Friday, June 27, 2014

Pitch Perfect!


Well my new Futsal Fanatics, the grass may be greener on the other side, but you've been watching the World Cup so you also know that grass is wet, and it's sticky, and it's submerged at times, comes apart at the seams, and just may have piranhas swimming around it at the stadium situated in the middle of the freaking Amazon. Oh yeah, and in the off chance its lustrous green pigment fades in the 100 degree weather, no worries, they just spray paint it...



Pictured above is the aforementioned venue in tropical Manaus. If I were this guy I would go with the John Deer Green or Satin Apple, only $22.56 at Home Depot.

While the Brazilian grounds crew work hard at feeding their white elephants, I will take this time to introduce you to a pitch that always stays true, and more importantly, always stays blue, (at least the really cool ones do).

Ladies and Gentleman, The Futsal court -







One of the Seven Wonders of The World, and how cool are those spiky things in the back??

Since the sport of Futsal is so relatively young in the U.S., you can only imagine the varied surfaces you may whiteness the game being played on. Cement, wood, turf, grass. However, the only courts that FIFA truly sanctions are the style that are pictured above. Most of which are made from PP plastic, Polypropylene to you gifted sort, and the same material you make thermal underwear with for those of us who sat in the back.

In the interest of staying interesting I will not pound everyone with measurements and specs. I have included an edited version of the FIFA Futsal Laws so you can read up on the exact size and lining of a true Futsal court. However, please remember what I said in my first blog.  You will whiteness all aspects of my journey building this league. Therefore, one thing I am learning how to do is Blog, and quite frankly I have no idea if this PDF will look to you the way it looks to me. To be safe, below is a link that will lead you to the full law book. Just skip to page 6, and don't read ahead or you'll ruin my fun.

FIFA FUTSAL LAWS

FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game Edit Court Specs.pdf


In all seriousness though, think about the material of the court, smooth hard plastic. Can you imagine how the ball races from one end of the court to the other? Now take into account the dimensions. A full size pitch for international Futball play is 105 m long by 68 m wide. A Futsal court for international play is only 38 m long by 25 m wide. Place ten players on that plastic court at 5 a side with a size 4 Futsal ball and my friends, you have pace. The exact skill that is essential to the young player of today.

I recently read a FIFA article published in 2012 that truly captures the intensity of developing your skills in a compact Futsal environment:

"Playing Futball in (Futsal) conditions corresponds to playing 37v37 on a full sized pitch. It is obvious that better technical skills are required to get past defenders standing so much closer together."

  - FIFA

I feel the need, the need for speed!.................. and touch.


Nick Martinez











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