▶️ WHY FUTSAL?  Futsal is played with a weighted ball, on a flatter, faster surface, with less players, in a confined area.  The overall net result is proven development of soccer skills.  WSA's use of Futsal is primarily for the development of skillsets that transfer to the game of soccer (football).  

• BALL PREP: The physics dictates that the ball will be moving on the floor at fast speeds, which encourages better body orientation, prep mechanics, and posture.
• SPEED OF PLAY:  The smaller space, limited players, faster travel speed of the ball, also helps train the brain for cognition related to "speed of play". 
• BALL MASTERY: Also, because of the combination of the ball on the floor, the limited spacing, rules which discourage physical tackling to dispossess, the result is success rendered for those who can manipulate the ball best.  
• SURFACE CONTACT:  Futsal players use softer shoes (no cleats) and this encourages more surface contact w/ the ball.  The sole of the foot is often used, which further develops "touch" and "feel". 
• OVERALL SKILL CULTURE:  Futsal generally speaking, when implemented in the right format will help promote overall Skill ahead of Physicality.  From The WSA Way a reminder that "skill" is executing "technique" at "speed" or "inside of pressure situations".  The "no tackling" rule helps promote this, as well as the long-lived tradition of using Futsal to experiment and explore various 1v1 moves, escape moves, and use of individual attacking tools. 
• FUN: Futsal is usually fun for the athlete.  A Fun environment tends to encourage creativity, risk-taking, and failing forwards, which are the components of the best "growth" environment. 
• FUN for THE SAKE OF FUN:  Fun is a good thing.  It is "why" most athletes continued to play at an early age of any sport.  They had FUN and/or enjoyed the CHALLENGE. 
• INDOORS:  We use Futsal during the Winter (and Summer) months.  Being indoors when it is too cold or too dark to train for younger players makes Futsal an ideal "stop-gap" for the year-round cycle.  The same concept can be applied to the Summer offseason months, when sometimes in our area it is too hot to train. 
• SAFE: Generally speaking Futsal is a safe alternative to training when athletes are in a "transition phase".  This means when athletes might be worn down, or be suscpetible to overuse injuries, Futsal can provide an avenue to participate in active training, while still allowing recovery.   
• ACTIVE REGEN & RECOVERY:  For U14 and older players that are on a periodization schedule, the ocassional Futsal session is a fun and effective "recovery or regeneration" session. 

▶️ CAN OUR TEAM DO IT ON OUR OWN WITHOUT JOINING THE WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY?  Yes! Absolutely.  Access to facilities is a function of access to Futsal.  If your team is able to secure facilities to participate in Futsal this is perfectly fine. 

▶️ WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY? 

• Training from Futsal specific coaches, with experience. 
• Rules & environment structured to promote the best outcomes.
• Insurance provided by the club for facilities. 
• Community building between athletes of various teams. 
• Leveraging opportunity for participation in leagues & tournaments. 
• Usually a lower overall expense to parent due to volume discounts on facilities.
• Staying connected to the club program, which helps provide the athlete further support. 

▶️ WHAT DO THE FEES COVER FOR THE WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY? 

• Facility Rental - the primary expense covered is facility rentals
• Coach Pay - pay for various trainers 
• Equipment - futsal balls, gym markers, futsal goals, gym/flat surface specific equipment
• Insurance - application of the club insurance 
• League/Tournament Entry/Coach Travel - currently (2023 revised) the fees also cover entry to either a League or Tournament event.  For tournament events the coaches travel is covered.
• Administration.  Club takes care of administrating scheduling, registration to league/tournament, etc... 

▶️ DOES WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY OWN FACILITIES?

• No, not at this time.  WSA must lease/rent all facilities for Futsal at this time. 
• It is a goal for the club to own indoor training facilities. 

▶️ WHAT DO THE FEES NOT COVER FOR THE WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY? 

• League Referee Fees (expected to be about $1/game/player)
• Additional Tournament or League Participation beyond the one connected to the program (optional)
• Revised 2024: Futsal Academy Jersey (in the future this will be covered) 
• Athlete's Futsal Shoes and Futsal Ball (ball is optional) 
• Athlete's & Family's travel to/fro event or league 

▶️ WHAT DAYS ARE TRAINING & GAMES IN WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY? 

• Winter: Monday or Tuesday are usually the days used 
• Summer: TBD  
• League Games: Fri/Sat/Sun (either/or based on league) 
• Tournament Games: Fri-Sun of the weekend of the event - similar to typical outdoor tourney 

▶️ HOW LONG IS A SEASON IN WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY? 

• Winter: 3-4 months spanning parts of November, December, January (and sometimes February)
• Summer: 4-8 weeks spanning June & July 

▶️ DOES THE WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY CONFLICT WITH MY CLUB TEAM? 

• Yes, minimally. We expect that there are usually 2 overlapping sessions.
• The club does ask club coaches to consider each athlete's participation in Futsal.
• The club maintains that your commitment and responsibility always should remain obligated to your primary team. 
• The club does communicate and attempt to coordinate preemptively with your club coaches to let them know when certain age group Futsal sessions will be

▶️ DO I HAVE TO TRYOUT FOR THE WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY? 

• There is a prelim trial period which is used to form "teams".
  • This provides the WSA Futsal Academy Staff data regarding interest to help determine the number of teams, staffing, and court space that will be required. 
  • Attending the "trial" sessions is encouraged.  
  • If athletes cannot attend it is important to communicate to the WSA Futsal Staff of your inability to attend a trial and interest in playing. 
• The WSA Futsal Academy will always attempt to remain "open" to all interested players within the U8-U14 age range.
• Team rosters are limited to 10 players (5 players on the court at a time).  So for "team programming" related to the competition element it may not always be possible to mathematically include all interested athletes. 

▶️ DO I HAVE TO REGISTER FOR THE WSA FUTSAL ACADEMY?

• Yes. If you choose to participate there is a registration process (unless you participate in a regional league travel team which includes Futsal in it's programming by default). 
• The registration process allows you to set up your payment plan.
• The registration process permits you to be placed on a Futsal team roster. 

▶️ HOW LONG WSA SOCCER BEEN PROGRAMMING FUTSAL? 

• WSA was the first club in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area to implement Futsal in 2008 
• Most importantly WSA has incorporated Futsal since our '98 program were U10's and the results w/ their age group and all others since, demonstrate a strong corollary between participation and team and athlete success & achievement. 
  • The 98 Girls began WSA's Futsal program w/ Mark Foster & Josh Eardley (the team maintained it's roster, had 15 college placements, finished 5th in the Nation)
  • The 00 Boys began in WSA's Futsal program as U8's with Rey Bustos and had 15 college placements, retained the majority (90%) of their roster for 10 years, and won a national championship and multiple state championships