Conditoning for futsal

Our adult season is split into 6 phases with each phase requiring a different focus on player conditioning.

Phase OnePre-competition

1st July - 31st August
Overview

This is our general template for all players to follow. You should work with your coach and the medical team to draw up your own personalised programme based on your current condition.

Team Tactics

Players work in pairs and 3s in attack for the benefit of the team and translate this into tactical formation ideas for match play.

CFC set plays should become habit from kick ins, corners and goalkeeper explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’. More advanced routines are learnt. Refer to approved CFC set play routines for info.

All attacking systems are explored including the introduction of fly keeper.

All defensive systems are explored including defending the fly keeper.

Individual Tactics

Of the four phases of the game, focus on speed of transitional play.

Specific objectives in ATTACK include learning:
1. The game without the ball ie losing the defender
2. Decision making of the player with the ball
3. When to pass, shoot or progress with the ball
4. Awareness of goal and keeper when shooting
5. 1-on-1 v goalkeeper
6. Finish high into the net.

Specific objectives in DEFENCE include learning:
1. Marking the player with the ball
2. Ball interceptions
3. Preventing a shot

  1. Pressing triggers – poor pass, negative touch.
    5. Cutting off passing lines with body shape
Technical Elements

Attacking techniques to be learnt include:

  • Biomechanics (Approaching the ball to pass or shoot)
  • Fluidity of movement
  • Passing variety
  • Dribbling (using both feet)
  • Passing & receiving – body position

Defensive techniques to be learnt include:

  • Team balance when marking opposition
  • Body position to facilitate interception
  • Individual responsibility

Body position for – Delay, depth, cover

Physical Elements

Drills and practices should ALWAYS incorporate a ball. Never use session time to train players on physical elements. Aim to improve:

  • General dynamic coordination
  • Perception & spatial awareness
  • Develop the dominant foot
  • General overall physical ability
Social Elements

Players should develop an appreciation of training as a means of improving. There will be a focus at this age on encouraging respect for others and assessing the positive aspects of having team mates.

Be aware that there are big physical changes going on at this age that may affect coordination and fitness and performance levels may become inconsistent. There may be a knock on effect on the players motivation. There are also additional stresses of exams, relationships and social freedoms placed on players at this age that may affect attitude and ability to maintain performance.

Phase TwoStart of competition

1st September - 30th October
Overview

At this age Futsal techniques should be engrained and performed as habit which allows us to begin to really focus on the detail of the more advanced Futsal tactical elements. All players should be capable to a high standard in 1v1 situations so that the team can retain possession of the ball under pressure.  Working in pairs and 3 in a line is highly important as players begin to use triggers off each other’s movements in match play to instigate rotation patterns as a means to generate and exploit space. Various systems of attack and defence are explored as the focus becomes purely on team play and not on the individual.

Advance the idea of training for a sport and not just training to learn through play. We can start to analyse mistakes to motivate players to train and improve.

Team Tactics

Players work in pairs and 3s in attack for the benefit of the team and translate this into tactical formation ideas for match play.

CFC set plays should become habit from kick ins, corners and goalkeeper explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’. More advanced routines are learnt. Refer to approved CFC set play routines for info.

All attacking systems are explored including the introduction of fly keeper.

All defensive systems are explored including defending the fly keeper.

Individual Tactics

Of the four phases of the game, focus on speed of transitional play.

Specific objectives in ATTACK include learning:
1. The game without the ball ie losing the defender
2. Decision making of the player with the ball
3. When to pass, shoot or progress with the ball
4. Awareness of goal and keeper when shooting
5. 1-on-1 v goalkeeper
6. Finish high into the net.

Specific objectives in DEFENCE include learning:
1. Marking the player with the ball
2. Ball interceptions
3. Preventing a shot

4. Pressing triggers – poor pass, negative touch.
5. Cutting off passing lines with body shape

Technical Elements

Attacking techniques to be learnt include:

  • Biomechanics (Approaching the ball to pass or shoot)
  • Fluidity of movement
  • Passing variety
  • Dribbling (using both feet)
  • Passing & receiving – body position

Defensive techniques to be learnt include:

  • Team balance when marking opposition
  • Body position to facilitate interception
  • Individual responsibility

Body position for – Delay, depth, cover

Physical Elements

Drills and practices should ALWAYS incorporate a ball. Never use session time to train players on physical elements. Aim to improve:

  • General dynamic coordination
  • Perception & spatial awareness
  • Develop the dominant foot
  • General overall physical ability
Social Elements

Players should develop an appreciation of training as a means of improving. There will be a focus at this age on encouraging respect for others and assessing the positive aspects of having team mates.

Players become more aware of the impact their behaviour has on others as their social awareness develops.

