Maximizing Opposed Playing Time: Rush Canada’s and Miami Rush’s Futsal Programs

As explained in The Heart of The Rush, one of the two pillars of our Player Development Approach is to maximize weekly playing time in direct confrontation. In this article, we present an alternative that two Rush clubs use for that purpose: FUTSAL.

Quoting the section What We Believe In from The Heart Of The Rush.

“Stating that the game is the teacher is more than a philosophical idea. Our 70 Games Rule is the overarching expression of it. At the youth stages, we want our teams to play 70 11v11 scrimmages a year. Some will be formal and some others as part of a training session, just like some will last longer than others, but they will present the stage for learning to take place. At the grassroots level, the 70 Games Rule is expressed through the constant encouragement and club initiatives to increase the overall weekly playing time of the participant. That doesn’t mean increasing the number of training sessions (team or individual), it means providing opportunities for the players to play more time in direct confrontation“.

The Heart Of The Rush.

This month we are not debating or presenting on our player development approach. This is not a theory based campaign, but a pragmatic one. We want our players to play more time in direct confrontation than they do in any other club. This article is not about why?, it’s about how?

For many of our clubs, the answer (at least partially), relies in FUTSAL.

You will notice in the two cases presented below that training is divided into three categories: Formal, Alternative Formal, and Informal. This is what the categories represent:

1. Formal: Regular training and competition (includes High School)
2. Alternative Formal: Futsal or similar, there’s still coaching involved.
3. Informal: Spontaneous, pick up, no coaching involved.

RUSH CANADA

Working alongside Rush Canada’s Technical Director Slobodan Pavlovic, we collected information regarding the club’s Futsal program for U10 and under, and U11 and older. At Rush Canada, Futsal is not only impactful in player development, it is also a revenue stream. Check below.

Brief description of the program: Futsal at Rush Canada is mandatory and included in the annual registration package. U10 and under play one hour a week (minimum) and U11 and older two hours a week.

Disclaimer: This varies considerably depending on the time of the year, as they use Futsal increasingly during the off season periods with additional camps, tournaments, etc.

Futsal costs the player $450 (for U10 & Under) and $700 (U11 & over) a year.

From a soccer standpoint and the main reason why we evaluate the case, the Futsal program contributes with a minimum of 20% extra playing time in direct confrontation, or the equivalent of 0.81 hours weekly (average) at U10 and under, and 1.77 hours at U11 and older.

As it says on the (*) above, we are aware that the impact of Futsal in the overall confronted playing hours measured as a percentage might be overestimated as we have no data for informal play, which we believe to be pretty marginal (unfortunately). However, the impact is still significant and that doesn’t affect the hourly contribution seen in absolute terms.

Why Futsal in Slobodan’s words:

1. More contact with the ball: In a recent study it was observed that during the game, Futsal players were in contact with the ball 210% more than playing traditional US indoor arena soccer. There are about 10 times more contacts with the ball and 10 times more confrontations and transitions in Futsal than in 9v9 or 11v11 soccer, so we think that’s obviously very impactful in skill development.
2. Improves Ball control – with limited space, boundary restrictions, constant opponent pressure and game pace, high level of technical skills are required.
3. Pace & Transitions: With no walls to help them out, players must move of the ball and support each other just like in the outdoor soccer but with much higher pace and more transitions. This develops tactical awareness and facilitates right decisions in different phases of the game – attack, defense and positive and negative transitions that is easily transferred to the outdoor game

If you would like to learn more about Rush Canada’s Futsal program, please contact Slobodan Pavlovic at [email protected]

MIAMI RUSH KENDALL

Another club that uses Futsal as part of their regular programming is Miami Rush. We spoke to Renatto Soriano, Miami Rush’s Technical Director, to understand their program further:

Brief Description Of The Program: At Miami Rush, Futsal is used for U12 and under. One day a week for one hour, and for an average total of 60 sessions a year and seven games, so the total impact is estimated in 67 hours of futsal a year per player.

The program affects about 25% of the U12 and under membership (30 out of the 120 players). It is not mandatory, and external players can participate as well.

From an operational standpoint, the program requires four fields (three outdoors and one indoors are used) and there are three coaches running the program.

From a financial perspective, the program costs the player about $20 per hour / session.

From a soccer standpoint, Futsal contributes with a 33% of extra confronted playing time a week, even though we know this percentage is overestimated as we don’t currently have additional data for informal play. However, the impact is still significant and can be seen in absolute terms, as a 1.29 average hours added per week.

Why Futsal in Renatto’s words:

‘Most of South Americans like me grew up playing like this. We believe in its impact in player development. They learn a lot of things through Futsal, like staying on their feet when marking or using the sole of the cleat. They also learn things like playing/restarting play quickly through the game. Coaching for us needs to be brief, we want a lot of freedom.

If you’d like to learn more about Miami Rush’s Futsal program, contact Renatto at [email protected].