This article was written by Chris Rue, Rush Soccer’s Global Futsal Manager.
There is no better way to learn and understand the nuances of futsal than to jump head first into the sport. Form a group of 6-7 players, enter a tournament and get on the sharp end. Coaches and players will learn a tremendous amount while competing against all levels of competition. The sharp end has always been the best teacher. Whether you are a coach or player, being in the mix always asks questions and will continuously put you in uncomfortable situations. Experiences are the true teacher. Learning to become comfortable being uncomfortable is paramount to development. For some, this is difficult to stomach; others will thrive.
The Futsal environment has many similar characteristics to the surfing culture. The surfing culture can teach us a lot about youth development. Kids thrust themselves into the environment and learn by watching others and experimenting. They fail and repeat until the problem is solved. Soon, they know. This is a very different form of learning. They are not asked to regurgitate answers that they remember to take a test. This is a form of education that, once learned through trial and error, sticks. We define skill as a task that can be completed on demand in the right situation but we rarely ask players to learn that skill in a fluid way. Sessions are set up with cones or mannequins and we ask the players to perform tasks, but this is not developing a skill. The genius is the ability to read the situation presented and find solutions, who are we to tell a player how to do it? Their own experience should guide them.
We have proven extremely adept in this country at making the player who can perform a maneuver over and over again, flawlessly, but be careful what you are creating; robots. The soccer greats all point to futsal as a main course in their youth careers because of the pure raw nature of being on the sharp end. Dealing with defenders, anticipating situations, and learning the art of deception will undoubtedly frustrate growing players whilst learning. Failure will occur often. However, an education in this setting will become permanent. We would be smart as a soccer nation to include a massive amount of our younger players in this culture. Only then, will we compete at the highest levels. It falls on our shoulders as educators. Form a group and enter a futsal event, you will be happy you took those first steps.
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Image Credits: Minnesota Rush.