Turning your passion into a career is something humans worldwide seek to achieve world over. Futsal is a tough sport to crack when it comes to making it pro, with the right level of commitment and drive you’ll be able to achieve your dreams, we’ve put everything in this blog that we know of that can help you reach your goal in becoming a pro.
The Secret on How To Become A Professional Futsal Player, You’ll need to do the following at a minimum:
- Hard work and have the determination
- Be resilient to setbacks and failure
- Train harder than your peers
- High level of physical fitness
- Be prepared to sacrifice
- Nutrition on point
- Be disciplined
- Be somewhat talented
- Maintain a positive attitude
- Natural level of athleticism
The above is not a guarantee of becoming a professional but a minimum requirement.
Many children and teenagers world over dream of becoming professional sports players, it’s an exciting allure that is often well rewarded in sponsorships, pay, and stardom. Very few actually achieve this goal, many miss out even when they have the talent. It’s important to have a clear road map on how to make to have the best shot at making it pro.
Training Schedule
If you are currently playing Futsal at an amateur level and train once or twice a week and play games once or twice a week, ask yourself, is that the most I can do to improve my Futsal? Is that the best I can do in my quest to becoming a professional Futsal player?
It shouldn’t take you very long to come up with an answer and it should be no. Being a professional starts long before you sign your first pro contract, it starts when no one is around and no one knows your name.
You need to work for it – there are no shortcuts.
Consider increasing your training schedule to 5-6 days a week to include as many training sessions and games as possible, it’s important you start this as young as possible to increase your hours of Futsal exposure.
There is an old theory called the 10,000 hour rule, in short, it revolves around the idea that it takes that long to master a skill.
Going by that it would take a player around 10 years or more to be the ultimate Futsal player that they can be, so the sooner you start the sooner you can make it.
You’ll also need to be physically strong and have a high level of cardio fitness, it’s important to maintain these two in combination.
You should consider doing days in the gym at least twice a week and adding extra cardio into your routine on days off.
A basic example of how your schedule might look could be like this:
Monday: 7 am Weight training, 6pm Futsal training
Tuesday: 7 am Weight training, 6pm Futsal training
Wednesday: 7 am Cardio training, 6pm Futsal training
Thursday: 7 am Weight training, 6pm Futsal training
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Futsal game
Sunday: Futsal game
The above example should give you an idea of how you should be looking at things when considering a routine to get you ready and in the mindset of a professional.
If you do make it as a professional you will likely find the training schedule can be more intense then the above example.
Get Yourself Known
No one will know how good of a Futsal player you are unless they see you, but stress not as in today’s current online world it’s much easier to get yourself out there then it was 15 years ago.
So where do you start? Well, you should do the following at a minimum,
Build a brand, Futsal isn’t as big as Soccer yet so you need to build yourself a brand that reflects you as a player. Doing it isn’t hard, you should start by building social media profiles on all the major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
You’ll need to get photos taken, you can normally find someone who will be willing to do this like a friend or teammate. Upload everything you do for Futsal on these pages, training, games, learning tactics – everything!
Why you might ask? Well, it paints a picture to whoever is looking at your profile that says “wow, this person is 110% dedicated/obsessed with becoming a pro”, which is exactly what you need.
Don’t forget Youtube, every game you play try and have it recorded. When you get home to edit the footage and put together all of your moments on a highlight reel.
You’d be surprised at how many coached/scouts watch these reels and have recruited players or made further inquiries based on them.
When you go about creating a personal brand you may also start getting approached by brands to promote their products or even get a sponsorship deal with a major sports brand.
Once you’ve built up your brand you can also engage an agent, someone who can “Sell” you to Futsal clubs around the world.
The agent will want to be assured that you have the skills and right foundation to operate at a pro level, of course, their reputation is on the line after all.
Be Prepared To Travel
Depending on where you are in the world, you’ll need to be willing to travel to make it as a professional. This means time away from family and friends and missing out on special occasions.
You could be required to head to places like Brazil, Europe or South East Asia for trials and Pro contacts.
Don’t forget a lot of players in these areas have only ever played Futsal and Futsal could be their only opportunity at an improved lifestyle, you’ll need to match their hunger and determination to stand a chance.
Professional Futsal opportunities are not as common as other major sports but they are growing rapidly, ensure you search locally in your area of residence for professional opportunities before going abroad.
Some professional leagues around the world are:
North America: North American Futsal Federation
Europe: Many leagues, the full list can be found here.
Asia: Indonesian Pro Futsal League
Australia: F League
Brazil: Liga Nacional de Futsal
Trials
No Futsal team is just going to throw a contract at you because you have a fancy video and some impressive stats. You’ll need to prove yourself and you may have to do it a few times.
If you are serious about Futsal you’ll have to make some sacrifices when going for trials, if the trials are overseas then be prepared to pay all of the travel costs and lodging fees for hotels and meals.
You might do all of that and still not make it on your first attempt, that’s normal and nothing to worry about – it’s all a stepping stone.
If you trained on the Futsal court and inside the gym leading up to your trials it will give you an edge but you’ll need to stay mentally strong and switched on at all times, coaches will be assessing your conduct on the court as well as of it.
Remember, you’re asking a team to invest in you so they will want to make sure they are getting the best return on investment that they can.
Learn The Tactics
Having all the skill in the world is great, but you’ll need to know how to operate effectively as part of a team.
You need to spend some time doing homework, not on the Futsal court but in the library.
If you learn the tactics of Futsal quickly then you’ll be able to outperform the competition on game day but also take up a leadership position on the court as you’ll understand the coaches instruction better and be able to pass this information onto your teammates.
Put in the hard work off the court just like you do on it and your game will improve dramatically as a result.
The Professional Mindset
Becoming a professional at anything is more than just having the skills and ability to out achieved your peers, it’s about having the right mindset.
You need to be willing to do things that others won’t which can include:
- No drinking alcohol
- Be willing to adhere to curfews, i.e. asleep by 9 pm
- Be willing to miss out on friends parties
- Be willing to wake up extra early to train i.e. 6 am on Sunday
- Avoiding situations that could bring you and your club into controversy
It’s one thing to have the ability to perform at the highest level, but it needs to combined with the ability to perform at the highest levels of the court as well.
You need to have this ability to back yourself at all times, have faith in your skillset and don’t be shy, let your Futsal do the talking.
It’s easy to get distracted by everyday life things, that’s ok it happens to all of us. What’s more important is that you the ability to stay on track and focus on your Futsal even with these distractions going on – that’s what professionals do.
Check out this read on Futsal safety for children.
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