Club Chairman Al Tindall speaks to carlislefutsal.com on the coming season and our thriving squads.
The great work of our coaching team continues to enhance our reputation locally. We have seen a flurry of interest from people wanting to join the Club which is evidence that we are doing things right and making a positive contribution to our community. I’m really delighted with where we are at the moment.
This year we will compete in the AFL league competition. This is a national competition for our u8, u10, u12 and u14 squads who will play Manchester, Durham and York Futsal Clubs in the North Division. Our squads are in great shape and our strategy of slow growth is really paying off. We plan to give as many players as possible playing time in this competition to aid their development. Here is a quick review of the squads.
U14s
As I have mentioned in previous blogs the goal of our Futsal Academy programme is to create a generation of English Futsal talent that can go on and represent the Club at the highest levels of domestic competition. We have added Jose Sanchez to our coaching team and he has been charged with leading our u14 squad in the AFL. This is our oldest age group and Jose has been highly impressive in setting out his plans and in his assessment of the squad and what they need in order to allow them to continue to develop. We are lucky to have found someone who not only has Futsal knowledge and experience but more importantly is a great communicator and teacher. We will all be able to learn from him and I’m sure he will pick some things up from us too. This is a very promising group for us which actually consists of a mix of boys aged just u13 and u12 players but they have already proven they can hold their own against older boys.
U12s
Long term we are seeking someone to lead our new u12 group, so anyone interested in coaching should get in touch with us. As always we have a commitment to our players to ensure we find the best possible person for this so we will take as long as necessary to find the right person. This recruitment strategy has worked well so far and we wont deviate from it. This season we will play our u12s and our u11s in competition and the group will be led myself and Jon Reay. Again we have some really talented individuals and their challenge is to begin to work as a team in match situations. This is a great age to coach as the players can really start to learn Futsal match play. Exciting for players and us as coaches.
U10s
What a year our u10s have in store. Those born 2008 have been lucky enough to be invited to take part in the World Futsal Cup VI in Barcelona between 26th and 31st December. They will play the likes of Santos from Brazil and teams from Japan, Australia, USA, Columbia and the rest of the world. They will also compete in theAFL and although most players are new to Futsal and consist of some u9s they all show real promise picking up the technical basics quickly. An exciting season for them and for us as a Club as we wait with anticipation to see how they progress.
U8s
This group have very patiently been waiting for their own training session having shared a session with the u7s last year. Weve slowly added to the group over the last few months and have continued to focus our training on 1v1 ability and have now introduced wall passes and working in pairs. The AFL will be their first taste of Futsal competition and we have some very excited 7 year olds.
Our other squads who will play in the AFL next season will be given plenty of competitive opportunities too. Tournaments are planned and friendlies lined up with our friends Joga Futsal and Marcos Leon in Oldham during the season as they prepare for next seasons AFL competition.
With our u7s there is a big focus on ball mastery and 1v1 ability. Neil Dickinson who is leading the group will look to add players to his squad over the course of the season, as and when spaces come up, so that his squad has a nice balance for next years AFL competition.
Daz Gaffney continues his excellent work with the u9s. He has had a squad rebuilding task on his hands recently. Several of his squad from last year have been moved up into the u10s squad after they signed Football Academy contracts with our partners Carlisle United FC. Their football commitments clashed with u9 training so moving them up into the older age group ensures they can continue their Futsal education alongside their Football – great for us and the sport.
We are all set for a great season! Anyone interested in being part of it please register your interest here http://futsalnexus.com/newsreel/academy/
Thanks
Al
