Connecticut Junior Soccer Association

HomeFutsal

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America and U.S. Futsal, the only national Futsal governing body directly affiliated with U.S Soccer and U.S Youth Soccer, have partnered to create the first ever NSCAA Diploma for Futsal.

Technical Staff and Resources

U.S Futsal – CJSA Technical Resource: Johnny Arteaga

Having obtained a U.S Futsal Federation coaching license, as well as a U.S Soccer Federation National B License, Coach Jhonny Arteaga is the Founder/Director of JA Elite Soccer Academy LLC, a training organization based out of Stamford, CT. Johnny had a distinguished amateur and professional playing career in both futsal and soccer as part of the NY Red Bulls, an MLS team.

CJSA Futsal – CJSA Technical Resource: Everson Mariel

Having obtained a U.S Faisal Federation coaching license, and a member of the national champion Sandra Faisal Club team, coach Emerson Mariel is the Founder/Director of Emerson Soccer Academy in Footbridge, CT. The Emerson indoor soccer complex includes three Faisal courts and is a host training center for both coach and referee licensing. Emerson had a distinguished playing career for Quinnipiac University, and professionally in Brazil and Asia.

CJSA Futsal – CJSA Technical Resource: Jadir Barbosa

Having had coaching experience with the likes of Sacred Heart University, Emerson Soccer Academy, Ajax Premier Club, among others, co-founder of Champions Experience, Jadir Barbosa brings quality knowledge and experience. Barbuda has an MBA in Sports Management from the University of New Haven, and a Bachelors of Science in Marketing from Quinnipiac University. Barbosa played for a number of professional teams in Brazil growing up, before playing Division I soccer at Quinnipiac University.

Futsal – The Four Pillars of Development

  • Technique: The importance of first touch, controlling surface and ball manipulation is emphasized in futsal. The speed if the hard court is mitigated by the weight of the ball and the ball naturally stays low so players receive a lot of the ball to feet. Accepting that the first emphasis of player development is comfort with the ball, futsal and soccer share the importance of individual ball mastery.
  • Tactics: With four field players on a futsal team, the incorporation of the goalkeeper in effective possession is critical. Goalkeepers are an important part of possession and attacking development as is increasingly the case in soccer. In terms of developing decision making on and off the ball, futsal is extremely powerful with reduced numbers and a smaller playing surface than soccer.
  • Physical: The constant change of direction and explosive movement of futsal mirrors other indoor sports such as basketball and volleyball but is most closely aligned with soccer.
  • Psychological: Futsal is a sport where each player is required to be fully engaged physically and mentally at all times. the action is fast paced and constant. Futsal requires attentive athletes who do not shy away from responsibility on either side of the ball. Regardless of the game format (4v4 to 11v11) soccer coaches seek assertive, engaged players and futsal will foster them.

Coaching Benefits of Futsal

  • Game-Based Coaching Methods: As coaches we often hear the adage “let the game be the teacher” – an assertion that player understanding and performance is best served by playing and less by constant coaching intervention. A fast paced 5v5 attacking and counter attacking game played on small court seems a perfect answer for coaches supporting this philosophical approach.
  • Tactical And Cognitive Development: We are conditioned to believe tactical development is an advanced coaching application reserved for older and more advanced players. Although associated with more primitive coaching methods, we often attribute tactical coaching with young players as early signs prioritizing wining over development. Although there are some merits to over – emphasizing technique over tactics, this extreme viewpoint has limited our ability to develop decision making and cognitive abilities of players. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) found futsal to provide a perfect training environment to integrate techniques, tactics, conditioning and decision making concurrently, resulting in young players with outstanding “game intelligence”.
  • Reading The Game: As a rule, experienced players will make better decisions during the game, However, the trajectory of a players learning curve, the appropriateness of the decisions and the speed to react will differ considerably between players. To improve decision making, a coach may want to replicate and increase the frequency of the action so players can refine their thought processes. The confines of a futsal court and limited number of players eliminates some of the extraneous variables and increases the likelihood of particular scenarios presenting in the flow of a game. Interchanging players between futsal and soccer training environments can be an outstanding way to nurture intelligent players.

Characteristics of Futsal – Implications for Coaching

  • Two Way Players: Often in soccer, units of the team will not actively involved in defending or attacking sequences. This is rarely the case in futsal. All five players are required to participate in both phases of play, imposing greater physical, cognitive and technical demands on players.
  • 1v1 Player: Somewhat similar to the tactics employed in basketball, coaches will bounce between man-marking and zonal defensive strategies . Inevitably, players will find themselves face to face with a single opponent and the ability to succeed in the 1v1 duel will impact the effectiveness of that player. An effective attacking player will beat their opponent and create a desirable numerical advantage. Conversely, a defender that is capable of slowing down an attack and keeping attacking sequences in front of the defensive unit is equally as valuable to a team.
  • Goalkeepers Offensive Contributions: With only 5 players from each team on the court, futsal coaches regularly aim to create numerical overloads in the attack. when a team has developed controlled progression and/or the opponent is defending deep in their own half, it is not uncommon to see the goalkeeper enter into the attacking half of the field. Depending on the tactical formation, the goalkeeper will take on the role of of the center player to allow teammates to move into deeper attacking positions. Although there is a risk, commitment to this strategy has developed competent and confident keepers with exceptional foot skills – a real asset for keepers in modern soccer.

Origin of Futsal

  • The origin of futsal can be traced back to Montevideo, Uruguay.
  • In 1930, Juan Carlos Ceriani devised a five-a-side version of soccer for youth competition in the YMCAs.
  • The game is often played on basketball sized courts, both indoor and out without the use of sidewalls.
  • Futsal became immensely popular throughout South America, especially Brazil.
  • Brazilian legends such as Pele, Zico and Ronaldinho are examples of how futsal shaped their playing style.
  • Brazil’s style of play is often attributed to their love for Futsal.
  • Futsal is now global, as it is being played under the auspices of FIFA, from Europe to North and Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
  • Paraguay won the first ever international futsal competition, the South American Cup, in 1965.
  • Six more South American Cups were held through 1979, with Brazil winning all of them.
  • Brazil continued to dominant as they went onto win the inaugural Pan American Cup in 1980, and won it again the next time it was played in 1984.
  • The U.S took part in the 1984 cup, but finished out of the running.

History of US Futsal

  • U.S Futsal was founded in 1981 and incorporated in January 1983.
  • The current U.S Futsal president is Alex J.C. Para. The first U.S Futsal president was Osvaldo Garcia.
  • The first international futsal match played by the U.S Futsal National Team was in May 1984 in Canada. The U.S won, 6-5.
  • The first international futsal match in the United States was held in December 1985 at Sonoma State University, California. The U.S Select Team defeated Australia, 9-5.
  • The U.S Futsal (Indoor Team) finished third in 1989 and second in 1992 at the FIFA Five-A-Side World Championship.
  • This was the highest showing by any team from the United States in a FIFA tournament until the U.S Women’s Team won the gold medal in China for outdoor soccer.
  • The U.S Select Team defeated Australia, 9-5.

Youth Futsal in the United States

  • Futsal is establishing itself at the youth level in the United States.
  • The Boys and Girls Club of America took a strong interest after viewing a demonstration done by the Columbia Park Club in San Francisco.
  • Since adopting the sport, futsal is now played at roughly 1,000 Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the United States.
  • The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) also plays the sport and has been working closely with U.S Futsal since 1988.
  • The U.S Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) and U.S Futsal signed an agreement in August 1995 and in 1999 to promote futsal in all their National State Association’s as their game of choice for indoor soccer under the auspices of U.S Futsal.