Vikings Futsal to Host National Championships 2009 - Updated

The National Futsal Championships 2009 will be held in Sydney, proudly hosted by Vikings Futsal.

The premiere event on the Australasian Calendar will be held from Tuesday 13th January to Thursday 15th January, 2009

REPRESENTATIVE CONTINGENTS

National States represented in the tournament are:

Queensland
New South Wales
Victoria
Australian Captial Territory
Tasmania
South Australia
Western Australia

INTERNATIONAL TEAMS

Vikings Futsal Association warmly invites international teams to compete in this prestigious event.

Teams from New Zealand are currently nominating, with other nations encouraged to take part.

In conjunction with Australasian Vikings Representative teams travelling across the world to Brazil, Chile, USA, China and Europe, Vikings Futsal endeavours reciprical teams to attend the event.

SYDNEY AND ATTRACTIONS - AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST CITY

Whether you’re a tourist to Sydney or a local, Sydney boasts some of the best attractions and activities to entertain. Sydney features a diverse range of unique world class attractions from the Bridgeclimb over the Sydney’s spectacular Harbour and Opera House, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Taronga Park Zoo and Bondi Beach.

Experience some of the best attractions Sydney has to offer.

NOMINATIONS OPEN

Nominations are now open. For further information please contact Jodie Hammond

Phone: +617 38752600
Fax: +61 3275 3099
Email: jodie@vikingsfutsal.com

[Editors Note : For those not currently part of the Vikings setup, please see the following note from Alan Vessey of the FFA.]

“The message we need to get out is that the FFA members are the only organisations whose competitions are recognised by FFA,  AFC and ultimately FIFA.  Only FFA can conduct a National Futsal Championships recognised by AFC and FIFA.
 
I am currently working with Kelly Cross and Richard Lorenc on the Coach and Referring education and accreditation models. These are an essential support factor in the future development of Futsal by FFA members and in the important message of accreditation that is accepted by the Australian Sports Commission,  FFA, AFC and FIFA.  It is an important factor that needs to be communicated in any message to people associated with Futsal, but in particular to persons operating in those two areas in the Vikings operations.”

Admin Note :Comments for this news article can be continued in the Futsal4all Forums. The existing comments posted below have been copied in full to the ‘Vikings’ thread, available at this location (http://forums.futsal4all.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17) 

Source : Vikings Futsal
Published : 30/6/2008

Hundreds contest FFV Secondary Schools Futsal Championships (VIC)

The FFV Secondary Schools Futsal Championships were played out last week at the Oakleigh Recreation Centre and Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre.

More than 500 secondary school students both boys and girls from Year 7-12 showcased their skills throughout the four day tournament.

Fawkner Secondary College and Oakleigh Greek Orthodox College took out the title in their respective junior categories while both St Albans Catholic Regional College and Haileybury Girls College had to overcome penalty shootouts to take out the prize for the intermediates.

The senior boys and girls produced quality games by the hour, however it was Penola Catholic College who surpassed the boys group with a sublime performance in their final game against Carwatha College.

The senior girls group was a fairly close encounter with St Monicas College defeating Mentone 2 goals to 1.

Football Federation Victoria would like to thank all schools for their participation in the event and look forward to more exciting schools Futsal and football events in the future.

The FFV State Futsal Championships kicks off on Wednesday, July 2 at Oakleigh Recreation Centre and continues on until Friday, July 4.

Source : Football Federation Victoria
Published : 30/6/2008

Football Superstars lose to Dural Warriors

Dural Warriors 7 defeat Football Superstars 1

The Fox 8 program, Football Superstar, hosted by Brian McFadden and former Matilda Amy Taylor asked NSW Futsal to field a team so that the remaining players, originally 15, but by now whittled down to 6, could demonstrate their skills in a small sided game. NSW Futsal chose the entertaining Dural Warriors team as the ages were similar to those of the Football Superstar team. While the coach of Sydney FC, John Kosmina, was to judge the performance of the Superstars, coaching before and during the day was provided by Steven Knight, coach of Northern Beaches Futsal and Assistant Australian coach, and Simon Keith, Australian, NSW and Quake Futsal captain.

The match was held on an international court at Dural on Tuesday the 24 June and children from several schools and Dural supporters turned up in numbers. The match was 20 minutes a half with a running clock.

The Superstars arrived with the surviving 6 players and Robbie Maiorana, a keeper from Sydney Magic Futsal, the reigning Premier League Champions. As two players were to be cut after the match, the pressure was on the Superstars to perform.

To add spice to the game, Dural player Rhys Giovenali made the original 15 of the Football Superstars team, but was subsequently evicted. On Tuesday, he played for Dural against his ex-team mates.

