In this blog Russell Fryer, an FA futsal coach developer, shares how he was introduced to the game and where it has taken him.

Familiar beginnings

Like many coaches, I started my futsal journey with little knowledge and few expectations. I had been coaching football for a number of years, starting with adults and eventually finding my place coaching young people. Amongst other settings, I had coached at a college, in academy football, in grassroots football and at Manchester United Soccer Schools.  During this time my step son, aged around 13, was looking for additional help with his speed of thinking and footwork and we heard about Sala Futsal Club in Manchester. Someone had told me that futsal was a great way to help with what he needed, so I took him down to see what the game was all about.

Love at first sight

Neil at Sala said “give me 6 weeks and if you don’t see an improvement, you don’t pay” and I thought ‘great, a free 6 week trial’. Of course, we immediately fell in love with it all.  Some of the players were experienced by comparison and were demonstrating how fast they could move the ball, how quickly they passed and thought about passing and those back post finishes just looked sublime. In the blink of an eye we were both hooked.

The inevitable happened and as a UEFA B qualified football coach, I was soon asked would I be interested in helping out. It would only be for a few tournaments, so I thought why not and before I knew it we were in Leeds at the old Leeds Futsal Arena at an FA tournament with Sala U14s, playing against other teams from around the country. To say my head was spinning was an understatement, it was so much faster than the football games I had coached and the subs – well that was a whole other story; you could do them in play, but had to do them every 5 mins or so to keep the players all fresh. Trying to keep track of who had done what time with all the players telling me it was their turn next, all the while the game was going on and I was trying to think about formations in and out of possession and wait – how many goals were flying in at both ends! I came away from there after reaching the semi-finals, wondering what had just happened, but needless to say I loved it.

They grow up so fast

It was 3 years with Sala, but it feels now like it was over in a heartbeat and my step son was 16 and now too old for the oldest group there, but we were both head over heels and wanted more, so our friend Marcos signposted us to Manchester Futsal. We headed off to MFC to see what they were all about and they were very welcoming. My step son played in the youth team, then in the open age local league, before making his debut for the U21s in tier 2 of the then National Futsal League (now National Futsal Series) and eventually into the first team and into the then England U19 North program. 

Again, it was during the transition from youth to U21 that my own experience was made known and so there I was again being asked if I wanted to be part of the coaching team, first in the local league and as assistant to Karl with the tier 2 team. Karl left a year later and went on to form Warrington Futsal Leagues and teams who went from strength to strength and I was left holding the baby so to speak and now in sole charge of the team. However I had only just got my level one Futsal qualification so I was effectively putting what I had seen and picked up on the job into effect within our training sessions. You know the phrase ‘fake it til you make it’? yep, that was me.

I asked to be put through my level 2 Futsal (now the National Futsal Course) and after completing that I felt more equipped and more confident to lead the team, I asked my good friend Steve (a level two football coach with similar philosophies to me) to come and be my wingman and suddenly things started to happen for us. We started to develop the youth by bringing them in from U16s, we had a club philosophy and playing style we all adhered to and we were meeting regularly as a club, with men’s, women’s and youth all on the same page(ish). The first real significant change was about to happen for me and the club.

The reign from Spain

So, myself and Steve were doing a fine job with the squad we had and were comfortable in the league that we were in, despite many teams being older and more experienced.  However, things were about to take a turn for the better long term. The senior team advertised for a head coach and swiftly appointed a Spanish Pro Licence Futsal Coach, Sergi Saldanya with a lifetime of experience in Futsal and a full season program of training, complete with a variety of in and out of possession sessions, data analysis, videos to watch and even a time-keeping sheet to monitor every minute of every player on court during a game, who was on when goals were conceded and scored and who gave away fouls and for what. It was another level and to my surprise, I was asked if I would like to be his assistant with the first team, whilst staying in charge of the tier two team, as fixtures didn’t often clash.  My first thought as a coach who believes we are always learning, was when do we start.  The answer was a few days later.  My mind again awash with the level of intensity that the training sessions reached, the content involved, Sergi calling me every week and running me through training videos or match analysis. I was thirsty for more knowledge and it just kept on coming and so I decided to enroll on my UEFA B Futsal qualification.

Sergi and I had a great partnership.  His exceptional in-depth knowledge (alongside stalwart and club captain Sam) and my organization, empathetic coaching skills and not being scared to challenge him, was a good combination and the team thrived and developed into a very strong unit that we were all incredibly proud of, competing against the very best the country had to offer and I was proud to be a part of it, even feeling confident enough to lead the boys when Sergi was away in Spain from time to time. 

With my step son now leading the tier two team regularly as captain and making regular appearances for the first team, as well as driving now, my mind had already started to wander towards how this sport could really be pushed in my home borough of Tameside, with grassroots kids. I was back to thinking how I could help children to develop, which has always been my passion.

And so it began

Leaving on very amicable terms, I had decided to create my first local development group, called Inspired Futsal, made up of a wide catchment age of 9-14 to get us started, and we began with just 6 players that had responded to a Facebook post I had put out there about what I was doing.  With a wide age range between the youngest and oldest it inevitably started as a skills session with a little theory and unopposed play, but over the weeks and months the sessions started to become more popular as the sport grew and the local grassroots teams were buying into the fact that Futsal could be used as a tool to improve their players’ ability to master the ball and think faster. I therefor decided to start some league competitions and had a few leagues running at different age groups, which proved very popular and a Christmas tournament, which attracted teams from around Greater Manchester and beyond.

Before long I had a full development session too and was able to split the ages down, so that we had 7-10yo and 11-14yo groups and we just kept on spawning more groups, before eventually attracting more girls (after visiting local schools). One Wildcats groups became two girls’ groups and today we deliver to around 150 girls and boys, aged 5-18yo and doing two sessions each evening throughout the week. It is safe to say that Tameside Futsal is flying and who knows maybe one day we will have a Tameside Futsal open age team playing in the NFS.

Small acorns

Finally, from only going as a spectator to watch my step son at 13 years old, I have recently been given the opportunity to work with the FA as a Futsal Coach Developer and teach other coaches who want to start or expand their Futsal knowledge and work with their own players in their own areas and eventually this sport we have fallen in love with will continue to grow and become a more regular mainstream tv sport, featuring local boys and girls in national leagues and national teams.

So, there it is; my journey into and through futsal. Who would have thought I’d be doing what I am today from there. And my step son; well he now coaches Futsal to UEFA B level, running Manchester Met University, Manchester Futsal B-Team (my old team) and Glossop Futsal and whilst recovering from a long term cruciate ligament injury, he still would like to be back playing for Manchester in the very top league. Fingers crossed this happens, so I can go along as a spectator once again.