A Milwaukee Epiphany, Futsal Frenzy, and Sausage Sprints

"You are at the forefront of the Futsal Movement."

It's what Keith Tozer, Coach of the United States Futsal Team told me, okay us, at the USYF Futsal Leadership Summit earlier this month. I was just a guest at the time, but now I am a League Owner on that "covered wagon, heading for the coast". Another one of Coach's ironic California references that had me yelling "Eureka!!" as I departed Milwaukee to return to Los Angeles.

So here I am, sitting late on a Monday night (now Tuesday Morning) watching the Italian Sausage win yet another heat on SportsCenter thinking, "so where is this gold?"

"Easy numb nut, it's in South America!!" And in four years we'll be standing shirtless in Moscow with Putin screaming "I believe that we will win!", and in eight years it'll be summer in Qatar!!!...wait, maybe Australia. Anyway, my point is, Tozer wasn't telling me to go back to the coast and build a Futsal mining camp, nooooooo, he meant cities, communities, societies that include Futsal. And through the development of this sport we will find our gold: better players, better clubs, better national teams, better World Cup.

And how poignant is it that we talk about the development of our U.S. Futball (thats right, I said Futball dammit) players during this week of anticipation. Will they make it out of the group, or won't they??

I'll tell you one thing, in this competition our players and fans have already seen, and will continue to see the impact of a Futsal on this World Cup:

Ronaldo Foot Work v. USA

Yes ladies, he's not just pretty, he happens to be arguably the best player in the world.

"In Portugal, all we played growing up was Futsal. The smaller court helped my footwork skills... If it wasn't for Futsal, I would definitely not be the player I am today."

            - Cristiano Rinaldo


I know all of the jumping around between my Milwaukee epiphany, Futsal frenzy, and sausage sprints may seem a little erratic and obscure at this time, but I ask you to hang with me on this journey.  I look to describe the growth of a new Futsal league in Southern California in real time. The good, the bad, the ugly, and ultimately, the success.

Let's bring a sport that has been played around the world for almost 100 years to the forefront of our soccer player's development here in the states.

Join me, as we begin strengthening the Futsal presence in Orange County and expand north along Interstate 5 into the greater Los Angeles area.

This is OUR story, yours and mine, we are at the forefront of the Futsal movement educating our soccer youth in the key elements of:

Touch, Pass, Vision, Speed, and Strike!!!

So...wait, does anyone know what Futsal is?

Nick Martinez
N.Martinez@SOCALfutsal5.com