Courtesy: The FA.com


Somerset's Futsal future

Monday, 09 July, 2012

FA Futsal Fives League creates the next generation of National League Players.

At the start of 2012, Somerset FA set up two FA Futsal Fives Leagues within the County in Taunton and Bath. In the Bath Division National League Club, Team Bath entered its Development side into the league, predominantly an U18s team to provide them increased playing opportunities against other adult teams. The team did better than expected in this, the League’s first season and took the title with a string of impressive performances.

Due to the success of the team, three of the players have now moved into training with FA National League side at Team Bath and two of them will feature in the club's squad for the new season. Gary Bell, a Futsal Scholar from Bristol City FC and Charlie Wills, a Sixth Form student from Ralph Allen School, have both excelled in recent months. Gary picked up the U18s player of the year award and Charlie was the U18s' most improved player at the club's recent annual awards. Moreover, U18s captain Joe Ryan has had an exceptional year and the club wishes him all the best as he leaves Bath to study at Liverpool John Moores University and no doubt he will be playing Futsal Fives and National League Futsal next year.

Somerset FA Futsal Fives League Co-ordinator and Team Bath Head Coach Sion Kitson commented on these players' great development.

"Futsal in the Bath area has grown in recent months thanks to the new FA Futsal Fives League and this in turn has seen Team Bath Futsal Club's youth sections flourish as well. Due to increased playing opportunities, the whole team but these three players in particular have really progressed their Futsal and they are some of the first young players I have seen that naturally use Futsal specific technique.

"They manipulate the ball effectively with the sole of the foot and employ tactical elements of the game such as zonal defending and counter attacking to the back post with relative ease. I am really pleased for what they have achieved, but the hard work starts now. I don’t want them to be good Futsal players I want them to become excellent Futsal players with the technical, tactical and physical maturity to come into our first team squad and be better than the guy sitting next to them."

Moreover, a number of the other players in the Team Bath Development team have really improved and many of them will be playing more FA Futsal Fives over the summer before tasting more Futsal with the club's reserve team. The Futsal Fives programme is a beneficial platform for young players to gain match experience and in Bath it has not only supported these players but also the Team Bath Futsal Club player pathway from the first team right down to the U16s.

The new FA Futsal Fives Leagues in Somerset kick off in July. If you wish to find out more information on how to enter a team or how to join the Team Bath Youth Futsal programme please contact Sion.Kitson@SomersetFA.com




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