Vernon Futsal club, Da Rua FC, is sending a team of local players to compete in the Pacific Rim Futsal Cup in Honolulu this December.
They will be matching up against teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the United States. According to FIFA, futsal-playing associations have increased by 18 per cent worldwide with the biggest rise in Africa and North America.
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These atheletes have been playing together as members of the local Futsal Academy for the last five years. According to coaches, the opportunity to travel and compete against some of the best teams in the region is a reward for the dedication and effort that the players have put in over the years.
“The boys have been working hard over the last couple of months and we are looking forward to testing ourselves against some of the best teams in this part of the world,” said Head Coach Thiago Menezes, an ex- Brazilian national Futsal player.
Players from Vernon include Ethan Anderson, Hunter Schindel and Zach Sharman from Kalamalka Secondary School along with Hayden Murphy from VSS, Joshua Mark and Kailen Russell from Seaton Secondary.
Growing in popularity and recently mandated by associations around the world to be included in the winter programs for major clubs and leagues, futsal was introduced to Vernon five years ago by Anne Murphy. Played at a high tempo, engaging every player, futsal has been a teaching tool for some of soccer’s greats, including: Ronaldo, Messi, Iniesta. Local coaches have embraced this philosophy and believe it to be a great opportunity to develop Vernon’s local athletes.
“A typical seven-year-old doesn’t have the biological or physiological capacity to deal with extremes of heat and cold so bringing them indoors to a fairly even temperature works,” said Peter Sturgess, the English FA’s head of development for players ages five-11 and coach of the England men’s futsal team. “From a technical point of view, they are going to get so many more touches of the ball. But it’s not just the number of touches, it’s the situations they occur in. They are nearly always going to be under pressure and there will always be constraints on time and space.”
The Pacific Rim Futsal Cup 2018 will take place in Honolulu, Hawaii from Thursday Nov. 29 - Sunday Dec. 2.
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