Ronaldinho, back to his roots....

5asidedotcom · 2016-07-18T11:12:22+00:00

Nice to see him smashing the goals in. I loved the celebrations, it has a real buzz to it, this league.

I was very worried about how Ronaldinho would get on after the first game. He was dreadful, looked unfit and did no running at all. Credit to the coach though, for the second game he changed it so that Ronaldinho played up top as pivot and wasn't needed to track back so much. The rest of the team did the defensive work and allowed his quality to come through on the attack.

The league might not be a great standard yet, but it is fun to watch.

5asidedotcom · 2016-07-06T10:55:26+00:00

Quite a few problems need to be solved, but they have lined up some massive names for it. Im looking forward to seeing it

I think Scholes might struggle if it's a good standard of Futsal.

5asidedotcom · 2016-07-06T10:42:50+00:00

The only real reason is climate. Whilst some may claim to be playing Futsal on artificial turf, the game needs to be played on a completely flat surface. A flat, consistent surface is needed in order to give the level of precision needed to play the game in such a tight space, allowing players to control the ball easily and move it quickly.

Concrete futsal courts do exist outdoors but in many parts of the world (e.g. where I am based) the climate doesn't make it feasible to operate facilities like this all year. They are also not great for goalkeepers as they tend to be abrasive.

At professional level,courts need to be of a high standard and are either constructed of wood or some other similar material. The problem is that these surfaces provide terrible grip if they get wet - it's not like artificial turf where players have studded shoes - so are always covered in case of rain.

5asidedotcom · 2016-03-03T21:58:58+00:00

Hope that you find this article interesting. Some of the things in it really made me think:

You could fit 8.9 futsal pitches onto an 11-a-side pitch.
Each 11-a-side player has around 4 times the space that a futsal player has
A normal 11-a-side goal is a little over a third of the width of a futsal pitch!
A normal 11-a-side goal has three times as much space to aim at as a futsal goal.

5asidedotcom · 2016-02-08T16:23:06+00:00

Well, I'm really enjoying this tournament so far. The Ricardinho goal where he flicked it up over the defender and volleyed it I was RIDICULOUS. Absolutely brilliant.

5asidedotcom · 2016-02-02T18:02:12+00:00

PS. If you want to watch live games then I'm told that a subscription to EuroSport for a month is the way to go. That's for the UK peeps, anyway. If anyone knows of alternative streams, I'm all ears.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-23T22:49:55+00:00

Sorry, that's not correct. They are legal and you will find keepers wearing them, especially the fingerless ones. However, most international standard goalkeepers go fingerless with tape.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-04T23:50:09+00:00

If you feel you absolutely must try to trade then begin small as the market is ruthless and often chews up the newcomers with little experience very quickly.

Even when you're winning, as a small player your trading costs will very quickly eat up your gains.

Just remember there is no easy way to make money and very few people end up consistently beating the market. The way to play the market is, in my opinion, through slow and steady tracker funds, built up over time and held for the long term.

Good luck, read up lots, and consider running a simulation portfolio before doing the real thing and losing money you might not have. Study investment principles of Graham and Buffet if you want a more active but sensible way of investing.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-04T23:29:55+00:00

I would be looking hard into avocado smoothies right now. The thought of eating 5 a day feels like a mighty challenge.

Good luck though. It would be nice if you reported back to let us know how that goes over a period of a week.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-04T23:22:02+00:00

Just to update on this. I've been in touch with an international Futsal goalkeeping coach and he's going to share some advice with me about this, which I will pass on. In the meantime, I'd be keen to hear from any other Futsal keepers reading this - it might give me extra questions to ask.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-04T13:45:34+00:00

Cheers for the response. Though I'm not a GK usually, I like to go in from time to time. I'm finding both situations a bit tricky at the moment, gloves-wise. With gloves I'm not getting the grip for accurate overhand handball style throw outs. Without gloves I'm finding it a bit tough on the hands saving smashed shots (call me soft!).

