Futsal style

Organisation

• Begin by teaching the players to check their heart rate
• Explain that the easiest way is by placing two fingers on your wrist or neck to check the pulse, counting for 30 seconds and then doubling the number
• The players then work in pairs to complete various short exercises, checking their heart rate at the end of each
• Promote a discussion among the group about differences in heart rate and the reasons for them
• Ask the players how much physical activity they typically do in a week
• Ask them if they think it’s enough or could/should do more

Great questions to ask the players

• Would you like to be fitter and healthier?
• What do you think contributes to your overall wellness?
• Is there anything you could do better to help you keep fit?

Safety tips

• Do not create fear around the heart-rate numbers that the players report; use the answers as discussion opportunities
• Highlight that heart rate is a very individual characteristic and numbers should not be compared

Organisation

• Play 5v5 on a small pitch, indoors if possible
• Split the pitch in half and play 2v2 in each half, plus goalkeepers
• The players are limited to their own half, so they are either attackers or defenders
• Give everyone the chance to play in both halves
• Use a futsal ball if you have one

Ways to make the exercise easier

• Play with two balls at the same time, starting with throws from the goalkeepers
• One of a team's defenders can move into the attacking half when his/her team has the ball

Ways to make the exercise harder

• Limit the number of touches in each half

Great questions to ask the players

• What differences does playing with a futsal ball make?
• What does the heavier ball make you do differently?
• Can you think of other ways you might pass the ball?
• Do you prefer playing as a defender or as an attacker? Why?

Organisation

• Play 5v5 on a small pitch, indoors if possible
• Use a futsal ball if you have one
• Introduce the players to some basic futsal rules such as:
  • kick-ins instead of throw-ins
  • goal clearances (always throws) instead of goal kicks
  • no offsides
  • rolling substitutions
  • five-offence rule: after five offences (of certain types), the next such offences outside the penalty area lead to a direct free kick, without a wall, from the 10m spot (or the place where the foul was committed, if the team taking the kick prefers)

Ways to make the exercise easier

• Only allow players to defend in their attacking half
• Allow unlimited backpasses to the goalkeeper as a team's fifth player

Ways to make the exercise harder

• Limit the number of touches a player can take before releasing the ball
• Goalkeepers cannot throw the ball over the halfway line

Great questions to ask the players

• What differences does playing with a futsal ball and/or futsal rules make?
• What does the heavier ball make you do differently?
• Can you think of other ways you might pass the ball?