Stage ThreeCompetition cycle 1

1st November - 29th December
Overview

At this age Futsal techniques should be engrained and performed as habit. We begin to focus on some of the more advanced Futsal tactical elements. Moving out of the foundation phase all players should be capable to a high standard in 1v1 situations so that the team can retain possession of the ball under pressure.  Working in pairs and 3 in a line is highly important as players begin to learn rotation of position as a means to generate and exploit space. Various systems of attack and defence are explored as we aim to move away from a focus on the individual to advancing team tactical play.

The squad will move to a specific team Futsal training programme. The aim is to improve the knowledge of the rules, introduce training for a sport as an idea and not just learning through play.

It is important to recognise that players at this age are moving to secondary school and will be experience a lot of change. This should be kept in the forefront of the coach’s mind.

Team Tactics

Players work in pairs and 3s in attack for the benefit of the team and translate this into tactical formation ideas for match play.

CFC set plays should become habit from kick ins, corners and goalkeeper explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’. More advanced routines can be introduced. Refer to approved CFC set play routines for info.

In attack work on creating overloads in areas of the court to create shooting opportunities. Utilise the principals of attack to create space to exploit.

In defence the aim is to prevent a goal and recover possession of the ball quickly working off pressing triggers.

Individual Tactics

Of the four phases of the game, focus on actions during transitional play.

Specific objectives in ATTACK include learning:
1. The game without the ball ie losing the defender
2. Decision making of the player with the ball
3. When to pass, shoot or progress with the ball
4. Awareness of goal and keeper when shooting
5. 1-on-1 v goalkeeper
6. Finish high into the net.

Specific objectives in DEFENCE include learning:
1. Marking the player with the ball
2. Ball interceptions
3. Preventing a shot

4. Pressing triggers – poor pass, negative touch.
5. Cutting off passing lines with body shape

Technical Elements

Attacking techniques to be learnt include:

  • Biomechanics (Approaching the ball to pass or shoot)
  • Fluidity of movement
  • Passing variety
  • Dribbling (using both feet)
  • Passing & receiving – body position

Defensive techniques to be learnt include:

  • Team balance when marking opposition
  • Body position to facilitate interception
  • Individual responsibility
  • Body position for – Delay, depth, cover
Physical Elements

Drills and practices should ALWAYS incorporate a ball. Never use session time to train players on physical elements. Aim to improve:

  • General dynamic coordination
  • Perception & spatial awareness
  • Develop the dominant foot
  • General overall physical ability
  • Behaviour
Social Elements

Players should develop an appreciation of training as a means of improving. There will be a focus at this age on encouraging respect for others and assessing the positive aspects of having team mates.

Phase FourPhysical Recovery

30th December - 26th January
Overview

At this age players should be adopting Futsal techniques as a matter of habit. Ball mastery should be at a high level and players good in 1v1 attack and defence situations. There should be a focus on freedom on the ball, working in pairs around the court in attack and defence to build on the principals of match play established at u6-9. CFC set plays should be well understood and adopted in match play automatically.

Our coaches should deliver their sessions ensuring players maintain a high Futsal technical standard and a real enjoyment of learning and playing Futsal. Instructions should be clear, ask questions and interventions should be limited to only when absolutely necessary. Instruction should always be positive.

Team Tactics

Players work in pairs for the benefit of the team and translate this into basic tactical formation ideas for match play. At this is age there is still a focus on the individual in possession and players should continue to hone their 1v1 skills to ensure absolute comfort in tight situations as they progress into the older age groups.

CFC set plays should become habit from kick ins, corners and goalkeeper explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’. Refer to approved CFC set play routines for info.

Game should be played with general instruction with coaching interventions limited to the topic being coached and refreshers of previous topics.

In attack work on creating overloads in areas of the court to create shooting opportunities.

Individual Tactics

Players should be constant and active at all times during the game.

Of the principles of attack (width, depth, penetration) & defence (delay, depth, concentration) ensure understanding of width and depth in attack and delay and depth in defence. This links with the working in pairs theme.

Attacking elements to learn including
1. Progress up the court in pairs & 3s
2. Help the player with the ball
3. Losing a marker
4. Creating space through movement
5. Quick decision making when on the ball

Defensive elements to learn:
1. Man marking with intensity
2. Working in pairs to defend

3. Prevent a goal and recover possession of the ball quickly working in pairs.

Technical Elements

As a minimum our coaches will cover:

  • Attacking techniques to be learnt include:
  • Shooting accuracy
  • Correcting deficiencies in how players strike the ball.
  • Passing & receiving.

Defensive techniques to be learnt include:

  • Press with intensity
  • Watch the attackers eyes
  • How to tackle
Physical Elements

Drills and practices should ALWAYS incorporate a ball. Never use session time to train players on physical elements. Practices and drills should be designed to improve:

  • Hand eye coordination
  • Perception & spatial awareness
  • Develop both feet
  • Coordination and proprioception
Social Elements

Players should be playing purely for fun. The world is all about them and nobody else so we need to acknowledge this in our training methods and ensure we build confidence in the individual and do not place too much emphasis on team play and sharing the ball.

