When I first traded in outdoor Soccer/Football for futsal the first thing I wanted to do was start a team, I fell in love with futsal after watching the futsal Continental Cup and didn’t look back. I managed to create a team that was not only able to draw in some very talented players, but they were able to transfer these skills onto the futsal court and do very well in many competitions.
So, What’s the answer on how to make a futsal team? When making a futsal Team you need to follow a number of steps:
- Find players
- Hold trials
- Create uniforms
- Select a competition/s to compete in
- Arrange fee payment structure
- Find a coach
- Arrange regular training sessions
- Create an online presence
Following the above-listed steps will ensure you create a team that will sustain multiple seasons and will be able to bring you back a reward for all your hard work and planning.Managing people is not an easy task by any means and you will need to have a team of committed individuals to achieve team goals and maintain team morale.
How to Find Players
Finding players isn’t overly difficult, finding the right type of players with the required skillset and a positive attitude can prove to be one of the biggest challenges of any team manager.
There are a number of online and real-world options when it comes to finding players, listed below:
- Social Media: do not overlook social media options such as Facebook and Twitter. Scouring local group pages relating to soccer and futsal and posting on these pages will bring results. Also, setting up a new page for your club and asking all your friends and family to like and share will go a long way also. Be sure to create a post adverting “players needed”.
- Community Websites: positing players wanted in local community websites such as craigslist or gumtree will also allow for a good level of interest in your team and will get you results. Many clubs over look this as a source of players, some of my best players were found on these types of sites.
- Futsal/Recreation Centers: visit your local venues where futsal is played. Let the managers know that you are seeking players and see if you can post a flyer up to alert new prospects.
- Poach: this is one that I did on one occasion. I wouldn’t use this as a common tactic as it’s easy to get the other sides in your competition offside really quickly. Proceed with caution.
Holding Trials
Once you’ve your list of potential players remember that you’ll need to select the best fits for your team. You’ll need players that are happy to play in any position including goalkeeper if required, Goalkeeper will be the hardest position to fill in the team.
Some ideas on tests to hold during your trial can be:
- Timed dribbling exercises
- Sprint Suicides
- Shooting drills
- Trial game
- Beep Test, you can check out our guide here
Of course, these are not exhaustive but will give you an idea of a players overall skill set pretty quickly, it’s important to not write off Soccer players who have never played futsal.
In my experience, some of the best players I have ever played alongside on the futsal court were outdoor players.
As futsal has 5 players on the field at any one time you should seek to secure 10-12 players with 2 being able to fill the role of Goal Keeper.
If you plan on having a reserve team then you should scale accordingly. Don’t be worried about having too many players, if you are running an amateur team you’ll likely find that family and work commitments will prevent most people from attending every match.
During your trials, be sure to speak to as many of the participants as possible ask them questions about their style of play, how often they can attend games and training and what they want to get out of playing on your team.
Creating Uniforms
Once you have selected your team it’s time to get your uniform organized and sorted. A Uniform can be tricky and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.
Consider getting a team logo created on a website like freelancer.com and you’ll then need to find a supplier. You don’t have to go for an eexpensively branded uniform but one that is effective.
You’ll need to also factor in the Goalkeeper uniform as well.
Don’t forget that a good-looking uniform will show that you are serious about your futsal and will attract players to your club, try not to cut corners, you can do this by being smart with your supplier selection.
A key tip: do not put any players name on the back of their shirt. If you do, you will not be able to re-use the uniform.
Choosing A Competition
Depending on where you are located this can be somewhat tricky. Each city should have at least one local competition, you should start your team here.
Once you are settled in the competition you should consider branching out and competing in state competitions.
Obviously, your team should have the right mix before you go out registering for big state and national competitions. Ensure you can compete and don’t over stretch the players or yourself.
It’s likely you’ll need a couple of years together as a team before you go and take on the bigger teams.
Team Fees
When you have a futsal team there will be costs involved in running and maintaining the team there is no question or way around it.
What you need to do when starting your team is to create a player registration form that includes a payment structure.
If possible, try and set up a bank account for the team and include the team bank account details on the form. It’s up to you how you want to make payment but we suggest a minimum of 50% up front from the players and the other 50% by the third game of the season.
If any players struggle to meet this you’ll have to make a personal assessment on whether or not the player can continue.
Finding A Coach
Besides finding a Goalkeeper finding a coach is going to be tough, there is no doubt about it.
Someone who knows futsal intimately may not be the easiest option, it may be easier for you to coach the team yourself or if one of the players is suitably experienced see if they can run drills and tactics.
Don’t forget the team is new and just like life it’s about progression, don’t expect to be winning games 5-0 every week. You’ll likely lose your first few.
You should consider approaching outdoor coaches if they are available, many of the skills are transferable for players and also for coaches. So long as the coach is willing to adapt you should do okay.
You can post coach ads on social medial platforms, web pages, and local venues, just like player recruitment. If you can’t find a coach that’s not an issue either continue and you’ll find the right mix and tactics, the longer you stick with it.
Regular Training Sessions
The most important factor that will influence the way your team performs will be how much time it spends together on the court, you’ll need to consider that games will be limited to one or two per week so an extra one or two training sessions per week will greatly improve the way your team performs on match day.
You should make it clear to prospects that training on a weekly/bi-weekly basis is a requirement to joining and maintain status in the team.
Using a venue will likely cause costs to rise, check with your local venue if you can pre-book the location at a discounted rate.
If it’s not possible or works out to be too expensive you can train at free locations such as outdoor basketball courts or even grassed areas. You can practice skills and tactics or just work on general fitness.
Create an Online Presence
When I started my first futsal team and had the club established, I set about creating an online presence which I then leveraged to secure two sponsorship’s from reputable businesses.
The tactics I used were:
- Website: I created a website which contained everything from team training locations, player profiles, weekly videos of team games and player stats. As we were the only team with a dedicated website at the time we received most of the traffic from the other clubs in the league and social media interactions.
- Social Media: Do not overlook the establishment of a Facebook page, tagging players in-game photos and videos tend to go viral pretty quickly and gain you more followers and will, in turn, grow your fan base.
- Community sites – Don’t forget to create local profiles on community sites to ensure you get a presence across all boards.
As you can see there are many ways to grow your new team, you shouldn’t skip any steps in order to grow your team to its pinnacle.
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