Registration is Now Open for the New York Futsal Season
Futsal is one of the most amazing games ever — and a fabulous training tool for developing soccer players. The Futsal craze is catching on all over the USA, finally. In New York, New York Futsal kicks off its eighth season in early December.
Having kicked off with only 24 teams, New York Futsal has grown exponentially and enters its eighth season this winter expecting over 100 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 3 and concludes Sunday, March 12 at Beacon High School, PS 118 Joan of Arc Elementary School, Park West High School and the Tito Puente Educational Complex, all in Manhattan. Registration is available for both boys and girls from Under-9 to High School.
There will be Premier tournaments starting in January at PS 217 on Roosevelt Island.
Additionally, there will be training and development on weekends at PS 87 William T. Sherman School and at Park West High School, both in Manhattan, for the Under-6 to Under-11 divisions.
Depending on the package you choose, team registration goes from $250 to $1,600 with league registration closing on November 29. 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.
”Futsal is not a physical but a technical game giving the kids the time and space that they need to develop skills,” commented New York Futsal Director Jaime Arias.
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 origins of futsal can be traced to Uruguay in 1930, where, amid the euphoria that greeted that country’s victory at the inaugural World Cup on home soil, there was a soccer ball seemingly being kicked on every street corner in the capital of Montevideo. Juan Carlos Ceriani, an Argentinian physical education instructor living there at the time, observed many youngsters practicing soccer on basketball courts because of the shortage of soccer fields. It was there and then that the idea for a five-a-side variation of soccer came about and futsal was born.
The 2016 Futsal World Cup was played in Colombia this past fall with Argentina winning for the first time after Brazil and Spain reigned as champs during the first seven Futsal World Cups.
To register for New York Futsal, log on to: https://login.siplay.com/Users/Login?leagueId=11111005
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) stretches 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.
All levels of soccer are offered–from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association.
Featured Image: Spanish King Cup match between Levante UD FS and FC Barcelona at Cabanyal Stadium on November 8, 2016 in Valencia, Spain. Photo Credit- efecreata mediagroup