Phase FiveCompetition phase 2

27th January - 6th April
Overview

At this age our squads are should already have a good level of ball mastery competence and be capable in 1v1 attack and defence situations. There should be a strong focus on the Futsal technical basics and having fun in the sessions with lots of match play. It is important at this age that the building blocks of Futsal tactical elements covered at u5-u6 are built on. Introducing some of the CFC dead ball movements are a great way to achieve this. The focus is on creating players teams that can play Futsal and identify the differences between Futsal and Football.

Our coaches should deliver their sessions ensuring players maintain a high Futsal technical standard and a real enjoyment of learning and playing Futsal. Instructions should be clear, ask questions and interventions should be limited to only when absolutely necessary. Instruction should always be positive. Coaching interventions during competitive match play should be limited only to during breaks in play.

Team Tactics

We introduce the idea of working in pairs for the benefit of the team and translate this into the 2-2 defensive formation for match play.

CFC set plays should be learnt from kick in, corners and goalkeeper explaining the ‘how’ and ‘why’. Refer to approved CFC set play routines for info.

Game should be played with general instruction with coaching interventions limited to the topic being coached and refreshers  of previous topics.

In attack focus on moving the ball towards the opposition’s goal to find a suitable shooting position and introduce shoot to miss with back post finish.

In defence the aim is to prevent a goal and recover possession of the ball quickly.

Individual Tactics

Players should be constant and active at all times during the game.

Of the principles of attack (width, depth, penetration) & defence (delay, depth, concentration) ensure understanding of width and depth in attack and delay and depth in defence. This links with the working in pairs theme.

Attacking elements to learn including
1. Progress up the court in pairs
2. Help the player with the ball
3. Losing a marker
4. Creating space through movement
5. Quick decision making when on the ball

Defensive elements to learn:
1. Man marking with intensity
2. Working in pairs to defend

Technical Elements

As a minimum our coaches will cover:

Attacking techniques to be learnt include:

  • Shooting accuracy
  • Correcting deficiencies in how players strike the ball.
  • Dribbling (using both feet).
  • Passing & receiving.
  • Beating the opponent 1v1

Defensive techniques to be learnt include:

  • Press with intensity
  • Watch the attackers eyes
  • How to tackle 1v1
Physical Elements

Drills and practices should ALWAYS incorporate a ball. Never use session time to train players on physical elements. Aim to improve:

  • General dynamic coordination
  • Perception & spatial awareness
  • Develop the dominant foot, encourage the use of less dominant
  • General overall physical ability
Social Elements

Players should be playing purely for fun. The world is all about them and nobody else so we need to acknowledge this in our training methods and ensure we build confidence in the individual and do not place too much emphasis on team play and sharing the ball.

Phase SixEnd of competition

7th April - 22nd June
Overview

At this age our squads are learning ball mastery skills with a strong focus on the Futsal technical basics and having fun. Players will be taught to love the sport before anything else. The Futsal tactical and physical elements to be learnt at this age are very limited and the focus is on creating players who are capable both in offensive and defensive 1v1 situations only.

Our coaches deliver their sessions ensuring players have a good technical basis and a real enjoyment of scoring and preventing goals. Instructions will be clear, allowing questions to be asked and coach interventions will be limited with instruction given at breaks in play only – never during the game.

Team Tactics

We do not introduce team tactics at this age it is all about the individual.

There will be no specific team organisation, all games will be played with general instruction.

In attack focus on moving the ball towards the oppositions goal to find a suitable shooting position.

In defence the aim is to prevent a goal and recovering possession of the ball.

Individual Tactics

Players should be constant and active at all times during the game.

We will introduce the idea of attack & defence.

Attacking elements to learn including
1. Progress towards the oppositions goal
2. Help the player with the ball
3. Losing a marker
4. Finding space
5. Quick decision making when on the ball

Defensive elements to learn:
1. Introduce the concept of marking
2. Ball interception

Technical Elements

As a minimum our coaches will cover the following technical teachings in their sessions at this age group:

  • Attacking techniques to be learnt include:
  • Shooting accuracy
  • Correcting deficiencies in how players strike the ball.
  • Dribbling (using both feet).
  • Passing & receiving.

Defensive techniques to be learnt include:

  • Body position
  • Quick interception
  • Anticipation
Physical Elements

Drills and practices will almost ALWAYS incorporate a ball. Agility, balance and coordination development are as important as ball mastery work at this age. Practices and drills should be designed to improve:

  • Hand eye coordination
  • Perception & spatial awareness
  • Develop both feet
  • Coordination and proprioception
Social Elements

Be reactive to the players at this age, let them tell you what they want to do at times, make sure learning is fun. Always promote:

  • Good behaviour.
  • Respect for others.
  • Allow players time to sit out with parents and watch if they want to.

ABOUT CARLISLE FUTSAL

Carlisle Futsal Club is an English futsal club, based in North Cumbria. We feature one of the most prominent and established youth futsal academies in Great Britain.

Our mission is to create a Club that the people of Carlisle can be proud of.

Members of