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SCHOOLS
NEWS |
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E.ON
CHARTER STANDARD SECONDARY SCHOOLS
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FUTSAL
CUP |
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Youngsters flocked to
Redbridge College recently to see West Ham United's
flying winger Matthew Etherington, who showed his
support for F.A. Charter Standard Secondary Schools as
they got a chance to showcase their skills in the annual
Futsal Cup. |
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The College organised an
excellent tournament for the second year running, Sports
Studies students assisting with the management and
coaching of the sides and providing important skills
training. The Football Association-sanctioned Futsal
variation is a five-a-side game, played with
hockey-sized goals, relying on players' skills and
abilities to react quickly. The sport is slightly
different from normal five-a-side football as it's
played to touchlines rather than re-bound boards, the
reduced pitch area encouraging technical development as
it requires a greater level of skill. To date, this
exciting form of the sport has played a key role in the
emergence of superstars such as Luis Figo, Roberto
Carlos, Robinho and Ronaldinho.
Chief Executive of the Essex County F.A., Phil Sammons,
appeared in conjunction with Etherington and handed out
the winners' trophy to Royal Docks who came out on top
in the eight-strong posse of participating schools who
produced some impressive performances. Andy Russell of
Football First, who is also a coach at the College, was
impressed by the level of play produced by the Year
Sevens: "The youngsters pulled off some audacious
tricks which you would usually expect to see from the
stars of Barcelona or Chelsea!"
One of the personalities of the tournament, eleven-year
old Thomas King of Seven Kings, was ecstatic to take
part in the day: "Futsal is great as it helps
improve your skills and develops your standard of play
when you move onto a full-sized pitch."
The tournament was played in a great spirit, with all
the teams providing entertainment during both the pool
and play-off stages. Following a number of nail-biting
matches in the group games it was last year's winners,
the Royal Docks, who made it through to the last match
where they met an impressive Shenfield side in a
pulsating final. The face-off was played at a high tempo
and went down to the wire, the defending champions
eventually scoring their vital late winner deep into
extra time.
Other schools taking part included Shenfield, Roding
Valley, Seven Kings, Caterham, Mark Hall and Eastlea
and, as a result of their success, Royal Docks secured a
place in F.A. National Futsal Festival later this year,
where they will represent Essex in the Under 12s
category.
Essex & Suffolk Water supplied their '97-branded
bottled tap water for the children to promote the
importance of drinking healthily and Lana Bond, Schools
& Education Football Development Officer at the
Essex County Football Association, concluded: "The
expertise of these coaches and students plays a key role
in the development of players and is important for the
growth of the game.''
Schools running Futsal are invited to contact Lana to
discuss the progress of the quickly-growing game in the
County. For further details, Lana can be contacted on
(01245) 393073 or via E-Mail at lana.bond@essexfa.com |
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