Out Of Possession = Hard Work! – Week 14 – Season 7
It was so cold this morning, but we soon got all the players warm up inside the sports hall! Some amazing performance from so many players, the league games in the West Riding Girls Futsal League have sharpened their match play!
We had a new girl come and try futsal for the first time – welcome Bonny – we hope you had fun and look forward to welcoming you again very soon!
The theme today was defending outnumbered. We started with a 3/4 court 2v1, working on making it a 1v2 with the defenders’ movement towards the ball, their body shape, speed and control. The players didn’t realise how many different things you had to think about when out of possession. This progressed to a 2v2 and finally into a full court game in which in possession you had 5 players and out of possession you only had 4. If you lost the ball, one of your players left the court and the opposition gained one. We talked about could you press to win the ball, if not what not, and where was best to defend your goal in this situation. The girls worked so hard, especially the last group, and we had some great progress – more on this next week!
Click the image below to download this weeks session plan
Notable Players of the Session
1st Session – Emily C – very quiet, very composed but works her heart out. She is really starting to understand the game and each week and showing us a little bit more of what she is capable of. Fab session Emily!
2nd Session – Sienna S – a player who has benefited from playing in the West Yorkshire Futsal league and today she carried on that good work. Listens, asks question, and improves week on week! Top job Sienna!
3rd Hour – Abbie D – she was like a Rolls Royce today! So composed, so clever and looked an awesome player. This young lady has all the attributes to go all the way into the ladies’ team and one we are watching very, very closely!
4th Hour – Megan G – Futsal goalkeepers are a special breed! We have been working with all our goalkeepers to get them to be more adventurous, and join the play more, and today Megan really gave it a go – she even managed to score the winning goal – see the picture below!
Final thoughts of a coach – I had a great conversation today with a parent who was very new to futsal and was amazed at the game. He said – wow, this isn’t just indoor football! He went on to say it’s like a game of chess, moving the opposition players around to create space and time to try and score…I love it!
I think futsal is very much misunderstood by most of the footballing community, and something that we need to address if it is ever going to really flourish in England. The game is not a smaller version of the 11-a-side game – yes it has some similar rules, and there are some cross-over techniques but as a game it really does stand on its own. Most new contacts I get from parents about their daughters joining the club start with the line – she wants to improve her football…the replay goes…yes it will help but I don’t coach football, I coach futsal…there is usually a pause before the parent replies…isn’t it the same thing? When they come for their free session, the girls 99% of the time love it, and the parents start to see what we mean.
My stepdaughter gave up football to concentrate on futsal at age 16, she is now extremely fortunate to be included in an England talent pathway for futsal. I watched a men’s game yesterday evening, York play Bolton, and none of these players play football, they are all dedicated futsal players. If you want to be successful in anything in life, you must dedicate yourself, be single minded and concentrate on what is needed. Futsal needs that mind set…just my opinion…you don’t have to agree…
Finally words this week go to Heather, our latest recruit from the academy – 16 years old 10 days ago, started her first ever national league game on Saturday, 8 seconds into the game and with her first touch, smashed the ball into the roof of the net – we all dream about debuts like that – watch the clip here, it’s simply amazing!
Coach Chris
