Kids soccer games on tennis courts?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Futsal is not Soccer

Field of play is smaller
Ball is smaller, heavier
the goal is smaller and sized very differently
the amount of players is 5 versus 11 per team
The surface must be a hard surface not a soft grass or turf surface

now that we have established that a soccer field is not an appropriate field for futsal maybe it will make sense to you when i suggest you and your tennis racket go play tennis on a ping pong table or badminton court. Plenty of those around and based on your premise they should suit your tennis game as well as a soccer field will suit a futsal game.

This is funny. I was told by my kids coach that futsal was used to improve my kids soccer game when my DC couldn’t get out on the soccer field. Now that I think about it, that is in accurate. If my golf pro told me that for $500 I should play mini-golf next to an empty golf course I would have laughed her out of the room. If my tennis pro said (for $500) I should play table tennis next to an empty tennis court to improve my tennis game, she wouldn’t be my tennis coach. So now I ask myself, if my DC’s soccer coach is saying I should pay extra to play futsal instead of playing soccer in order to improve my DC’s soccer game, should I be listening to this guy? None of this is about developing my DC’s soccer playing skills, just about me paying more money. Can someone give me recommendations on where to move to to find a club that is more focused on soccer player development and less so on money-making ancillary activities?

Futsal improves technical skills as well as processing a faster speed of play. All of that translates to to soccer. The tactics of high level futsal translate less to soccer but the speed of play and the technical skills certainly still translate and on top of it, futsal is a welcome and fun break from a long soccer season. Always money well spent.

If you don't play futsal then I suggest basketball in the winter. Helps with vision and works different muscle groups and it is both fun and a nice break from soccer as well.

But wouldn’t playing soccer be better for improving soccer? I understand some people may like futsal, but truth be told there is no end game for that activity. If my DC is focused on playing soccer at a higher level, it seems nonsensical to substitute futsal for soccer when DC is seeking to be a soccer player. As for a break, the physical stresses and movement patterns are too similar between the two sports to serve as a break. Also, given that they’ve turned futsal into a competitive (score trumps everything) environment, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of creativity or fun left in the kids (many of them appear to be playing angry) I’m not anti futsal, I just feel like I was sold a bunch of BS for more money. So what I gather from the earlier posts (leaving aside the rude and dismissive respondents) is that I should find a club with a true year round soccer program.

Kids can walk and chew gum at the same time.

The amount of touches a player will have in a futsal game versus a soccer game is night and day. Futsal builds upon a technical base in a way that soccer alone cannot. Futsal is a enhancement to soccer and at the younger ages can make technical improvements more fun and engaging than straightforward technical training would.

Many of the worlds best soccer players grew up playing futsal in their youth, Ronaldo specifically credits futsal for his creativity and technical abilities. It is fast and fun and has many benefits for young soccer players. It isn't a scam and it is more fun over the winter than whatever traditional soccer practice without any games would offer.

In Brazil a soccer powerhouse country, kids don't even play soccer until a certain age. It's futsal first. You can play futsal well and be great at soccer but not all great soccer players can excel in futsal as futsal is very much a technique driven activity. For those who want to improve their soccer game, futsal is a great opportunity to help them do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Futsal is not Soccer

Field of play is smaller
Ball is smaller, heavier
the goal is smaller and sized very differently
the amount of players is 5 versus 11 per team
The surface must be a hard surface not a soft grass or turf surface

now that we have established that a soccer field is not an appropriate field for futsal maybe it will make sense to you when i suggest you and your tennis racket go play tennis on a ping pong table or badminton court. Plenty of those around and based on your premise they should suit your tennis game as well as a soccer field will suit a futsal game.

This is funny. I was told by my kids coach that futsal was used to improve my kids soccer game when my DC couldn’t get out on the soccer field. Now that I think about it, that is in accurate. If my golf pro told me that for $500 I should play mini-golf next to an empty golf course I would have laughed her out of the room. If my tennis pro said (for $500) I should play table tennis next to an empty tennis court to improve my tennis game, she wouldn’t be my tennis coach. So now I ask myself, if my DC’s soccer coach is saying I should pay extra to play futsal instead of playing soccer in order to improve my DC’s soccer game, should I be listening to this guy? None of this is about developing my DC’s soccer playing skills, just about me paying more money. Can someone give me recommendations on where to move to to find a club that is more focused on soccer player development and less so on money-making ancillary activities?