The match started at a fast tempo with an attacking formation by Dural. Man to man marking and extreme pressure on the inexperienced Superstars in their own half saw 5 shots at goal by Dural before the Superstars mounted their first serious foray into the Dural half which was quickly smothered. A pinpoint high pass from Seeto found Gonzalez who shot past an onrushing keeper. This goal was followed by Thornton who had a simple tap in from a Greg Giovenali passed free kick and an intercepted pass by Seeto saw him beating the last man and the keeper. A penalty for handball by a Superstar defender in the last minute of regulation time saw Greg Giovenali fire a thunderbolt into the top left corner resulting in a comfortable 4-0 lead to Dural going into the break.

In the second half, Lawson scored the 5th goal with a run down the left before the Superstars scored an own goal after a shot by Seeto was deflected by Maiorana into the path of an unlucky defender. After this, the Superstars were ecstatic to pull one back but a minute later, Lawson scored the 7th goal for the Dural Warriors.

The final result was a reflection of the Superstars inexperience in playing in a confined area as slick passing, anticipation and ball control by a well drilled Dural team, coached by Rob Varela, Technical Director of the World Cup bound Solomons team, dominated the game from beginning to end.

To demolish the best of over 1,000 tryouts in so remarkable a fashion proves the value of Futsal in developing ball skills. Despite the considerable efforts of Knight and Keith, outdoor players cannot overnight develop into players who can play in small spaces. Yet surely, this is essential for Australian Football to develop.

To quote Rob Baan, FFA National Technical Director, “The future of your son or daughter or pupil, as a “player for fun” or as a future Socceroo or Matilda, must begin with small sided games”.

Highlights of the game will be shown on Fox 8 in episode 7 at 7.30pm on the 31 July and repeated on the following days.

Dural Warriors 7
Adam Bradley, Greg Giovenali (1 penalty), Julian Gonzalez (1), Ben Lawson (2), Toby Seeto (1), Michael Thornton (1), Rhys Giovenali, Allister Hercus (GK), Josh Cordrington (GK), Own goal

Football Superstars 1

A shellshocked Superstar team at a time out (click for large version)

Dural Warriors Futsal team (click for large version)

Any comments to Mark Seeto : mseeto@bigpond.net.au / 0417 691 988

Source : Press Release via Mark Seeto
Published : 30/6/2008

FFA Coaching Education Program

The FFA has released a Coaching Education brochure which includes Futsal.

Click here for a PDF copy of the brochure, which contains the National Coaching Scheme, Course Descriptions and Costs.

Snippets from the brochure :

Level 1 Futsal License

This course is designed for the beginner coach and those that would be coaching at a junior level. The target market is parents, teachers, current and former players.

Course Objectives and Outcomes :

On the completion of this course the coach will be able to:

* Identify the training requirements for their players
* Prepare a training session appropriate to the needs of their players
* Facilitate the learning of the fundamental techniques and skills of futsal in modified practices
* Conduct appropriate practices in a safe environment
* Identify the learning behaviours of their players
* Identify basic safety and first aid requirements
* Evaluate the effectiveness of their coaching session and coaching behaviour

Course Duration : 16 hours

Course Preparation : It is recommended that the candidates prepare themselves in a physical sense, particularly if they are not actively playing or coaching immediately prior to the start of the course. Note: candidates will be invited to participate in practical sessions. Those who are unable to do so are required to declare any medical impediment in writing and advise the Course Instructor.

Course Content :

Examples of Theory Modules

* Introduction
* The role of the coach
* Framework of a training session
* Communication
* Sports safety
* Risk Management
* Futsal laws of the game

Examples of Practical Modules

* Basic skills and tactics
* Warm up and stretches
* Receiving and Controlling the ball
* Passing the ball
* Dribbling / running with the ball
* Ball skills
* Striking the ball
* Game centred practices in attacking and defending
* Group discussion
* Coaching practices evaluation

Pre-Requisites :

* No previous experience required
* Minimum age 15 years old

Accreditation Award :

Football Federation Australia Level 1 Futsal License (Valid for 4 years)

Level 2 Futsal License

This course is designed for coaches that would aspire to coach at a State or National League level. The target market is current Level One coaches and current and former players.

Course Objectives and Outcomes :

* Identify the needs of Futsal athletes/teams
* Devise a yearly plan appropriate to the Futsal athlete/team’s needs
* Develop appropriate communication skills to ensure the needs of the Futsal athlete/team, and the situations that arise, are met
* Monitor team performances and provide appropriate tactical corrections
* Evaluate athlete performance/s and provide appropriate technical corrections
* Analyse and implement appropriate modifications to the yearly plan
* Adapt game plans to suit opposition’s style of play

Course Duration : 32 hours

Course Preparation : It is recommended that the candidates prepare themselves in a physical sense, particularly if they are not actively playing or coaching immediately prior to the start of the course. Note: Candidates will be invited to participate in practical sessions. Those who are unable to do so are required to declare any medical impediment in writing and advise the Course Instructor.

