Why Futsal Will Accelerate Your Player's Development  

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The England DNA wants coaches to work towards helping players develop outstanding technical ability. This starts in the Foundation Phase and playing Futsal is a great game to use.
The Foundation Phase is the perfect time to introduce players to the benefits of playing Futsal. The constraints of the game really do help to challenge the players, regardless of age, and it is the perfect game to supplement the involvement many young players will have with football. The England DNA demands that a different kind of player is developed and Futsal has a very important role to play.

DNA Foundation Phase Futsal Intro

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In the information that follows I have made reference to a feature of the game and aligned this with the DNA headlines that you will become so familiar with as you use this resource:

If you are indoors in the winter and have limited time – just play the game.

• The players will have increased touches and decisions to make (master the ball)

• The players will have increased opportunities to: accelerate, decelerate, change direction, stop and start, dodge and feint (master your body)

• Players are under constant pressure and have limited space (seek creative solutions)

• The players will have more tactical challenges to overcome (instinctive decision making)

• There will be more opportunities to shoot, pass, move, dribble and play 1v1 (be exciting with the ball)

• The players will have to react to transition more often (instinctive decisions)

• The players will have to defend as an individual and a team (intelligent defending)

And whilst all this is going on the players are having fun and enjoying the game.

 

As coaches we have to consider the balance between structured and unstructured practice time during the week. For our Foundation Phase players the training time in the grassroots game is likely to be between an hour or two hours per week (if you are lucky). If this is all structured, coach led and quite formal in nature then the players will miss out on the problem solving, decision making and improvisation needed just to cope with the game of Futsal. 

If you take your team indoors for the winter you have to consider using Futsal. It is a great option for development and the FA now has a range of qualifications from Level 1, Level 2 to UEFA B Futsal which will help coaches develop both themselves and their players using this game.
You will find lots of Futsal practice ideas in line with the England DNA within this section so make sure you consider Futsal as an option for your players and you will be amazed by the results.