Futsal improves technical skills as well as processing a faster speed of play. All of that translates to to soccer. The tactics of high level futsal translate less to soccer but the speed of play and the technical skills certainly still translate and on top of it, futsal is a welcome and fun break from a long soccer season. Always money well spent.

If you don't play futsal then I suggest basketball in the winter. Helps with vision and works different muscle groups and it is both fun and a nice break from soccer as well.

But wouldn’t playing soccer be better for improving soccer? I understand some people may like futsal, but truth be told there is no end game for that activity. If my DC is focused on playing soccer at a higher level, it seems nonsensical to substitute futsal for soccer when DC is seeking to be a soccer player. As for a break, the physical stresses and movement patterns are too similar between the two sports to serve as a break. Also, given that they’ve turned futsal into a competitive (score trumps everything) environment, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of creativity or fun left in the kids (many of them appear to be playing angry) I’m not anti futsal, I just feel like I was sold a bunch of BS for more money. So what I gather from the earlier posts (leaving aside the rude and dismissive respondents) is that I should find a club with a true year round soccer program.

Kids can walk and chew gum at the same time.

The amount of touches a player will have in a futsal game versus a soccer game is night and day. Futsal builds upon a technical base in a way that soccer alone cannot. Futsal is a enhancement to soccer and at the younger ages can make technical improvements more fun and engaging than straightforward technical training would.

Many of the worlds best soccer players grew up playing futsal in their youth, Ronaldo specifically credits futsal for his creativity and technical abilities. It is fast and fun and has many benefits for young soccer players. It isn't a scam and it is more fun over the winter than whatever traditional soccer practice without any games would offer.

In Brazil a soccer powerhouse country, kids don't even play soccer until a certain age. It's futsal first. You can play futsal well and be great at soccer but not all great soccer players can excel in futsal as futsal is very much a technique driven activity. For those who want to improve their soccer game, futsal is a great opportunity to help them do so.

Countries like Spain view Futsal as a completely different sport. Their soccer.futbol training academies don't include Futsal in off-season.

I do think it's great for learning control and touch, etc. My kids are heavily into a Futsal season right now (3 practices, and games) and they came home from playing on their own up at the high school field yesterday and mentioned how big and light the regular soccer ball felt. The outdoor touch was off after so much Futsal. They both like Futsal better than outdoor for the touches and fast pace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Futsal is not Soccer

Field of play is smaller
Ball is smaller, heavier
the goal is smaller and sized very differently
the amount of players is 5 versus 11 per team
The surface must be a hard surface not a soft grass or turf surface

now that we have established that a soccer field is not an appropriate field for futsal maybe it will make sense to you when i suggest you and your tennis racket go play tennis on a ping pong table or badminton court. Plenty of those around and based on your premise they should suit your tennis game as well as a soccer field will suit a futsal game.

This is funny. I was told by my kids coach that futsal was used to improve my kids soccer game when my DC couldn’t get out on the soccer field. Now that I think about it, that is in accurate. If my golf pro told me that for $500 I should play mini-golf next to an empty golf course I would have laughed her out of the room. If my tennis pro said (for $500) I should play table tennis next to an empty tennis court to improve my tennis game, she wouldn’t be my tennis coach. So now I ask myself, if my DC’s soccer coach is saying I should pay extra to play futsal instead of playing soccer in order to improve my DC’s soccer game, should I be listening to this guy? None of this is about developing my DC’s soccer playing skills, just about me paying more money. Can someone give me recommendations on where to move to to find a club that is more focused on soccer player development and less so on money-making ancillary activities?

Futsal improves technical skills as well as processing a faster speed of play. All of that translates to to soccer. The tactics of high level futsal translate less to soccer but the speed of play and the technical skills certainly still translate and on top of it, futsal is a welcome and fun break from a long soccer season. Always money well spent.

If you don't play futsal then I suggest basketball in the winter. Helps with vision and works different muscle groups and it is both fun and a nice break from soccer as well.

But wouldn’t playing soccer be better for improving soccer? I understand some people may like futsal, but truth be told there is no end game for that activity. If my DC is focused on playing soccer at a higher level, it seems nonsensical to substitute futsal for soccer when DC is seeking to be a soccer player. As for a break, the physical stresses and movement patterns are too similar between the two sports to serve as a break. Also, given that they’ve turned futsal into a competitive (score trumps everything) environment, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of creativity or fun left in the kids (many of them appear to be playing angry) I’m not anti futsal, I just feel like I was sold a bunch of BS for more money. So what I gather from the earlier posts (leaving aside the rude and dismissive respondents) is that I should find a club with a true year round soccer program.