Course Content :

Examples of Theory Modules

* Planning a competition and training program
* Improve fitness levels for players
* Development of attacking and defensive principles

Examples of Practical Modules

* Practice methods
* Development of skill in games
* Supporting players and evading defenders to penetrate defences
* Understanding and employment of blocks, feints, dummy runs etc
* Understanding and employment of attacking and defensive systems
* Understanding and employment of attacking set plays
* Understanding and employment of defence against attacking set plays
* Goalkeeping
* Coaching practice evaluation
* Game tactics practices in attack and defence

Pre-Requisites :

Current Level 1 Futsal Licence

Accreditation Award :

Football Federation Australia Level 2 Futsal License (Valid for 4 years)

Advanced Courses

Level 1 Futsal
Practical Hours : 27
Theoretical Hours : 25
Total Hours : 52
Practical Assessments : 1
Theory/Oral Examinations : 1

Level 2 Futsal
Practical Hours : 37
Theoretical Hours : 35
Total Hours : 72
Practical Assessments : 2
Theory/Oral Examinations : 2

Pricing

Community Coaching Courses (incl GST)

Level 1 Futsal License : $45-$120
Level 2 Futsal License : $155-$275

Advanced Coaching Courses (incl GST)

Level 1 Futsal License : $1969
Level 2 Futsal License : $TBA

Advanced course fee includes training gear, meals, and accomodation at the Australian Institute of Sport

So you think Futsal causes way more injuries than Football? Think again…

The following study officially debunks the long-standing myth that Futsal causes way more injuries to a player than outdoor does. Its a very thorough study with a lot of detail. We’ve highlighted in bold blue some of the more inportant areas to make your reading of it a bit easier.

Thanks to Rob Varela from Dural (NSW) for getting hold of it.

Analysis of the incidence and factors related to ankle sprains in adolescent athletes of soccer and futsal. A comparative study

Introduction

FIFA (Fédération International de Football Association) it is an entity with 204 affiliated nations that manages Soccer, the most popular sport of the world with approximately 200 thousand professional athletes and 240 million amateurs¹, and Futsal, distinguished as the collective sport in biggest world ascension, being the most practiced sporting modality in Brazil with more than 12 million followers².

The most common injuries in soccer are muscular overstretching (35-37%), sprains (20-21%) and bruises (16-24%), being the thigh (23-24%), the ankle (18-19%) and the knee (15-17%) the places of larger incidence³. For being a relatively recent sport, futsal presents few studies on its incidence of injuries. Observing the World Futsal Championship in Guatemala in 2000, Junge et al.⁴ found 191 injuries for every 1000 hours of game practice. According to Lindelfeld et al.⁵, ankle and knee injuries stand out, especially ligament-type injuries.

The sprain is the injury of largest occurrence (approximately 75%) in the articulation of the ankle⁶, being considered the most common injury in sports. It is by far responsible for the athletes’ removal from competitions in a season⁷. Besides the total or partial rupture of the ligaments, this injury is characterized by the stretching and/or rupture of muscular tissues, the impairment of peripheral nervous structures and capsular loosening⁸.

The articulation overload during the inversion of the ankle is responsible for 85% to 90% of ankle sprains⁶. That position, especially due to the associated foot flexing, reduces the contact surface between the talus and the tibia, causing larger joint instability⁷. Besides, the thick deltoid ligament and the position of the lateral malleolus protect the articulation during a sprain in eversion^9.

An ankle sprain may cause a mechanical-functional disorganization not only in an ankle-foot level, but it could also reach knee and spine¹⁰. According to Saunders¹¹, this injury is also responsible for chronic pain or instability in 20-50% of the cases, and, in the long run, that articulation instability may cause degenerative processes in the ankle¹².

Thaker et al.¹³ mentions nine studies to claim that the record of ankle sprain is an important risk factor for the athlete to have a new injury. It is believed that the high number of recurrences in ankle sprains is related to the reduction of a function denominated proprioception in ankles that already had this injury^14,15.

The proprioception is a mechanism of measuring sensorial feedback that includes the feeling of the articulation’s movement and the feeling of the position of the articulation, being fundamental in its functional stability. Proprioceptive deficits cause a decrease of the neuromuscular control, leading to functional instability and, possibly, to repetitive articulation injuries¹⁶.

