Wednesday Futsal

Ben Finlay

For the past four or five weeks, Coach Dustin Roberts has opened the gym after school for students to gather and play five-a-side futsal from 4 o’clock to 5:30. Roberts invited all the members of the varsity men’s football team, as well as all the players from the U15 boys’ football teams.

“I started opening futsal to the teams because I think futsal specifically is excellent at forcing players to work quickly, cultivate good touch, and play as a group. You have to be fast to be able to work with such limited space and time, it’s essential to have good touch, and you need to communicate well to work as a team, or else your team is left exposed. Futsal helps us do the things that we like to do, and it helps the younger players develop quicker,” described Roberts.

At 4 o’clock, a decent number of people are present, just kicking the ball about for fun. Most people warm up either by passing amongst each other or by trying to behead the keeper by blasting the ball full-power.

“When people shoot at me before we start, it’s really funny because I get absolutely pelted at. All the attackers compete to see who’s got the best cannon, so my main focus is to protect my face rather than stop goals,” said Nicholas Khor (10).

Once teams are evenly split, or rather unevenly if Jesse Lohman (11) has a say in the matter, two teams take the court for a three-minute match. Matches go on until one team scores, or until the timer runs out which would end the match in a draw, forcing both teams off the court. In a winner-stays-on format of competition, every team plays to the best of their ability to maximize the playing time they have. Despite the competitive atmosphere, though, Futsal is very casual and entertaining.

“Wednesday Futsal is really fun because it’s similar to Friday Night Indoor, but it’s not on so late. Also, it’s good that it’s in the middle of the school week because it’s a break from everything we’ve got on and we can relax and play the sport we so love,” said Ruben Nyul (10).

Welcoming the U15 teams as well, Wednesday Futsal allows younger players to play with and learn from older and more experienced footballers.

“I’ll never forget the time that Ben Finlay (12) mugged me off,” commented Sumin Lim (8). “Someone sent a through ball to him and I was defender, but he came in and bodied me off so hard. He immediately scored from it and I was shell-shocked. I looked over to the sidelines where Coach looked at me and said, “Sumin. Weight room.” It was so embarrassing but it was really funny as well. I’ve been to the weight room multiple times since that occasion.”

David Unruh (12) worked with a couple of his friends to prepare a playlist to resonate in the gym, hyping the players up and pumping them all up with adrenaline; as he said, "After a grueling one-hour session of futsal, I put on some pump up music. The results were stunning. Immediately different players started bursting out their tekkers (or lack of them) and ran and challenged every ball. They pressed beyond what they thought they could do and finished the last 30 minutes strong."  

Wednesday Futsal is not just a place where students come to develop footballing skills, but it acts as an enjoyable social event where the boys can have a kickabout and enjoy football together.