Nearly 200 Teams in New York Futsal This Winter
New York Youth Soccer News: Futsal promotes quality touches and ball control in tight spaces
Are you ready for some futsal? With the weather finally starting to turn colder, soccer fields will soon become unplayable so the winter is the time for players to continue to improve on their ball control skills by playing the developmental game of futsal.
Having kicked off in 2010 with 24 teams, New York Futsal has grown exponentially and enters its ninth season this winter expecting nearly 200 youth soccer teams to register once again under the umbrella of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA).
Part of the popularity of futsal is it only takes five to play and the league kicks off on Saturday, December 2. The younger boys and girls will be playing at the Joan of Arc Elementary School on the Upper West Side. Both boys and girls Under-9 will be competing on Sunday mornings, the Under-10 boys and girls will be playing from noon to 3 pm with the Under-11 boys and girls going from 3 to 6 pm and the Under-12 girls playing on Sundays from 4 to 8 pm.
At the Tito Puente Education Complex in Spanish Harlem, Boys-Under-13 play on Saturday mornings, Girls-Under-13 play on Saturdays from noon to 3 pm and Boys-Under-14 go from 3 to 6 pm. On Sundays, Girls-Under-12 play in the morning, Boys-Under-12 play in games from noon to 3 pm and Girls-Under-14 and 15 play from 3 to 6 pm plus High School Girls on Sunday afternoons. Additionally, the Boys High School Division plays on both Saturday and Sunday nights from 6 to 8 pm.
In a sign of the growth of the game, Tito Puente is the first school in New York City with permanent futsal lines on the gym floor.
Additionally, New York Futsal is offering training at Columbia Secondary School and the William T. Sherman School on the Upper West Side.
“Our training and development program has been amazing and it’s Under-7 through high school. Futsal Juniors now starts at Under-4 and it’s 3v3,” commented New York Futsal’s Leslie Hamer, who added that international futsal coach Maciej Woloszy is back with New York Futsal again this winter.
Futsal promotes quality touches and ball control in tight spaces and players utilize those skills when they return to playing soccer outdoors. Many of Brazil’s best players ever such as Pelé, Zico, Socrates, Bebeto, Ronaldinho and Marta all played a version of futsal as children.
The registration fee per team is $1,600, which includes 10 weeks of league play plus playoffs. If a family registers a child as an individual, it’s $275 and New York Futsal puts the player on a team and gives him or her a uniform and a coach. To register to play futsal this winter, log on to: http://www.newyorkfutsal.com/registration/
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: With over 100,000 youth soccer players–both boys and girls–and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) reaches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees, and administrators.
