Friday, January 25, 2013

Futsal games at the Waltham Y, January 24

Regarding the Futsal games played Thursday evening January 24 2013  at the Waltham Y, four factors stand out:

1 The ball used.

This was the first time ever, that I played in a game using a Futsal ball. It belonged to Paul, it was a Nike Rolinho Premier Futsal ball, inflated to 8 PSI. By way of contrast balls I have recent experience with during games, have been outdoor balls inflated to below 4 PSI.

An ideal outdoor soccer ball has a circumference of 69 cm., whereas an ideal Futsal has a circumference of 63 cm, 91% of that of a an ideal outdoor soccer ball. Hence, the volume of an ideal outdoor soccer ball is 32% greater than the volume of an ideal Futsal ball.

The weight of the Futsal ball we played with evening of January 24th, definitely seemed greater than the weight of the deflated outdoor balls I have been playing with indoors in the past; this resulted in dribbles and shots traveling at less than expected velocity. Blurbs about the the Nike Rolinho Premier ball proclaim that it is official Futsal size and weight, which according to the blurbs, is 'smaller and heavier' than official outdoor soccer ball size and weight. Whereas actually, the ideal Futsal ball is only 95% of the weight of the ideal outdoor ball. Hence I conclude that the Nike Rolinho Premier Futsal ball we played with this evening Jan 24, is indeed heavier than a standard outdoor ball, even though actually a Futsal ball is not supposed to be heavier than a standard outdoor soccer ball.

The Nike Rolinho Premier we played with today was much less bouncy than an outdoors ball. This is to be expected because whereas an ideal outdoors ball dropped from a height of 6' 7" should bounce 4'9" high (72% as high as it was dropped from), an ideal Futsal dropped from 6' 7" should bounce only 2' high (30% of the height it was dropped from).

The audio voice-over-man at FIFA.com - Football-Tests, talks about how a player's rate of improvement is retarded when there is a lack of consistency in terms of the ball used. The text ath the page provides interesting anecdotal evidence:
"Maybe there was a disagreement over the weight of the ball, we will never know, but history books confirm that two balls were used during the 1930 FIFA World Cup™ final, one from Argentina, the other from Uruguay. Argentina led 2-1 at half-time, after using “their” ball for the first 45 minutes, but after the break the Uruguayans used their ball and won the match 4-2. Today, FIFA decides which ball is used in the FIFA World Cup™ and not one of the teams".
IMHO, the soccer programs of the YMCAs in the Boston area, should get together and standardize what kind of ball and ball PSI will be used in their soccer games. The progress rate of players is impaired, when they have to play in games with different kinds of balls, and when they have to practice with different kinds of balls to prepare for such games. Now I face the prospect of having to practice sometimes with an outdoor ball at 4 PSI, and sometimes with a Futsal ball at 8 PSI. This will retard my rate of improvement and could create an addition expense, if I now have to purchase a Futsal ball.

2. I Foolishly Did Weightlifting Exercises for the Calves 2.5 Hours Before the Game Started

My attitude before the game was, 'I am not going to let these soccer games disrupt my practice routine, so I am going to go ahead and do weightlifting exercises for my calves anyway'. The unfortunate result: the pain in the calves and soles of my feet, which had finally disappeared in the previous two games I played in, resurrected itself. Reminds me of how I experienced pain for a long time in the calves and soles of the feet after practicing dribbling while colliding with a punching bag, and after doing my conditioning routine once while wearing two pairs of socks.

3. The Waltham Players Unlike the Oak Sq Y players like to play defense

Waltham Y soccer again showed how it differs from Oak Sq Y soccer, in that, to my surprise, during the games at Waltham Jan 24, the majority of the guys on my team wanted to play defense. This forced me into playing offense, which I am not used to doing. My team-mates often attempted to pass the ball to me up on offense but many of these passes were intercepted. Sometimes, I was clearly in the open but did not get a pass, because the player attempted to dribble and shoot instead. Up on offense, I am more dependent on my team-mates to get me the ball, compared to when I play defense, and can create ball contact opportunities for myself, by my own initiative, more easily.

4. Good Chip Passes I Made Were Not Well Received

Often I sent good chip-passes, not directly to a player, but to a point I expected the player to run to. The disappointment: the players whom I expected to run to meet the pass just stood there, and watched the pass, even though, if they had run to catch the pass, they would have had a good chance to receive it. They did not anticipate the direction of the pass. They did not seem to realize, that since the ball was chipped up in the air, and had 'hang-time', they would have been able to reach it even though it was targetted not at them but at a point between them and the goal. In this they reminded me of certain Oak Square Y players. Cause for hope: I've noticed players can rapidly improve their ability to receive passes that are sent not to where they are but to a point between where they are and the goal.

General Observations/Highlights

During the games evening of Jan 24: my angled one-touch passing & shooting was good at first and then later became inaccurate; my angled one-touch shots lacked velocity (due to the strange heaviness of the ball); in two dribble attempts that succeeded, in difficult situations I dribbled by two players each time before passing off successfully; in one failed dribble attempt, a slant-right, the defender easily stole the ball, because the ball, being heavier & smaller than what I am used to, simply did not travel with the velocity I expected it to when I gave it a glancing blow on its topside; my chip-passes were good but improperly received; my one touch passing off bouncers was good; (IMHO), I helped in producing goals by positioning myself intelligently on offense, which opened up opportunities for my team-mates to score even though I did not touch the ball; I scored one goal; when a long fast aerial pass came to me as I had my back to the opponent goal, and hit the ground just as it neared me, I flicked it backwards and sideways with the sole of my foot and would have scored except the defender behind me, who was much impressed by what I did, managed to block the ball.

I estimate that the inaccuracy in one-touch passing that developed after a while, was not due to the weirdness of the ball alone, but due to a combination of the heaviness of the ball and fatigue. I noticed that this inaccuracy also developed as time wore on, in a good player who unlike me was used to the kind of ball used today. As one tires, it becomes difficult to generate accurate passes with a heavy ball.

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