Courtesy: This is Bath


High fives at festival

Thursday, January 12, 2012

FUTSAL The Bath & West Wiltshire Schools' FA staged the country's first national futsal festival for district primary teams on Saturday.

Three teams from the area were among the 24 that flocked to the purpose-built Birmingham @Futsal Arena, with 130 matches played during an action-packed day.

The aim of the event was to give youngsters a taste of a new format of football without the pressures of knockout rounds or league tables.

Futsal – five-a-side football with a few twists – emphasises individual close ball skills which are developed through an increased number of touches. Players are frequently placed in reduced space situations, forcing them to make decisions demanding speed of thought and quick reflexes.

The event was sponsored by the Premier League as part of a new initiative to support schools' district football in the foundation phase, as stated in the new Elite Player Performance Plan which is soon to be rolled out in academies across the country.

Bath coach Tim Kirk said: "We have wanted to organise such an event for many years now and we were fortunate that the Premier League stepped in to provide the resources.

"Futsal is such an exciting game and the boys absolutely loved it as they probably had more opportunities to shoot, dribble and test themselves one-versus-one on Saturday than they have done in the whole of the season so far.

"Each game was a real rollercoaster ride so I am not sure who was more exhausted, the players or the parents watching!"

Bath's under-11s, under-10s and West Wiltshire took on talented youngsters from across the country, with Bootle, South London, Loughborough and Plymouth among those taking park.

The under-10 team performed beyond expectations, showing that they were more than a match in terms of skill and speed for their older age-group opponents.

Caine Bradbury scooped the goal of the day accolade for a majestic solo effort in which he beat three players and then the goalkeeper. A close second was Harry Barter's acute finish against Chester after Ben Harding's audacious backheel flick beat two players.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com