If anyone still had doubts about futsal being a flash in the pan, this should settle any further discussion.
James McCarthy/NNSL photo
The NWT Futsal League, NWT Soccer's newest initiative, had its kickoff on Sunday at St. Joseph Gymnasium with several young players between the ages of three and 14 hitting the floor for opening day. There were no games as the first sessions were all about drills and instruction.
Lyric Sandhals, NWT Soccer's executive director, said the league has been in plans for the past several months and it all began with the first visit of Kyt Selaidopoulos, head coach of Canada's men's national futsal team, to Yellowknife in 2017.
“We're trying to introduce the game to schools and to as many kids as we can,” she said. “We have six divisions with more than 80 kids registered right now along with five technical staff and 15 team officials.”
The technical staff members are the ones who lead each division and run all of the training sessions while the team officials are the ones who look after the players when the matches begin, which will happen later this month. All of the training sessions and match days will happen on Saturdays and Sundays at St. Joseph Gymnasium.
“All of the technical staff have age-specific training so all of the drills will be catered to the divisions they're working with,” said Sandhals.
The first three sessions will be all about drills with the teams being put together following the third week, she added, but only the older groups will have actual game play.
“The U6 division will do some small-side games because U4 and U6 is all about physical literacy,” she said. “The U8 to U15 division will be split into teams.”
The players in the older divisions will be ranked one through three in order to properly balance out the teams in the older divisions and the first three sessions will determine the players' rankings, she said.
There's also a chance for players to move up an age category if the technical staff deem it appropriate.
“The technical staff have the ability to move players throughout all of the teams,” said Sandhals. “If one team is dominating, we don't want to have that because we want them to be as balanced as possible. After January, if there's growth of players or if players are excelling, we can move them between divisions.”
Huw Morris, NWT Soccer's technical director, was also on hand for the league's opening day and said the league is a natural extension of futsal's burgeoning popularity in the territory.
“What we've seen is that futsal fits the development of the game and the players in the NWT,” he said. “There are a lot of indoor facilities around the territory, which fits the game of futsal. People like Lyric have put a lot of effort into getting this league together and it's the dream now of having our own league. We have a bona fide game that suits the NWT's players.”
The most important thing Morris sees coming out of the league is the development of the players for future competitions such as the Arctic Winter Games and even in outdoor competitions like the Canada Summer Games.
“I say it will benefit the outdoor game because we will be able to grow quicker on things such as the first touch of the ball, being aware of the surroundings when we're making decisions on and away from the ball,” he said. “I can see the benefits really showing in about five years.”
The league's season will run until next March and Sandhals there are still spots open in some divisions for players.