Courtesy: The Press Tribune



Roseville’s Anthem FC becomes overnight success in futsal world

New sports franchise earns first pro team in the region

Wednesday Sep 14 2016

by Steven Wilson

One of the fastest growing sports in the world has taken off in Roseville.

Futsal, a game derived from the sport of soccer, incorporates 30 million people worldwide according to the Professional Futsal League (PFL). With aggressive tactics, smaller fields (hard-surface courts) and technical training, the game also often features more scoring than traditional soccer. The goals and the ball are both smaller in size and the ball is heavier and harder to kick, but that creates a welcoming challenge to a number of athletes.

It’s so popular even Shark Tank entrepreneur Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, took a principal ownership stake in the PFL earlier this year.

“It’s the fastest growing sport in the world,” explained Mo Ruiz, who helped kick start futsal locally. “There have been other organizations in Rocklin competing in futsal, but not how we do it.”

Ruiz helped build Anthem FC, which began in December of 2015 as a lifestyle clothing brand. But as the founder of Mad Skillz soccer, Ruiz, opened his 2,000-foot Rocklin/Roseville soccer facility for futsal training in August last year and saw his business skyrocket.

“We wanted to unite the community of soccer, all in one place,” Ruiz recalled. “So we came up with a clothing line which everyone can wear and they can represent the love of the game, together.

“But nobody was doing Futsal like the way we wanted to do it, so we held open tryouts in late December, after Christmas. We weren’t expecting to have a ton of interest, but it blew up overnight. We went from zero to six teams, which was over 100 kids, in one weekend.”

Fast forward eight months and Anthem FC is currently sanctioned by U.S. Futsal, the lone governing body in the United States. The organization has teams for 7- to 15-year-olds and operates a brand new pro team out of the Roseville Community Center.

“Our pro team competed in the NPFL (National Premier Futsal League) this year (2016), but we’re joining Major League Futsal next season (2017),” explained Ruiz, who is a member of the team. “We’re coached by Alex Butterfield, who’s also our Youth Technical Director. Anthem plans on offering amateur and pro contracts next year.”

Anthem FC pro standout Ryan Palmbaum — a junior at Whitney High School — was one of 12 athletes asked to compete for the U.S. Youth Futsal under-18 National Team that traveled to Colombia in early August for a series of international friendlies.

“He’s very talented, and he’s playing on the U16 squad as well,” Ruiz pointed out. “Ryan’s being scouted by Georgetown, Stanford and so many other high-level D-I clubs. He just recently went to Italy to play with another club as well.”

Ruiz knows a thing or two about playing at the highest level.

The executive director of Anthem FC grew up playing soccer and spent eight years with the San Luis Obispo Soccer Club. After one year overseas, he returned to California to join the Sacramento Knights for the 2001 season. Ruiz then spent six seasons in the Central California Soccer League with two different programs. He has since transitioned his skills to a futsal court and currently plays for his own club, Anthem FC. He has eight years of experience training kids in both sports and has been involved in elite technical training for over five years.

“When we started, our focus was teaching our players the technical skills they needed to become better players and to be more confident on the field,” Ruiz added. “But when we organized the teams to get them ready for the Northwest Regional Tournament, we found out we needed more strategy, so we implemented that.”

Despite only technical training and not much of a gameplan, Anthem FC’s under-10 girls squad captured first place at the Northwest Regional Tournament before taking home top honors in the 2016 Copa Cabana Futsal Tournament in Huntington Beach.

“It was the coolest thing to go down to SoCal and just wipe out the competition,” Ruiz said. “I was like, ‘Wow, we’re doing something right.”

It’s clear Ruiz is operating both businesses at a high level.

Granite Bay Football Club defender and midfielder Jacob Weil, who’s part of the 2002 A Team, has been attending sessions at Mad Skillz for a year and has witnessed the benefits.

“You learn and work on your foot skills in compact areas,” Weil explained. “At Granite Bay, we are taught broad techniques for defense in spread out areas. So coming here has definitely paid off. I’m able to pick my head up and control the ball much better, rather than just kicking it.”

Meanwhile, Anthem FC has grown from six teams to over 186 kids on ten teams in six months. But the organization is still looking to expand and has plans to create their own league right here in Roseville.

“The next step is to grow and train more players and expand their possibilities,” Ruiz explained. “We want the kids to be able to play anywhere in the country or around the world.”

Interested players can visits anthemarmy.com to sign up for tryouts.



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