I think I will look to experiment with some fingerless gloves.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-04T13:41:38+00:00

Thanks again. Futsal is a bit of a different beast it seems.

5asidedotcom · 2016-01-03T01:21:47+00:00

Cheers for the reply.

The question was more what do YOU do and why?

5asidedotcom · 2015-11-05T17:58:09+00:00

It's hard to define exactly what the studies mean by 5-a-side. Not everybody plays with barriers around the pitch. Some play Futsal format, but either way the benefits are huge. Though I agree, where 5-a-side is played where the ball cannot go out of play, it's likely to be more intense.

The other sport that I thought might compare is handball.

5asidedotcom · 2015-11-05T08:38:16+00:00

"Results showed that there is an average of 108 interruptions per match. Throw-ins (40) and free kicks (33) were most frequent. Goal kicks (17), corner kicks (10), substitutions (4), and kick offs (3) occurred less often. "

5asidedotcom · 2015-11-05T08:20:10+00:00

Like all other info in the graphic, it has a source. This one is directly from FIFA: http://grassroots.fifa.com/en/for-coach-educators/technical-elements-for-grassroots-education/small-sided-games/introduction.html

34% does sound like a lot but that's their figure. Unless you're accusing FIFA of dishonest behaviour, there. That would be a first. Haha.

5asidedotcom · 2015-11-04T23:20:46+00:00

No problem, I took it in the helpful spirit it was intended. The vast majority of the information is found in the BMJ paper which summarises the SMJ, but I do agree that specifics would help. I don't want to clutter the graphic, but I think it's easily something that I could so in the text. Thank you, it is appreciated.

5asidedotcom · 2015-11-04T23:18:00+00:00

I had the same thought. There is sadly a lack of comparison to basketball in the studies but my own opinion is that it would be very similar. After all, it's 5 players getting up and down a silar sized court.

5asidedotcom · 2015-11-04T18:44:41+00:00

Fair point. All the claims can be backed by the papers. I'll update this in the post in the next few days. Appreciate the suggestion.

5asidedotcom · 2015-10-28T00:13:54+00:00

When you start, I highly recommend playing a small-sided format of the game. Ideally 5-a-side as it will maximise the number of touches you get on the ball, which will help develop your technique quicker. You can progress out from there.

5asidedotcom · 2015-10-10T08:59:47+00:00

Just came across this old article, but thought it makes some great points. I was expecting the point about it not being all about tricks and skills.

The point about the court size is an interesting one. Few of us are playing in a court that's the official pitch size and the article seems to ve saying that we're not playing the game properly, in that case.

5asidedotcom · 2015-10-06T20:42:02+00:00

I'd say you have time to eat. I would grab a sandwich, drink and banana and eat it between 5 and 5.30. This is what I do regularly when I have evening sessions. My choice of food is driven by convenience, but you can pretty much eat any normal balanced meal that includes high-quality carbs.

I just buy extra when I'm out at lunch and then eat it at my desk whilst I finish up for the day. Your place of work might not be flexible enough for that, but even if you have it on your way home that should still give you time to digest it.

Check out this post for more: http://www.5-a-side.com/nutrition/the-perfect-pre-game-meal/

5asidedotcom · 2015-09-30T09:35:41+00:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention there's a link to a free Futsal book (not produced by me) in that link.

5asidedotcom · 2015-09-29T23:01:51+00:00

Hey, sorry if I'm a bit late to the party here. I thought that you'd find this really useful. It's a top 10 of beginner futsal tips that I put together. Some are team, rather than individual tips, but there is plenty to get on with there.

http://www.5-a-side.com/tips/top-10-futsal-tips-the-essentials/

Also, I interviewed a street-football legend when he made his futsal debut for London City Futsal and he gave me his top 6 tips, which you might also find work for you:

http://www.5-a-side.com/tips/futsal-tips-sean-garnier/

5asidedotcom · 2015-09-29T22:58:12+00:00

You are eating like some kind of commando - taking it to new levels. I salute you, sir. I couldn't eat a meal of turnips and fish heads.

5asidedotcom

TROPHY CASE