Futsal is an intense, fast and fun indoor sport that can help you stay in shape when the weather is too hot or cold to play outside.
Traditional soccer is played with 11 players on each team on a full-sized field. Futsal is generally played on a smaller field that can be indoor or outdoor.
There is an official futsal league, which has a few specific things that distinguish it from soccer. The main differences for most casual futsal games are just the size of the field, number of players, and the rule where the goalie can’t use his hands.
“Generally the goalie doesn’t touch the ball, which makes it a faster paced (game) because it’s a smaller playing area,” said Tyson Winder, a senior psychology major from Hurricane. “There is a lot more movement, and you have the ability to do a lot more as far as footwork with the ball.”
Footwork alone isn’t enough to get the ball down the field to score, though. There is a lot of running and passing, but, luckily, the smaller-sized field doesn’t require you to run that far, especially when playing inside.
“It seems like futsal is a lot more fun indoors than outdoors because there are a lot more barriers, so the ball can just bounce and you can just keep playing,” said Falcon Parker, a freshman psychology major from Hurricane. “You don’t have to worry about out of bounds.”
Depending on the group you get together to play, futsal can be as fun or competitive as you want.
“Futsal bonds people together, and it’s just fun for everybody,” Parker said. “There’s no real competition because we don’t really keep track of points.”
Of course, if your group is more competitive, then you can keep score and put limits on team size. Futsal is versatile and can be enjoyable for all groups.
Passing is a key part of soccer, but futsal adds an extra need for precision. The smaller-sized field condenses all the players so you have to move the ball around.
“In futsal the open guy gets the ball and the field is yours, but it’s also a charitable sport because you can still opt to share the ball more,” Parker said.
Futsal is a versatile sport. You don’t have to have a full-sized field, nets or a referee. Just go grab some friends and a ball and have a good time. In fact, the intramural indoor soccer season is starting in March, and you can sign up now. Check out the Dixie State University athletics page online for details.
