The game of soccer is changing at a rapid pace. Therefore, the role of the goalkeeper in it as well. Futsal is gaining and extreme level of popularity, not only as a game but as the best tool to help a player with soccer development. Field players are embracing futsal as their salvation with their soccer challenges. However goalkeepers seems to shy away and when they are asked to participate in goalkeeper training and they seem to gravitate towards turf or grass training. 

Only a small number of goalkeepers prefer futsal specific goalkeeper training and in fact are brave enough to take on the challenge. Yes, I did use the word brave, as one must have no fear to stand in a futsal goal and face extremely fast shots from very short  distances and angles. But then again only few will ever become elite at their chosen craft.

Futsal will massively accelerate the level of development for a a goalkeeper and help them excel in their outdoor soccer game.
Futsal will help them stand out and massively develop.

One of the most overlooked positions is still the goalkeeper position by many coaches. That is a common mistake that we see in outdoor soccer teams trying their hand at futsal for the first time. They enter events without their goalkeepers ever have attended a futsal specific goalkeeper training. A lot of them have never even attended a regular goalkeeper specific training. 

A good number of teams attending futsal events for the  first time will most likely not even have a goalkeeper. They will rotate field players at the position. That is great and should be promoted at the younger age groups and lower level events. However when teams enter higher level events whey should have a goalkeeper that knows and understands the position.

Learn more about the Elite Player Training where a goalkeeper can train in a futsal specific environment and massively improve their skills.

The Elite Futsal Player Training kicked off this Wednesday November 11 2020 and it will be acting as a feeder program for the Champions Cup Series teams. Elite Futsal Training is 100% club neutral and is open to both girls and boys ages U8 to U18.

Top level players represented academies like PDA, STA, Cedar Stars and others in this first training session. Players that have won regional and national US Technical competitions, and players that are currently on a USYF National team. This definitely is a high level opportunity for elite players to train with other elite players and further develop their soccer skills as well as become proficient in the game of futsal.

The future's so bright for New Jersey Futsal with the number of soccer players increasing every year discovering the game of futsal and using it as a development tool to reach the top levels in the game of futsal as well as soccer.

One of the challenges futsal specific coaches/trainers face is getting players into a futsal specific session. Not an outdoor soccer training session played indoor but a futsal specific session, performed with a futsal specific ball on a futsal specific training environment and futsal specific playing surface with futsal specific activities.

​It is crazy when players step into these sessions for the first time and parents realize that there are other coaches, trainers and programs that can help their child’s soccer development along side with their outdoor soccer team training.
 
It is not against the law to want your child get better, however you would think that many parents have been thrown into mental prison this entire time with their reactions once they learn of futsal and it’s development benefits towards the outdoor soccer game.
 
The fear of going away from a club atmosphere is the biggest problem. Afraid if you do not sign up for their clinics you will not start the next game. The fear of having your coach find out that you step away from their “optional” training session for someone or something else.
 
Furthermore, it is always great to see and hear the responses and reactions from players and parents after their first futsal training or game. Some of the most common player remarks are how much fun it was to play, how quick of a game it is, the fact that they get to touch the ball countless times and how many goals they scored. On the parents side common remarks include that they never realized how much their child would love the game, how many times they would get to touch the ball, how they are involved in the game every single moment instead of daydreaming on one side of the field while the ball is on the other side, the fast pace actioned packed situations and off course the amount of goals scored which make all children smile.
 
Wake up and smell the coffee. Explore and see what else is out there. Your child will know RIGHT AWAY if it is something that will benefit them. Learn from everything and everyone. Stop being brainwashed by the same thing over and over.
 
If your coach and your club truly want what’s best for your child’s development they will not only be open to alternative methods to develop your child’s soccer skills but will encourage it as they want the best players on their teams.
 
Think about it…
Your club wants the next best thing. The next standout player. That player is the player that does everything to make them better. The number of kids and their parents who were scared to seek, discover and enter the outside world of training, away from their club team and coach are the same kids who are cut and when you ask the coach why they were cut or what can they do to get better, the coach will tell you to train more and work on certain things.
 
Ironic do not you think?
 
Any coach or program that does not allow you to see what is out there should be a clear red flag. Why would that ever be the case? Maybe they have the fear of you learning what else is out there? Maybe they are scared to lose out on your extra $300.00 for their ‘optional’ training program?
 
Another mystery is why would your coach/club charge you an extra fees to make you better? Isn’t that what the 3-4x week training sessions are for? So now you must pay another cost to train with the same kids and the same coach probably doing the same type of sessions you did during team training? Why can’t you go out there and see what is available for yourself?
 
When your kid enters high school, you will punch yourself for not seeing all the possibilities out there to make them better.

Following is a quick video on how creating space in futsal will massively develop a player's outdoor soccer game. We often see players on the futsal court trying to play a position and stay at that position while their teammate possesses the ball. (This is what they been may have been taught by their soccer coaches). That creates and amplifies the problem that since the futsal playing space is restricted the player possessing the ball will not have options and will be forced into trying to keep possession under the defender's pressure. Although this develops the players ability to keep possession with own personal foot skills it does not allow the team to advance the ball and penetrate.

In the outdoor game of possession, although there is a basic shape a coach will use with players primarily maintaining their position, players are also asked to pass and move, recognize and make timely runs, overlaps and basically move away from their primary position in an organized fashion. Meaning, if the left back over laps maybe the midfielder will drop back to cover that position, if both the back and the midfielder play together to advance the ball, one of the center backs will shift to cover the left back position of maybe the defensive midfielder, (if there is one), will drop to cover that spot.

