friday night for the U6, U8, U10, U12, U14 divisions. Teams are co-ed and some of them are very competitive and others are not, but kids seem to have a lot of fun. Most of the teams are put together by parents who want their kids to improve their skills, so you can imagine a lot of coaching from the sidelines, but overall is a good experience for the kids. The closest we can get to street soccer for $5 to $7 a game depending how many players you have in your team. I have even seen some of the pats' academy players in the U15 division playing there as well.


This is what I mean by misguided and misunderstood. US5 is NOT futsal. That is indoor soccer.

Indoor Soccer and Futsal are 2 different sports. Yes futsal may be considered as an indoor sport but you cannot get these 2 sports mixed up.

  • Indoor Soccer has walls, use a regular soccer ball, plays 6 v 6, turf/grass field
  • Futsal has no walls, use weighted ball, 5 v 5, flat surface
***Rules are very different from one another
 
Futsal is a great sport to compliment soccer. Personally I would love to see scdsl organize a spring Futsal league. Maybe Toque can work with one of the local leagues to provide some guidance.

Imagine having our kids play Futsal in the spring and soccer in the fall.

The kids would love it.


Most definitely !!! We are in the middle of doing that. Hopefully we get to put something together during the off-season!
 
I do think that a few principles of futsal need to be coached. It's the same as soccer in that there is a ball, you get to use your feet and there is a goal. But without a bit of practice, the ball is going out of bounds every other touch.
Patterns, movement and touch need a bit of instruction. The sole of the shoe needs to be used a lot more than in traditional soccer.
This does t mean a coach should be screaming from the sidelines. It's pretty hard to hear on a futsal court anyway.

I agree with less coaching, however, there's a lot more to futsal when tactically speaking though. Yes Technique is key, but the Tactical aspect of the game is just as important as well. You can have all the skillful players together, but if they do not know how to position themselves on the court - it will be a disaster.
 
619 futsal has Winter & Spring leagues in San Diego. Well run and worth the time.

We tried reaching out to them several times, but their communication is not well organized. Nothing against them at all. They work with US Youth Futsal, and we have been to their Futsal Regionals a year or 2 back, but that was it. Last years got cancelled and that was the last I hear from them. We would love to work with them to help grow the game of futsal, but again they are very hard to get a hold of.
 
True futsal is played on hard courts or futsal courts made by sport courts . Programs like this toque and couple others are playing on basketball courts and concrete courts. They are basically glorified street soccer with a couple gimmicks attached . There are several so called futsal programs popping up in so cal but non of them are implementing true futsal .
San Diego futsal does a great job and futsal picante but even them don't match futsal from Brazil and east coast USA .
Futsal is great but there are a lot of water down versions and wannabes out there
 
As a parent I want my kids to have fun and enjoy playing the game, either Futsal or Indoor and perhaps transfer those skills to the big field. I want something that is reasonable price $5 or $7 for referees fees and no coaching from the so called experts. For me at the end of the day it comes down to cost and the less coaching the better, specially at the younger ages. I would like to leave the tactical for when they know how to control the ball.
 
True futsal is played on hard courts or futsal courts made by sport courts . Programs like this toque and couple others are playing on basketball courts and concrete courts. They are basically glorified street soccer with a couple gimmicks attached . There are several so called futsal programs popping up in so cal but non of them are implementing true futsal .
San Diego futsal does a great job and futsal picante but even them don't match futsal from Brazil and east coast USA .
Futsal is great but there are a lot of water down versions and wannabes out there
So where can we find "real" futsal courts?

Just have your kid play and worry about the court later. I doubt that kids care if it's an official court or not, they just want to play.

My son has been unable to play soccer for over a year and he says that as soon as he is cleared the first thing he wants to do is go back to playing Futsal.
 
True futsal is played on hard courts or futsal courts made by sport courts . Programs like this toque and couple others are playing on basketball courts and concrete courts. They are basically glorified street soccer with a couple gimmicks attached . There are several so called futsal programs popping up in so cal but non of them are implementing true futsal .
San Diego futsal does a great job and futsal picante but even them don't match futsal from Brazil and east coast USA .
Futsal is great but there are a lot of water down versions and wannabes out there

I agree 100% with these popped up 'glorified street soccer programs' BUT disagree with us being involved in that "gimmick program" category. Not sure where you've involved yourself in with futsal, and not sure if you know of us at all, or seen our work, but I assure you that we are no 'gimmick'.

Then you mentioning Futsal Picante, that is just a league, but a great help to promote the game.

YES, South American countries and European countries are far superior in Futsal. Our goal and effort is to help change that. FYI, these superior countries start on concrete/asphalt courts, and they dominate.
 
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