LAYSA_Reg@hotmail.com PO Box 248, Brainerd, MN 56401

Winter Futsal

Winter Futsal

Winter Futsal

Starting 12/3/23!


Registration is now OPEN!

Winter Futsal will be held every Sunday, at Forestview Middle School, starting December 3rd continuing through March. Please see information below.

  • 1-2pm – Open Soccer for ALL ages    –   FREE
  • 2-3:30pm – U10 – U13  –   $100 for the winter session
  • 3:30pm-5pm – U14+  –   $100 for the winter session 

Not sure which age group your child falls under? Check out the US Soccer Birth Matrix below for the 2023-2024 Season.

 
NO FUTSAL – 12/24 & 12/31 – Futsal will resume on 1/7/24
FUTSAL WILL BE MOVED TO RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY on 2/4 & 2/18 — NO Futsal 2/11
 

What is Futsal?

Futsal is the FIFA-recognized form of small-sided indoor football (the word is a contraction of the Spanish ‘fútbol sala’). Futsal is a variation of soccer, played indoors with several players on each side. The game is played with a smaller ball, on a smaller field and without walls. Futsal was created in Brazil, where it’s become very popular. Because it’s fast-paced and played in tight spaces, futsal helps players improve their skills at dribbling and passing the ball under pressure—skills that are vital for success in soccer. Famous players such as Messi and Ronaldo can attribute their success back to when they played futsal.

Why Futsal?

Minnesota winters can be LONG. That is why the Lakes Area Youth Soccer Association has chosen to include Futsal in their winter programming to help fine tune the soccer skills your soccer player learned in the Spring, Summer and Fall.

1. Improves Athletic Intelligence – Futsal’s fast-paced and continuous nature helps to improve a player’s spatial intelligence and ability to learn to read the game. A player’s head is always on a swivel, taking in information, anticipating the opponent’s next move, and looking to exploit weaknesses on the court.

2. Speed of Play – The small space requires players to not only play quicker but also to make faster decisions. In futsal, you only have a split second to decide what to do with the ball before you are put under high pressure, this inherently encourages players to move on and off the ball, create space and support teammates to combine out of pressure. 

3. Ball Skills and Control – According to Dr. Emilio Miranda from Sao Paolo University, a futsal player will have 600% more touches on the ball than an outdoor soccer player. This inherently helps players master their touch on the ball and will give players confidence to hold on to the ball more and take players on 1v1.

4. Creativity – Perhaps the single most important reason to play futsal is that it encourages players to be creative and think out of the box. Because the court is smaller and you get so much more touches on the ball, players try things that they would never risk doing on the soccer field. This creativity can come in the form of crazy 1v1 moves, unbelievable passes, and combinations or the mastery of the toe-poke.

Futsal is a great developmental technique to take your soccer skills to the next level. Small-ball situations are important even in large scale situations, and having the skills to execute these instances properly will give you a major advantage against your opponent.