An in-house Futsal league has been met with mixed feelings from our parents. We wanted to explain why we believe this is the best option for our players. Our indoor travel has traditionally been “game only” at the Dome with the occasional practice at a school gym. While playing games is enjoyable, the purpose of gameplay is to utilize the skills learned at practice. Without the ability to consistently practice, the gameplay is not as valuable. So then add more practices, right? Well, adding practice time drastically increases costs because indoor space is at a premium. We don't want to increase the cost on our families, so as a Club, we started to think outside the box. As a result, the Futsal program was created.

We want our players to improve in the winter months. We found players maintaining skills in previous years with little overall improvement. To focus on player improvement practice, increased touches and competition are required. To meet these requirements an in-house Futsal league checks all the boxes.  We can offer weekly practice, teams will be smaller so players will get more touches in competition, and each team will be competitive because we get to balance the players.

Futsal is a trending indoor option among most premier clubs because it relies on sound fundamentals. With small teams (5v5) on a hard, fast surface; ball control, foot skills and quick play are required. Players' decisions will have to be made quickly because of the small space. This environment will build skills and translate to the outdoor game with sound touches and quicker decisions.

Playing in-house provides us the control to ensure all players are able to improve. During league play, we cannot ensure balanced competition. Therefore, players can either get hidden or excel based on athleticism vs skill. A futsal environment will help all players with team balance and even coaching who is focused on development — not winning at all costs. Being in-house will also build community and teamwork among players and families. As players get older, team sizes increase. Players who may not be playing together today will be playing together in the coming years. Getting opportunities to play together during these times will help future teams gel faster. 

This is a unique opportunity because we are committed to player development. It is easy to play in a league because the club does not have to do any work. We are taking on more work and commitment because we truly want to help everyone get better. The only way this will work is if families sign up and match our commitment to developing players. There will be plenty of time to play against other clubs. This is our time to commit to ourselves as a club and the improvement of our players.