With St Peter’s now out of order for the next 6 weeks due to the GCSE exams, we have been relocated over the road to St Olave’s School. Also, this week was one of the local football tournaments, so numbers were very low, but we carry on regardless. Those players could come worked their socks off and we saw some fab play!

We had one new girl come and try futsal for the first time – welcome Eilidh – we hope you had fun and look forward to welcoming you again very soon!

We worked on playing out of pressure this week, something all futsal players must be good at. The court was set up as 3v2 with attackers out numbering the defenders. The goalkeeper had to play the pass to the defenders in their own half to start the game. It is hard playing when you know you have less players than the opposition, but the starting players worked so hard to make space, work as a unit and get the ball over halfway as quick as possible. Players worked hard, in what was a very hot sports hall, to move into space and look after the ball. We had some fab goals with loads of good futsal from all the players, so good to watch and really enjoyed by the coaches!

Notable Players of the Session

1st Session – Lily N – This young lady is an absolute inspiration; she has got just better and better each week. She works so hard in and out of possession, always looking to involve her teammates, never just playing for herself and all with the biggest smile on her face. We can’t wait to see what the future brings but it will be amazing!!

2nd Session –Lena L – She turned up an hour early to help with the youngest group, was brilliant with them, then worked extremely hard in her training session. Lena never stops running, does everything at 100 miles an hour, and if we could only get her to stop apologising!! She is fab and we are so proud of her being part of our club!

3rd Hour – Katie D – a player who has all the ability in the world and today she showed it. She can pass, dribble, and shoot as good as anyone in the club. A fabulous young lady, a delight to coach, always listens, never afraid to say her piece and one we would love to join the ladies when she can. Fab day Katie!

Final thoughts of a coach – today I am going to talk about something I am asked about often, and it is a very controversial topic….strap in and be ready to shout at the computer….cause most of you are not going to be happy!

Ok, here goes – is futsal a development tool for football? So already I can hear people shouting at their computers…Yes, of course it is, why wouldn’t it be, what are you talking about?? Now that they have that out of their system, let me have my 10p worth. First and foremost, futsal and football are DIFFERENT games – yes, I know, hard to believe but they really are! They use similar skills, but each have a unique set of specific techniques – for example in futsal sole of the foot control and toe-poke finish.

The most common question I get asked when new people want to join the club is will it help improve my daughter’s football? My answers are very clear, yes but with a huge but! I find myself explaining so often that I coach futsal, not football, so please don’t expect me to praise your daughter’s football skills. So, what do I mean by this – one key part of futsal is recovery, working back behind the ball when you lose possession. I see very often, players who are attackers in football standing on or around the halfway line in futsal just waiting for the ball – this is not futsal. It takes a bit of time for them to realise what they must do, we encourage, cajole, beg, plead, and eventually most get it. But this highlights a fundamental difference in the two games – they are simply not the same.

What I do find is players who have been pigeonholed as defenders by their footballing coaches, realise very quickly in futsal they are allowed over halfway and can go and score goals, something they absolutely love! I have coached football for nearly 20 years, on and off, and futsal for the last 10 or so and I really do believe younger players love futsal more – why? Simple, they get more touches of the ball, contribute more to the game both in and out of possession, and they are not forced into one position by their coach – everyone attacks and everyone defenders, even the goalkeepers can score!

I guess what I am trying to say is, as a coach, don’t write futsal off as a gimmick, yes, it has a World Cup, is played all over the world and whether you like it or not, I know your players will love it!

Coach Chris