With the heavy wind and rain from Storm Darragh hitting York this morning, we were very grateful to be inside away from it all! I guess after 15 years of coaching football outside, a few warm, dry hours coaching futsal inside makes all the difference!

After watching the current round of games in the West Riding Futsal League we noticed that some of the players were struggling on out of possession re-starts. We realised that we hadn’t really given them any help on both topics, so today we addresses this. We talked about on a futsal court where is the most danger and why we must defend this first. We ask the players to think about defending in front of the ball and why this can cause problems. We showed why getting pressure on the ball quickly made life easier when out of possession, and how this helped you as a player. Out of possessions topics are never easy as players always want the ball, but we got such a great response from all the girls today, and the game play seriously went up in all the age groups – fantastic to watch!

Players of the Week:

First Hour – Ania G – she might be one of the smallest on court but boy she has a huge heart. Great feet and never afraid to tackle anyone, brilliant to watch and great to coach. Only young but a great futsal future ahead for this one!

Second Hour – Freya L – another masterful showing from Freya, happy on the ball, great without it, reads the game so well, and looks comfortable in all she does. Top display from a talented young lady!

Third Hour – Maygen M – possibly Maygen’s best futsal session so far. She looked after the ball, played it back when required and broke lines with her fantastic pace when the opportunities showed. She is a talent, and now really starting to show it!

Fourth Hour – Eleanor C – what a player! She looked so at ease on court today, moved the ball well, found pass after pass, looked very dangerous in possession and worked hard out of possession. Quality in all she did today, fantastic to watch!

Final Thoughts of a Coach…

As we get to the end of another fantastic 12 months of futsal, I thought I would pick one or two of my personal highlights from 2024.

I must start with the U12 side that are currently playing in the West Riding Girls Futsal League, they have left me speechless at times with their play. They are a new group of players but have really gelled as a side and have gone 6 games unbeaten. As we speak they could still win their league, if a few results go their way. They are such a physically small group but that hasn’t stopped them from making crunching tackles, making tremendous blocks and defending like their life depended on it. What a group of young ladies!

The ladies team winning the clubs first ever national title must be up there with one of the highlights of the year. To coach a team in a national final, something I have never done, and then to go and win it in a very exciting and tense final will forever be in my memories. The whole day was just about perfect, the number of spectators that made the trip to Derby to roar the ladies’ home, the amazing atmosphere they created with the Genesis supporters and the game itself. I have written plenty about this day, but I still look up at the trophy and smile – thank you everyone.

I must comment on the ladies training and the academy players. We asked the ladies team if they would allow the U16s who have shown a desire to play for them if they could attend a few training sessions, so they could see for themselves the standard they needed to reach. I have been blown away by the number of players who have wanted to attend, their level of futsal and the way the ladies team have helped in their development. The step from U16 to open age is huge and anything we can do to help with this transition is a must, but the ladies have really done all they can to help, so good to watch them coach and assist these talented youngsters.

I’m sure I could find at least another 10 reasons why this year has been amazing – the BBQ, coaching on my birthday, the new players, the supporters, the new coaches – all I can say is I am externally grateful to everyone associated with the club, the work they do so we can give females of all ages a chance to play this amazing game – thank you so very much everyone xx

Coach Chris