The Seattle Academy Futsal Club (SAFC) is a new club in the SAAS community that should be explored by everyone who wants to improve their soccer ability or just get exercise. Futsal is a variation of soccer that is played indoors (on a court) with a ball smaller than the standard size 5. The dimensions of the court are much smaller than the typical 11v11 soccer field. The SAFC has 15+ members as of October of 2017 and participants love it.
The SAFC consists of Seattle Academy students who play soccer outside of school, for the SAAS High School team, or just for fun. Adrian Valentine ’19, co-founder of SAFC, says that he did not expect the SAFC to be as successful as it has been. “I didn’t think people would want to wake up at 6 or earlier to come to our meetings. It just shows how much people love being a part of the futsal club community.”
Cardinal soccer coaches Brooks Hopp and Ali Seyedali oversee the futsal club. Hopp was a Division 1 soccer player at the University of Washington and is a Crossfire Premier alumnus. Hopp loves to see the growth of the SAFC because of his pure love of soccer. Seyedali, who played at Whitworth University and had a stint playing professionally in Iran, has been a huge supporter of SAFC and gives tips to players after their matches.
So why play futsal? Futsal improves footwork in tight spaces, speed of play, and off-ball movement. These tight situations help the player develop quicker feet and a smarter soccer brain. When a player goes back to the big field, everything seems easier as the space is bigger. According to Futsal Innisfail , a futsal blog, players touch the ball 275% more in a futsal match than in a regular soccer match. This will improve the player’s technical ability as well as confidence on the ball.
What are you waiting for? Come out to Seattle Academy Futsal Club! The club meets every Wednesday and Friday at 6:45 AM in the Seattle Academy gymnasium. See you there!