Noah Boniface demonstrates his athleticism in a game of futsal. Photo / Brad Boniface
"If it wasn't for futsal, I wouldn't be the player I am today."
That's a quote from Cristiano Ronaldo, who growing up in Portugal just played futsal. Ronaldo is often considered the best player in the world.
Futsal is played indoors on a much smaller court than a football field in teams of five.
It is growing in popularity in Palmerston North. The PN Marist Football & Futsal Academy was established last year to offer year-round development pathways for players from age 6.
One of the academy's coaches is Adam Cowan, a former YoungHeart Manawatū captain. The 41-year-old started playing futsal about seven years ago and would have loved for the sport to have been around when he was a kid.
Cowan made his debut for the Futsal Whites in 2019 and has coached the Central team in the national futsal league.
Cowan says futsal is an exciting, high-scoring game. It is a quick, enjoyable game that requires a lot of skills.
Marist Sports director of football Juliano Schmeling comes from a futsal background and is responsible for the development of futsal and football at the club.
Schmeling is from south Brazil and first came to New Zealand in 2011.
In Brazil, futsal is the number one sport for kids as schools don't have the space for football fields, Schmeling says. It is also a luxury for clubs to have football fields.
Futsal was started in Uruguay in 1930.
Schmeling was the national futsal coach in the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. He was technical adviser at the Futsal World Cup 2012 in Thailand and head coach at the Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia.
Cowan says futsal is a sport that is never cancelled due to the weather and parents love it as they can stay dry and out of the wind, and the kids don't get dirty. It's a sport for parents.
As Schmeling puts it, Palmerston North has "a lot of wind, lot of rain".
He says kids who play futsal develop ball skills faster as they have more exposure to the ball in a game and need to make decisions all the time. The surface is flat and the ball doesn't bounce as much as a football.
Cowan says futsal players have to be all-rounders able to attack and defend. There's a big bench with much subbing on and off.
The academy now has more than 50 children playing futsal with under-15 open trials for boys and girls being held on September 7 and 14. It is for anyone - you don't have to be a member of Marist Sports.
Girls currently train with the boys but when numbers increase a group will be created for the girls, Schmeling says.
In July, the academy took two teams (U11 and U15) to the three-day Hawke's Bay Futsal Tournament in Napier. The U11 team were undefeated and won the final 2-1 against the Titans Futsal Academy. The U15 team came third and won the Fair Play Award.
The academy is planning to host a New Zealand futsal tournament in November.
Taj Cowan says he likes futsal more than football.
"I like it because it's fast, very fast." The 10-year-old says you get more touches of the ball in futsal.
Lionel Messi: "As a little boy in Argentina, I played futsal on the streets and for my club. It was tremendous fun, and it really helped me become who I am today."
Messi captains the Argentina national team and, like Ronaldo, is often considered the best player in the world.
For details on the academy and the trials see PN Marist Football & Futsal Academy or visit pnmaristacademy.co.nz.
Celebrated all Black Sam Strahan called this farm home for much of his life.