By Callum Ludwig
The Yarra Valley Soccer Club (YVSC) and the Yarra Centre have teamed up to host a pair of Come N’ Try Futsal sessions for kids this school holidays.
Born in South America, Futsal is five-a-side soccer played on a small hard court with a smaller ball and goals and has refined the skills of some of the world’s greatest ever players like Ronaldinho, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Junior Coach at YVSC Steve Fleming said futsal is a great training exercise, having realised the club’s junior players weren’t always getting enough touches on the ball in outdoor games.
“We were playing opposition down the line in Knox and Blackburn who have been playing together since they were six years old, and our Under 10s were getting hammered. So we started playing futsal and the kids really took to it, they love it,” he said.
“It’s fast, it’s high energy and a lot of fun, making it very appealing to the younger ones. It’s a wonderful game with so many benefits, as well as being a sport both girls and boys can play together.”
The free sessions are for all kids aged between six and 16, on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 September from 12pm to 3pm.
Mr Fleming said futsal is great for improving young players’ fitness and technical skills.
“Their cardio, hand-eye coordination, running speed and ball control all certainly improve drastically. It’s good for passing strategies, and working on creating passing triangles to get around the opposition,” he said.
“Kids can come in with little or no experience of playing soccer, and we’ve had a lot of interest from the kids who play basketball at the centre. We hope to use it as a gateway to the grass game, and the Yarra Centre recognised the demand for it and came to us offering the court time.”
Anyone interested in signing up can do so here: https://forms.office.com/r/nPQXAJkspf