I think Futsal is great for midfielders looking to improve their speed of play. Anyway...I wholeheartedly disagree that there is no creativity or fun in futsal. I think it's the exact opposite. In futsal, I see kids trying rainbows, always trying to nutmeg opponents, scoop passes over the top so you get headers and volleys, lots and lots of one time finishes, goal keepers flying up for a one time shot on corner kicks from the half way line, you never know what's going to happen. Very little of this going on during a regular soccer game.

Futsal is creative. The kids (depending on who they are playing for) are afforded freedom to try out all kinds of things without fear of reprimand---quite unlike outdoor Club soccer.

Part of the big draw for my kids is that it's pure fun and fast. The game can change in 2 minutes, much like basketball. Not 90 minutes and low score...if you are down by 5---you can have a dramatic comeback in 3 minutes. Exciting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Futsal is not Soccer

Field of play is smaller
Ball is smaller, heavier
the goal is smaller and sized very differently
the amount of players is 5 versus 11 per team
The surface must be a hard surface not a soft grass or turf surface

now that we have established that a soccer field is not an appropriate field for futsal maybe it will make sense to you when i suggest you and your tennis racket go play tennis on a ping pong table or badminton court. Plenty of those around and based on your premise they should suit your tennis game as well as a soccer field will suit a futsal game.



This is funny. I was told by my kids coach that futsal was used to improve my kids soccer game when my DC couldn’t get out on the soccer field. Now that I think about it, that is in accurate. If my golf pro told me that for $500 I should play mini-golf next to an empty golf course I would have laughed her out of the room. If my tennis pro said (for $500) I should play table tennis next to an empty tennis court to improve my tennis game, she wouldn’t be my tennis coach. So now I ask myself, if my DC’s soccer coach is saying I should pay extra to play futsal instead of playing soccer in order to improve my DC’s soccer game, should I be listening to this guy? None of this is about developing my DC’s soccer playing skills, just about me paying more money. Can someone give me recommendations on where to move to to find a club that is more focused on soccer player development and less so on money-making ancillary activities?

No one is forcing you to be in ASA or do any ancillary activities, and the other clubs in reasonable commuting area are easily found by searching this board. There is no club, ASA or otherwise, that is super interested in developing the lower level teams, however. Clubs care about the kids on the top teams, and the lower level teams are a money making enterprise. I don't care because I mainly want my child out of the house and getting exercise (we have money and only him to spend it on). He has improved, but he is not a star player, nor will he ever be, no matter what I spend or where he plays. That's fine.

Based on my knowledge, futsal has helped him as a midfielder. It helps with decision making, and technical skills and tactics to get around opponents. I am not sure it would be as helpful in all other positions. It will not help with things like avoiding being shouldered off the ball, because shouldering and tackling are not permitted in futsal. Futsal is also a sport where you can have somewhat less stamina - you run a lot over a shorter distance, vs. the distances you need to cover in 11 a side soccer on a full field. Some skills and abilities transfer over, and some do not.

Disagree about the stamina---Futsal is an all our sprint the entire time you are in their---much like basketball. 10 minutes of hard futsal is intense. Big field---watch Messi play.. (you have to see him in person to note this) ...he is walking a majority of the game...but when he makes the run or sprint---all bets are off. I have seen him play in person several times and the first thing I thought was 'wow, he is walking a lot'. Midfielders outdoors have the most endurance/running.

[Anonymous]

"in there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Futsal, at least as played by youth clubs in this area, existed to keep kids training over the winter when it was less than ideal to play outside. Plenty of clubs are just staying outside and practicing/playing on turf. I'm nit sure DD is worse off because she's playing soccer rather than futsal this winter.

Mine are doing both. They have 3 practices with their outdoor team on turf and 2 futsal practices with another club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Futsal, at least as played by youth clubs in this area, existed to keep kids training over the winter when it was less than ideal to play outside. Plenty of clubs are just staying outside and practicing/playing on turf. I'm nit sure DD is worse off because she's playing soccer rather than futsal this winter.

