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By Matt Hickman
Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA — Imagine soccer without shin-shattering collisions and brain-damaging headers, played on a basketball-court sized field with the scoring frequency of lacrosse.
Juan Carlos Ceriani, the James Naismith of Uruguay if you will, must have imagined this when invented the game futsal (fut, as in Spanish for foot and sal, as in sala for indoor), for youth competition at the YMCA.
 Mark Levy Herald/Review Daniel Higgins, 14, right, races down the futsal court while being pursued by defender Scott Gregory, 13, at King's Court Tennis Club Wednesday. |
Seventy-seven years later, Luke Roberts may be on his way to becoming the Juan Carlos Ceriani of Sierra Vista.
Roberts moved here about two months ago from Eugene, Ore., to become the Sierra Vista Soccer Club’s Director of Coaching. He pitched his idea to start a futsal academy at King’s Court Tennis Club to club owner Dr. Bill McCormick.
“Dr. McCormick liked the idea,” Roberts said. “He’s going to let me get it going first, then we’ll talk (about renting courts).”
Wednesday evening, a handful of enthusiasts gathered to play the first futsal match on one of the tennis club’s 12 courts, and on Saturday morning, youngsters aged 3-5 turned out for an ABCD Futsal intro.
Futsal is a five-on-five game played on a tennis or basketball court-sized venue. The ball is about a third the size of a regulation soccer ball, but because of a layer of foam which deadens the ball, it weighs about the same as a soccer ball.
“It doesn’t bounce; it doesn’t have life like a real ball,” Roberts said. “It allows the kids to have the ball at their feet and play soccer rather than trying really hard to chase the ball around.”
Unlike soccer, futsal is a contact-free, and much safer game for children and adults alike.
“It’s a lot like basketball, it’s up and down,” Roberts said. “The kids get a lot of chances to touch. It’s a non-contact game so it doesn’t force you to be big, strong and fast — it’s all about control. Boys and girls can compete together, no problem.”
Roberts, who played soccer collegiately at Virginia Commonwealth University, was first introduced to soccer at a select event in Holland when he was 11-years-old.
His reaction was much like the reaction of the youngsters on hand at Saturday’s intro.
“The first couple of times they think the ball is funny and they have a tough time keeping it in line,” Roberts said.
“But after two or three times they’re start really enjoying it and they start scoring goals.”
Roberts’ plan is to start at soccer academy at King’s Court, splitting up youths by age. The cost per child will be $45 per month.
He also has plans to start adult (men’s, women’s, over 30 and co-ed) and youth futsal leagues in November.
He said it may be ideal for adults looking for exercise, but not ready for the rigors of actual soccer.
“It’s not a huge court, but it’s a fast game,” Roberts said. “On defense you kind of walk, stand, cut off angles. It’s a non-contact game. It does not benefit you to foul. If your team fouls five times it’s a penalty kick and there’s no slide tackling.”
Roberts also hopes the adult leagues create a social circle.
“For the not great soccer players, we plan on creating a co-ed league emphasizing having fun and getting some exercise,” Roberts said. “It’s really about a social group getting together after at the Sports Gallery (bar and grill upstairs.)”
Roberts’ chief purpose, however, is to use futsal as a way of training young players for soccer the way they do in more soccer-literate countries.
“The best players in the world grew up playing futsal,” Roberts said.
“In Brazil, they wait until they’re 15 or 16 before they see a soccer field for the first time… My passion is really developing soccer players. I’ve been involved with soccer since I was three years-old.”
Futsal is set to become an official Olympic sport at the 2012 London Games.
“It’s really starting to catch on in the U.S., especially in the bigger cities,” Robert said. “Zinedane Zidane is getting into promoting futsal in France, so I guess I’m in good company. It’s a good way to develop your skills.”
For more information about the futsal academy, call Roberts at 458-9016.