The bottom line is that in an organized manner although players have primary positions they will shift and move out of positions to either advance the ball or cover for each other. 

​Learning how to recognize and create space with timely runs off the ball, thus providing additional options to the ball handler in the futsal restricted space will massively develop a player's outdoor soccer game. 

​We are excited to announce that our new registration platform will be gotsoccer. With almost everyone familiar with the platform and a member of gotsoccer this partnership will make the customer experience seamless and easier to navigate. Please visit gotsoccer to view all the new events that we have added and register today. One can find a list of our new programming here: www.centraljerseyfutsalleague.com We look forward to a great fall/winter futsal season. #centraljerseyfutsal #yearroundfutsal #futsalfirst #madebyfutsal

Continuing Futsal Education and how it is the number 1 development tool to the outdoor soccer game, we would like to point out certain benefits that no one can deny. The first one is to be considered in direct comparison to a similar 5v5 game on indoor turf . Take the following points into consideration: Not only a smaller playing area with less players playing at a time, but also a much faster playing surface, which makes ball control harder, and with a futsal specific ball which is smaller and less bouncy allowing the quicker development for ball handling skills. ​

When one first engages futsal for the first time, he is taken back from what he is watching and initially may not be able to express what is going on, but quickly realizes this is not an ordinary game. Many have tried to debate futsal's benefits and how it helps outdoor soccer but the bottom line is futsal must be purposely used year round along side with soccer and come first in the younger starter age groups of 3 to 9  years of age. Futsal develops top soccer players and you can take it to the bank. 

Following are some key point as to the differences of futsal and indoor soccer that will help everyone understand why it is some much better than indoor soccer.

One of the things that we constantly try to preach, is that regardless if you agree or not only time will tell if your child will keep playing the sport of soccer past the ages of 12-13 and become either a top level soccer player or at the very least a life long soccer lover.

Some of the things that we try to educate parents with fall on deaf ears and parents do not realize how right we were until it is too late and their child has stopped playing soccer. By the way, it is the player's decision to quit not yours, and as parents we must respect that. However, is it in their best life development interest to stay in sports and are there ways to better increase the odds to accomplishing such goals? 

We think so, and the best two things to remember in helping us towards that goal are:
​
IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH THEM
The best trainers or environments will not keep them playing if they don't want to. According to a poll from the National Alliance for Youth Sports, around 70 percent of kids in the United States stop playing organized sports by the age of 13 because “it’s just not fun anymore.”  We, as adults, suck the fun out of it because we view the game from a different perspective than the kids do. We must know and understand the best ways to allow them to enjoy the sport and at the same time help them make the decision to stay in it because they love it and have tons of fun.

UNSCRIPTED, UNSUPERVISED FUN
Playing games in an unscripted, unsupervised environment with no adult interaction or coaching will allow them to discover, interact, solve, and succeed. It will make it FUN, help them fall in love with the game and keep them playing for a lifetime. As we get older we forget how much fun it was to just get out and play with our friends. Just play, and enjoy the game. Winning was not the motivating factor behind playing. Just being with our friends was, laughing and having a great old time, no matter how silly we were.
Recreating that relaxed unstructured environment is crucial to keeping the kids playing.

We are happy and excited to kick off the fall futsal tournament season with the Central Jersey Futsal Tournament Series' first tournament during Columbus Day weekend.
The Columbus Day tournament is the first in a series of five tournaments of its kind.
https://www.centraljerseyfutsalleague.com/tournament-series.html
Additional programing for the 2020 -2021 season include:
Champions Cup Series - International Tournament
Central Jersey Championship Series Tournaments
NJ State Futsal Championships Tournament
Central Jersey Futsal League Series

​Central Jersey Futsal was Founded in 2005, and as a longstanding youth futsal organization has grown to include multiple programs for aspiring athletes in the region. Central Jersey Futsal hopes to educate parents and guide players into a development pathway that reaches the highest level of local, regional, national and international futsal. 

Futsal in the Central Jersey region was limited prior to Central Jersey Futsal altering the development landscape by emphasizing futsal training. Central Jersey Futsal has been an innovator that exposes the community to overlooked or ground-breaking opportunities.

Central Jersey Futsal Joins Champions Cup Series  - The Dawn Of A New Era in the area's futsal programming. 
Jackson, New Jersey will be the hub of the area's Elite Top Level National and International futsal competition. United Futsal today, August 21st 2020 announces Central Jersey Futsal as the latest expansion organization for the 2021 Champions Cup Series (CCS). Founded in 2005, the longstanding youth futsal organization has grown to include multiple programs for aspiring athletes in the region. Central Jersey Futsal hopes to educate parents and guide players into a development pathway that reaches the highest level of international futsal. ​​

The founder of Central Jersey Futsal, Niko Alexopoulos, officially announced the organization's acceptance into United Futsal Champions Cup Series today. 

"Partnering with United Futsal will bring the top tier of elite futsal to New Jersey," said Alexopoulos. "The players will compete on the international level with the likes of professional academies. It’s going to be an eye-opener for the American kids and families. The level of competition between New Jersey and what is offered by United Futsal is night and day. The ability to play against real academies is a game-changer." 

Alexopoulos believes passionately that futsal should be intentionally used as a tool for developing soccer players year-round and come first in the developing process at the younger starter age groups of 3-12 years of age. Futsal develops top level soccer players. That is the bottom line. You can take it to the bank. 

Alexopoulos is eager to utilize United Futsal’s innovative FUNDAWAY app, which allows for youth clubs to start their own local and personal services fundraising campaign. The fact that United Futsal has the ability to participate in its programming without the burden of spending money out of their pockets is the final reason we decided to join. 

Please read entire press release here