Mine are doing both. They have 3 practices with their outdoor team on turf and 2 futsal practices with another club.

off-season---their futsal team takes preference and outdoor team is ok with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Futsal is not Soccer

Field of play is smaller
Ball is smaller, heavier
the goal is smaller and sized very differently
the amount of players is 5 versus 11 per team
The surface must be a hard surface not a soft grass or turf surface

now that we have established that a soccer field is not an appropriate field for futsal maybe it will make sense to you when i suggest you and your tennis racket go play tennis on a ping pong table or badminton court. Plenty of those around and based on your premise they should suit your tennis game as well as a soccer field will suit a futsal game.



This is funny. I was told by my kids coach that futsal was used to improve my kids soccer game when my DC couldn’t get out on the soccer field. Now that I think about it, that is in accurate. If my golf pro told me that for $500 I should play mini-golf next to an empty golf course I would have laughed her out of the room. If my tennis pro said (for $500) I should play table tennis next to an empty tennis court to improve my tennis game, she wouldn’t be my tennis coach. So now I ask myself, if my DC’s soccer coach is saying I should pay extra to play futsal instead of playing soccer in order to improve my DC’s soccer game, should I be listening to this guy? None of this is about developing my DC’s soccer playing skills, just about me paying more money. Can someone give me recommendations on where to move to to find a club that is more focused on soccer player development and less so on money-making ancillary activities?

No one is forcing you to be in ASA or do any ancillary activities, and the other clubs in reasonable commuting area are easily found by searching this board. There is no club, ASA or otherwise, that is super interested in developing the lower level teams, however. Clubs care about the kids on the top teams, and the lower level teams are a money making enterprise. I don't care because I mainly want my child out of the house and getting exercise (we have money and only him to spend it on). He has improved, but he is not a star player, nor will he ever be, no matter what I spend or where he plays. That's fine.

Based on my knowledge, futsal has helped him as a midfielder. It helps with decision making, and technical skills and tactics to get around opponents. I am not sure it would be as helpful in all other positions. It will not help with things like avoiding being shouldered off the ball, because shouldering and tackling are not permitted in futsal. Futsal is also a sport where you can have somewhat less stamina - you run a lot over a shorter distance, vs. the distances you need to cover in 11 a side soccer on a full field. Some skills and abilities transfer over, and some do not.

Not everything has to be about a parent micromanaging their kids 'career'. Sometimes it is just about FUN. My kids love Futsal and it is a nice distraction after long outdoor seasons. Some kids are better at Futsal than outdoor and physical size is less important.

[Anonymous]

Based on my knowledge, futsal has helped him as a midfielder. It helps with decision making, and technical skills and tactics to get around opponents. I am not sure it would be as helpful in all other positions. It will not help with things like avoiding being shouldered off the ball, because shouldering and tackling are not permitted in futsal. Futsal is also a sport where you can have somewhat less stamina - you run a lot over a shorter distance, vs. the distances you need to cover in 11 a side soccer on a full field. Some skills and abilities transfer over, and some do not.


Disagree about the stamina---Futsal is an all our sprint the entire time you are in their---much like basketball. 10 minutes of hard futsal is intense. Big field---watch Messi play.. (you have to see him in person to note this) ...he is walking a majority of the game...but when he makes the run or sprint---all bets are off. I have seen him play in person several times and the first thing I thought was 'wow, he is walking a lot'. Midfielders outdoors have the most endurance/running.

Well, all I know is that my son is usually a lot more winded after soccer games than futsal games, but he is a holding midfielder in soccer, so he runs a lot.

[Anonymous]

Not everything has to be about a parent micromanaging their kids 'career'. Sometimes it is just about FUN. My kids love Futsal and it is a nice distraction after long outdoor seasons. Some kids are better at Futsal than outdoor and physical size is less important.

Yes, obviously I understand that, but the person's question was not about kids having fun, so that's not really on point. It was about whether futsal is helpful for kids that are primarily interested in outdoor soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not everything has to be about a parent micromanaging their kids 'career'. Sometimes it is just about FUN. My kids love Futsal and it is a nice distraction after long outdoor seasons. Some kids are better at Futsal than outdoor and physical size is less important.

Yes, obviously I understand that, but the person's question was not about kids having fun, so that's not really on point. It was about whether futsal is helpful for kids that are primarily interested in outdoor soccer.

how is that even a question, it's touches they wouldn't otherwise get which is good. The bigger question is parent's thinking of a kid's 'career.' Lets the kids do what they want to and have fun. If you're pushing everything in terms of some vague payoff, then don't be surprised when they decide its' not fun anymore and just quit sports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not everything has to be about a parent micromanaging their kids 'career'. Sometimes it is just about FUN. My kids love Futsal and it is a nice distraction after long outdoor seasons. Some kids are better at Futsal than outdoor and physical size is less important.

