Courtesy: Soccer Nation


Darren Parker U19 Win U.S. Futsal National Championships

by Rob Webb

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Former ASK the REF Columnist Rob Webb on the U.S. Futsal National Championships

The 27th U.S. Futsál National Championship was held last weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center, near Anaheim Disneyland USA. What a weekend.

Fun is fun, but Futsál is tense. I was there because my son Drew plays for Darren Parker's team (and I'm the de facto manager). Sitting at courtside watching the best of the best is a rush, a pulse-quickening adrenaline shower. There were divisions all the way down to U-7, and plenty of action to go around.

Aside from my son's division, I had the distinct pleasure of watching the men's open division, dominated by the squad from Utah, which proceeded to dismantle their opponents. Not surprisingly, half the squad is from South America (Brazil, mostly, although the keeper is from Paraguay) and the standout player was a kid from South Jordan, Utah, who may not have had the size, but believe me, he's got game.

If you haven't signed up for Futsál, or gone to a tournament, do yourself a favor.

There were all ages and teams from NorCal, SoCal, México, Utah, you name it.

I confess, it's been awhile since I enjoyed a U-10 game. Instead of a big field game, watch it in Futsál. The words of U.S. Futsál Federation President Alex Para ring true: the youngers need to be playing the indoor game, not the big field grass game. True Dat.

To all you parents out there, thinking your kid is playing soccer on 50 by 100, think: ball touch. The kids get 50 times the ball touch on 15 by 30. More fun, more action, more skill.

For a description of the U19 action, go to my best soccer pal (he was on the UK trip to watch Man U), Assistant Coach Duarte Andrade's soccer blog: http://www.socnation.tumblr.com/.

Futsál. Take it for a test drive. A league is coming to your neighborhood soon.





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