February 28, 2021 – Yesterday, masked athletes took to the field, or artificial playing surface rather, at the Decatur Indoor Sports Center for the Midstate 4 v 4 Indoor Futsal Tournament. 42 teams from across Central Illinois made up the event, with the youngest teams being u8 and u9, all the way up to adults in their 30’s. Teams came from Springfield, Charleston, Jacksonville, Morton, and Newton to compete.
Like I was, you might be wondering what futsal is. It’s a sport that, according to Wikipedia (sorry college professors) comes from Spanish terms fútbol sala or fútbol de salón, meaning hall or lounge soccer. The sport was originally played on basketball courts and due to less playing space puts an emphasis on each player being more involved. According to Tyler Benton, Assistant Soccer Director for the DISC, each player in a futsal game will touch the ball 10-20 times more per game than they would in a regulation soccer game. They will also play positions differently. For example, someone playing defender in futsal will still have to play offense, whereas a defender in a regular game of soccer may only participate offensively in build-up play, making it a great sport for kids to learn how to play a more well-rounded game than regular soccer.
For someone who is used to watching soccer and just wondering why players don’t pick up the ball and start running with it, this was a refreshing change of pace. If your child is a soccer player, I would offer the idea to get them involved in the indoor version of the sport. It’s definitely an entertaining watch.
In the game of the day (based on the team’s names) The Flu Fighters defeated Social Win-Stancing 9-3 in the u8/u9 coed bracket.
Below is an interview with the above-mentioned Tyler Benton.
