Podcast: why Futsal is the ‘best small-sided player development tool for football’ with former England Futsal head coach Mike Skubala

Game | Skills | Mike Skubala | 17.08.2021

Former England futsal head coach and FA futsal elite performance manager, Mike Skubala (pictured above) discusses the importance of futsal as a player and coach development tool for football. Image: getty images.

Learning:

• The role futsal can play as a ‘player development tool’ for developing future football players

• Mike’s futsal player development pyramid (see diagram below) and the importance of game threshold concepts: 2v2 and 3v3

• The benefits of futsal as a coach development tool in football

Included in the discussion:

00.47: Coach development journeys: Mike’s background in futsal and football

06.14: What is futsal? How is it different to indoor 5 a-side?

10.26: Futsal and constraints: the goal, court, ball and laws of the game

13.37: The cultural challenges that futsal faces in England

15.51: How futsal is played in school systems across the world

18.18: What influence has futsal had on Premier League players and coaches?

19.32: How futsal can help football players play ‘the game within the game’ in 11v11 formats

20.29: How futsal helps to grow ‘filmstar’ footballers

20.44: “A fast moving game of chess” - coaching futsal at the highest level

24.52: Mike Skubala’s Futsal Player Development Pyramid (see below) - part one: 1v1

26.34: How to embed individual techniques into a football or fustal development programme

29.04: The danger of seeing futsal as a ‘nice to do, bolt on’ to a professional academy programme

31.00: How a futsal coach and a football coach can form an effective partnership in a specialised coaching model

31.34: Futsal Player Development Pyramid part two: game threshold concepts 2v2 and 3v3

32.28: Why 2v2 in futsal is key to player development in football

35.10: The dangers of divorcing technical actions from the wider game

37.30: The player decision-making process: perception, decision, execution

41.30: How futsal can help coaches develop their observation skills

44.16: Futsal Player Development Pyramid part three: team tactics and systems

46.29: Two key tips for improving knowledge of tactics

51.07: Futsal Player Development Pyramid part four: game strategies

53.46: What are the benefits of having a game model?

55.38: “I had a 90 page dossier and way of playing, but only four pages got to the players”

57.45: “Every player is different” - how to tailor communication and information for individuals

58.57: How senior coaches in football have learned from futsal

1.00.49: Mike’s current futsal research project and the links to football player development

1.03.45: Why a focus on futsal in the Youth Development Phase (12-16) can have a huge impact on football

1.04.09: How futsal can help England win a football World Cup