FUTSAL – Selecting Players for the 2016 U.S. Youth Futsal National Team
U.S. Youth Futsal is committed to developing the sport of Futsal in America and Executive Director Jon Parry has been involved in building the sport for years. Identifying, training and developing talented youth Futsal players is important for the future of the game — and competing internationally is always a fabulous experience for everyone involved.
In 2016, U.S. Youth Futsal (USYF) will take the best youth Futsal players to Colombia to compete in international friendlies.
Players for the U.S. Youth Futsal youth national teams will be selected through the U.S. Youth Futsal ID program — a national effort to identify and train elite players in a highly challenging and competitive environment. Searching all across the country for the top elite boys and girls born in 1998 to 2005, the Regional ID programs were run across the USA with camps in Kansas City, Akron, Denver, Boston, Charlotte and San Diego, among other cities.
Youth Futsal players are nominated by their coaches or managers to attend a local U.S. Youth Futsal ID camp in region all across the USA. The top performing players from each Regional Futsal ID camp are then invited to Kansas City to participate in the U.S. Youth Futsal National player pool — the best of the best are then selected for the U.S. Youth Futsal Teams which travels abroad to compete and represent our country.
The Southwest Regional ID Camp was a terrific three-day Futsal training and identification program held at 619 Futsal in San Diego, California. With the help of Regional Director Sean Bowers — who is the most capped US Futsal Player and former captain of the team — approximately 135 talented youth Futsal players trained and competed for a “ticket to the next elimination round” in Kansas City. While this ID player pool evaluation is not funded by U.S. Youth Futsal, Parry does hope to be able to eliminate the pay-to-play model in the future, at least at the most elite levels.
SoccerToday interviewed Otto Orf who recently directed the US Youth Futsal ID Southwest Regional ID Program. Orf, who is a phenomenal Futsal trainer and enthusiast is also a Regional Director for USYF and runs HandsOnSoccer – futsal equipment designed for coaching futsal teams.
Diane Scavuzzo: How many years have you played Futsal?
Otto Orf: I was fortunate to be invited to tryout and make the US National futsal team in 1996. That was the year of the very first CONCACAF Futsal Championship.
We won and I was awarded the Goalkeeper of the Tournament. It was the first year Head Coach Keith Tozer took over the team and we went to Spain for the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
I played for the USA again in 2000 in Costa Rica and then my last stint was in 2003 — at age 40 — when we won the Futsal Gold Cup in Anaheim, CA.
Diane Scavuzzo: When did you first start playing soccer/futsal?
Otto Orf: I started playing soccer relatively late in life as a 15 year old high school sophomore.
Diane Scavuzzo: Please tell us know more about the Great Lakes Futsal in Ohio …
Otto Orf: In 2007, my partner and former teammate, Chris Dore, and I started Great Lakes Futsal in one location with approximately 70 teams.
10 years later, we operate out of 4 locations and have close to 400 teams.
Diane Scavuzzo: How has futsal changed since you became involved?
Otto Orf: Futsal has gone through some rule changes over the 2 decades but the biggest changes are in the sophistication of the play. The players are always getting better.
Diane Scavuzzo: How has Futsal grown in the USA since 2007?
Otto Orf: Futsal has grown by leaps and bounds and I am proud to have been a part of its growth in the USA.
Working with my friends Tozer and US Youth Futsal founder Jon Parry, leagues locations have grown, the Futsal ID programs are now in their third year, coaching education courses have been started and our USYF leadership staff has created the first true youth National teams.
Now we have the exciting launch of the Professional Futsal League (PFL) — introducing the highest level of professional futsal in 2018.
It’s the dawn of a new era in sport in this country and I believe it will change the soccer landscape forever and for the better.
Diane Scavuzzo: What do you think U.S. Youth Futsal needs to do to help Futsal be more successful in the USA?
Otto Orf: Training players is critically important for the future of Futsal and that is what we do at the ID programs.
I also believe USYF needs to keep blazing the way with the new programs they have introduced. The coaching courses and international trips are programs I really believe in.
If I had one wish it would be to work more closely with US Soccer.
I am not even going to say I think futsal helps develop young players, I know it does — and, I’ve seen the results.
Futsal is the easiest sell in the world and any logical, knowledgeable soccer person will admit this — unless you are a stubborn, stale coach who refuses to see the value or you have some financial investment in the old school version of indoor soccer.
Either way, people who are not supportive of Futsal are holding their players back. I don’t have any problem suggesting that parents of those players coached by people who do not see the value of Futsal seek out a club with a progressive director that truly cares about their development.
Diane Scavuzzo: How many Regional ID programs have you directed?
Otto Orf: I assisted coach Tozer on the first few Futsal ID Camps in year one and ran the Great Lakes Region camp in year two. In our third year, I have directed or co-directed Boston, Akron, Charlotte, Denver and now San Diego.
