Hi my name is Blaine Hodgson and 12 years old. Dan Wrighthas asked to write a blog on why I love Futsal.
It was when I went to the Grass Roots Show in Birminghamwith my dad that I first met Dan and he came to our hotel with another coachAsh Williams. It was there he asked my opinion about Futsal and I agreed towrite a blog for him.
I’ve been doing Futsal now for nearly 4 years, I gotintroduced to it whilst paying for my old team at the time when they brought ina futsal coach, John who is excellent.
From the first minute I loved it, we were learning loads oftricks which I found I could do straight away. The training is hard workthough, ball work for an hour with loads of repetitions of skills and moves –we also get asked if we want to do a 30 second show off, where you get up infront of your group and show them your skills/moves that we have learnt, we gottold that it encourages your confidence.
Eventually though a lot of my team mates didn’t like Futsalbecause they couldn’t do the skills as they were too complicated and eventuallyJohn stopped coaching us. I asked my dad if I could still do Futsal and hearranged for me to go training with John again.
I started doing Futsal twice a week and practiced every daybecause the players that were there already were really good and was theyoungest one there.
First thing I got told was that I had to practice for 10000hours!! If I wanted to become a good footballer.
I practiced my skills in the house after my dad had boughtme a Futsal ball, it doesn’t really bounce and I actually prefer a Futsal ballto practice with, it improves your first touch so much better. Eventually I hadnearly 100 tricks/turns to learn and I would practice with my left foot onenight, right foot another, then both feet, making combinations.
At Futsal we had to at times use only our weaker foot whichI hated but eventually I got better. Now it doesn’t matter which foot I use. Ican perform 100 tricks with both feet quite easily.
At Futsal I got taught to use the sole of my foot and usethe outside of my foot more than the inside. It is because it makes your owngame quicker, improves your first touch and creates more space when you playand put me in a situation of player, player, and ball. Whereby because of myfirst touch I would nearly always be in between the opponent and ball making itharder for the opponent to tackle me.
I used to get wrong off my coach at 11 a-side when we gottold to control it with the inside of the foot, because I’m so used to takingit with the outside. I got told not to complicate things and to keep it simple,which I got upset at and it was confusing me what was right and what was wrong.
I have found playing 11 a-side hard, more so I get told tostop showing off and again keep it simple. If I was in a 1v1 situation andtried to take the player on and it didn’t work, I would get wrong and againkeep it simple.
Where at Futsal we were told and encouraged to take peopleon and if it didn’t work to keep on trying. I actually prefer Futsal to 11a-side and wish there was a Futsal League for my age group. If I could I wouldpack in playing 11 a-side, hardly get the ball and the pressure we get putunder. I don’t enjoy it but it’s the only format available to me.
Futsal is class, I love it, and it has made my game so muchbetter. If only coaches would let be myself and use my Futsal without the fearof getting wrong. In one game I did a rainbow flick over a players head, itcame off and felt brill only to be taken off and to be told to stop showingoff.
I think all of us should play Futsal. Another thing thoughis that I get a lot of negative comments from players who cannot perform theskills I can and I a skill doesn’t come off I can hear some parents groaningfrom the side of the pitch and again I hear stop showing off just keep itsimple.
I don’t want to keep it simple I just want to play and trythings, but now I get nervous incase I get subbed and I’m not enjoying it.
Its Futsal all the way for me, I get more of the ball, itsfaster and you have to work harder and think faster and you can expressyourself as much as you like and the score doesn’t matter, the coach tells medevelopment is more important. I don’t feel any pressure and it helps me play better.
Through my hard work and practicing I got asked to performat an Annual Dinner in front of 600 guests including Alan Shearer, Steve Bruce,Peter Beardsley and many other footballers. When after I performed they came tomeet me. Steve Bruce even asked me to take him on and I did! He was fab and Ieven sat at his dinner table with him and his wife!! This wouldn’t have happened if it was because of Futsal.
Here is a list of things that I have remembered whilstlearning Futsal:
- 10000 hoursof practicing
- Master atleast 10 skills with both feet and every time you receive the ball perform adifferent skill each time, opposition won’t know how to play you
- Believe youcan do it
- Expressyourself
- Overexaggerate
- Player,Player, Ball
- Opposites
- And the mostimportant word I’ve been taught, I must enjoy it because if I don’t then thereis no point in playing!
Thanks to mymam who helped me with this
Blaine Hodgson
Here is a clip of what Blaine can do!
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