Yes, obviously I understand that, but the person's question was not about kids having fun, so that's not really on point. It was about whether futsal is helpful for kids that are primarily interested in outdoor soccer.

how is that even a question, it's touches they wouldn't otherwise get which is good. The bigger question is parent's thinking of a kid's 'career.' Lets the kids do what they want to and have fun. If you're pushing everything in terms of some vague payoff, then don't be surprised when they decide its' not fun anymore and just quit sports

You are implying that they are looking for a "payoff". Their question was pretty straight forward regarding learning and getting better at soccer by playing soccer and not futsal.

Lets all assume the kids enjoy playing. Your take was a bit to cynical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Based on my knowledge, futsal has helped him as a midfielder. It helps with decision making, and technical skills and tactics to get around opponents. I am not sure it would be as helpful in all other positions. It will not help with things like avoiding being shouldered off the ball, because shouldering and tackling are not permitted in futsal. Futsal is also a sport where you can have somewhat less stamina - you run a lot over a shorter distance, vs. the distances you need to cover in 11 a side soccer on a full field. Some skills and abilities transfer over, and some do not.


Disagree about the stamina---Futsal is an all our sprint the entire time you are in their---much like basketball. 10 minutes of hard futsal is intense. Big field---watch Messi play.. (you have to see him in person to note this) ...he is walking a majority of the game...but when he makes the run or sprint---all bets are off. I have seen him play in person several times and the first thing I thought was 'wow, he is walking a lot'. Midfielders outdoors have the most endurance/running.

Well, all I know is that my son is usually a lot more winded after soccer games than futsal games, but he is a holding midfielder in soccer, so he runs a lot.

A lot of Futsal teams have a full-set of subs. 10 players.

My kid's team carried 7 and often there was only 1 sub or none. That is intense 40 minutes of all out sprinting.

But, I agree, I am peeved my sons' teams both carry large Futsal rosters because even though they are subbed out fairly---the total time is small.

[Anonymous]

Disagree about the stamina---Futsal is an all our sprint the entire time you are in their---much like basketball. 10 minutes of hard futsal is intense. Big field---watch Messi play.. (you have to see him in person to note this) ...he is walking a majority of the game...but when he makes the run or sprint---all bets are off. I have seen him play in person several times and the first thing I thought was 'wow, he is walking a lot'. Midfielders outdoors have the most endurance/running.


Well, all I know is that my son is usually a lot more winded after soccer games than futsal games, but he is a holding midfielder in soccer, so he runs a lot.


A lot of Futsal teams have a full-set of subs. 10 players.

My kid's team carried 7 and often there was only 1 sub or none. That is intense 40 minutes of all out sprinting.

But, I agree, I am peeved my sons' teams both carry large Futsal rosters because even though they are subbed out fairly---the total time is small.

Agree, a roster of 10 is too big most of the time - though we did have two players get hurt in our last game, so it was ok then, but that is rare.

[Anonymous]

Disagree about the stamina---Futsal is an all our sprint the entire time you are in their---much like basketball. 10 minutes of hard futsal is intense. Big field---watch Messi play.. (you have to see him in person to note this) ...he is walking a majority of the game...but when he makes the run or sprint---all bets are off. I have seen him play in person several times and the first thing I thought was 'wow, he is walking a lot'. Midfielders outdoors have the most endurance/running.


Well, all I know is that my son is usually a lot more winded after soccer games than futsal games, but he is a holding midfielder in soccer, so he runs a lot.


A lot of Futsal teams have a full-set of subs. 10 players.

My kid's team carried 7 and often there was only 1 sub or none. That is intense 40 minutes of all out sprinting.

But, I agree, I am peeved my sons' teams both carry large Futsal rosters because even though they are subbed out fairly---the total time is small.


Agree, a roster of 10 is too big most of the time - though we did have two players get hurt in our last game, so it was ok then, but that is rare.

That being said, though, last season my son wound up on three separate futsal teams and had three games most Sundays, relatively close in time. He handled it fine. One of the teams had 7 players, one had 9, and one had 10. There is no way he could play three full field soccer games in a day without feeling exhausted, but he is the primary kid on his team that plays the defensive midfielder position. He does not get subbed out much.