Diane Scavuzzo: Did you enjoy coming back to San Diego for the Southwest Regional ID program?
Otto Orf: It was a great — The Southwest ID Camp itself was very similar to all of the others with lots of great young talent and enthusiastic athletes.
Personally, I loved being back in San Diego. I was fortunate enough to play for the greatest indoor soccer team in history, the San Diego Sockers. While it was just for a short stint in 1988-89, it is always nice to come back and visit this city, have a giant slice of pizza down at Luigi’s and take a walk down Mission Beach.
It was also great to see Sean Bowers and his staff. Sean and I shared some great memories with the USMN Futsal Team in 1996 in Spain and in 2000 in Costa Rica in addition to competing against each other for years in the indoor game.
Diane Scavuzzo: What makes a Futsal coach successful?
Otto Orf: I believe coaching any sport successfully means being able to assess, adapt, communicate and get your players to trust you and believe in your system.
Coaching youth players and coaching men are two very different animals, but I really enjoy both and I think those points are true at all levels.
Diane Scavuzzo: What has coaching taught you?
Otto Orf: Coaching soccer has been one of the greatest gifts the game has given me. Aside from the worldwide cultural connection the game has afforded me, seeing how the time and effort I have invested in tens of thousands of players has positively impacted their lives has been a true blessing.
Every man and woman, volunteer or professional should be very proud to be called ‘coach’.
Diane Scavuzzo: Who is your greatest role model or mentor, either personally or as a coach?
Otto Orf: My father Otto. Without his example of work ethic I would never have made it, nuff said. Thanks dad.
Diane Scavuzzo: If you could pick any superpower, what would it be and why?
Otto Orf: I would like to be able to turn back time like Superman. I am a goalkeeper. If you know any keepers, you know what I mean. There are things you’d like to do over and things you say that you’d like to take back.
Diane Scavuzzo: Who is your favorite soccer team? Who do you root for behind closed doors?
Otto Orf: The first World Cup I watched was in 1982. As a goalkeeper Harold ‘Tony’ Schumacher was my hero. I am of German descent and so my favorite team will always be Germany.
Diane Scavuzzo: What advice can you give to soccer players who want to be the best?
Otto Orf: The best advice I have is for top players to always find a way to stay challenged, mentally as well as physically because it can be hard to keep training and working to keep get better.
Why should you work to get better when you are already the best? Because if you do not you will never be the best. Somewhere, someone else is always working hard to improve their game.
So take advantage of your gift and try to work and learn something every time you play.
Understand the game. Play because it truly is a ‘game’ and you have the ability to control it by managing it’s tempo and rhythm. You are too good to let the game play you.
Diane Scavuzzo: As a soccer coach, what do you consider to be your most difficult accomplishment?
Otto Orf: Two years ago at the US Youth Futsal Men’s National Championships I was asked to coach a team of college players from St. Louis who had never played futsal before and filled in for a team that dropped out at the last minute. Convincing these young, very talented men to trust me, to stick to the plan and to not worry about anything else was a difficult task. We started each of the 3 games down by a minimum of 3 goals but came back to win 2 and tie one and make it to the finals. We ended up losing by one goal with 12 seconds left in the championship match but I was proud of the boys and of my ability to gain their confidence. I think we all learned allot that day and also had a blast.
Diane Scavuzzo: What are the most significant moments in a game?
Otto Orf: Ivan ‘Dalma’ Markovic was a Croatian coaching legend from who I learned most of the tactics I teach young outdoor soccer players even though our personal relationship was confrontational at best. One tenant he emphasized, and I believe it holds true in every sport, is that due to emotion and the mental state of players the first and last few minutes of each half and the few minutes after a goal is scored by either team are the times that can really change the momentum of the game. Come out of the locker room prepared and keep your focus after goals and over the course of a season you will be more consistently successful.
Diane Scavuzzo: What can a coach focus on to be successful in Futsal?
Otto Orf: Gary Hindley the coach who brought me to Orlando instilled in me that I always share is that indoor, and to a similar extent futsal, is an unpredictable game so a team should take the predictable aspects and perfect them. This includes man up and man down situations, 5th attacker for and against and the offensive and defensive sides of all free kicks. If teams can find the time to train these parts of the game they will certainly have success.
Diane Scavuzzo: What are your tips for being successful at the National ID program in KC?
Otto Orf: Players need to display ALL of the BASIC futsal skills and then understand and implement the tactics we have shared with them at the regional ID camps. Futsal helps develop speed of play and quick decision making for outdoor but the outdoor game does not return the favor. Futsal movements and skills such as using the sole of the foot, lifting the ball and the toe poke are things that our staff must see from players looking to be on these national teams.