Proprioception seems to have alterations during the adolescence period, more specifically during the outbreak of pubescent growth. Data obtained by the Test of Brace indicate that the boys demonstrate increase of motor coordination with the increment of the skeletal age, except for a slight decline in the maturity graduation 32 and 33 (between 12.5 and 14 years of age). The evidences indicate that quick changes in the physique, strength and bodily proportions need to be adapted in a sensorial-motor operation level, and it is possible that the dwindling rate of balance and motor gain noticed by several investigators in the puberty may be associated to such adjustments¹⁷.

It is also known that the phase of growth outbreak consists of a period where the youths are more prone to injuries¹⁸. Studies with soccer adolescent athletes confirm that the largest number of occurrences is at the age of 14, being the knee and the ankle the most affected areas¹⁹.

This way, by adding the natural risk of sprain with this phase of the adolescence, also characterized by the high incidence of injuries, a highly vulnerable group of athletes is found, worthy of great attention by the professionals of health and sports. Therefore, the present study aims to quantify the occurrence of ankle sprains in soccer and futsal adolescent athletes and to verify some peculiarities of the injury in this age group.

Methods

The research was conducted in two soccer teams and four futsal teams of Brazil. A total of 128 adolescents were investigated, between 13 and 15 years of age. Among the 68 soccer athletes the average of age was 14.16 (±0.68), while in 60 of the futsal athletes the average found was of 14.11 years (±0.67). The general average of age among all the 128 participants of the research was 14.14 (±0.67).

The procedure used for the accomplishment of the present study consisted of individual interviews with each athlete. A closed-ended questionnaire was used as base for these interviews (Figure 1), being filled out by a single interviewer. All of the athletes received the information about the questions equally, with eventual doubts being cleared by the interviewer. None of the interviewees presented level of insufficient understanding that would exclude him from the study. The collection of data happened in schedules previous to the trainings, in the respective involved clubs.

Besides the identification data (name, age, club, category and tactical position), the following aspects were approached: training load, dominant lower limb, record of ankle sprains, sprain type, occurrence situation, injury mechanism, treatment received, recurrences and possible symptoms due to the injury. Was investigate just the injuries occurred after 10 years old with the objective of quantify the occurrence index of ankle sprains in the period where the teenagers are passing, on average, by the fast pubertal growth.
A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted, where the obtained data was expressed in percentile values for comparison among the groups and analyzed as for statistical significance, when pertinent, through the t-student test with significance level of p<0.05.

Before the research, the volunteers and their parental guardians were informed of the procedures of the study through a release of liability form stating that there would not be any remuneration, that the study didn’t offer risks for their health, that the participants could give up the participation when they wanted to and that their personal data would be maintained in absolute secrecy. After the explanations, the parental guardian and participant signed the release of liability form. The study was submitted and approved by an Ethics and Research Committee (protocol number H140/CEP/2006).

Results

Table 1 shows the percentage of injured athletes in each modality, as well as the relationship between the dominance and the incidence of the injury and the classification of the sprains (inversion or eversion).

The injury mechanism was determined by the athletes’ report, being divided in the following items: struggle for ball on the ground; ball carrying; ball in the air (in this case, the landing); kicking/passing and alone without ball. Table 2 demonstrates the data regarding the two modalities as for the injury mechanism.

The situation in which the sprains happened was divided in: training, match, informal game (practice of the sport out of the club) and others (not related to the practice of the sport). The data can be seen in Table 3.

The treatment for the cases of ankle sprain was also evaluated, with the following items being scored in agreement with the athletes’ report. It was found that in 93.47% of the cases, there was need of removal of the athlete from the sporting activities for a certain period of time. Immobilizations of any type (plaster, brace, cast, bandaging, etc.) were done in 19.65% of the cases. The athlete had access to the physiotherapeutic treatment in 13.04% of the sprains and, in any approached case, they opted for surgical intervention.

The recurrences (sprain of the same ankle at least twice) were present in 10% of the soccer players and in 31.81% of the futsal players. In the total, 21.43% of the athletes with sprain record had recurrences.

The presence of usual symptoms caused by the ankle sprain was evaluated. Theses symptoms were described to all the participants as cases of pain, instability (sensation of slack ankle), insecurity and/or limps. Among the interviewed soccer players, 20% present current symptoms. In the futsal players, that average rises to 31.81%. In general terms, out of the 42 athletes that already had ankle sprains, 26.19% (11 athletes) complain about the presence of current symptoms in the injured ankle.

Discussion

The average of age presented by the youths of both modalities didn’t present any statistically significant difference (p>0.05), which allows us to conclude that the difference between the incidence of the injury in soccer athletes (14.16 years) and futsal (14.11 years) was not related to their age.

The numbers of the research prove that ankle sprains possess a considerable incidence in adolescent athletes of both soccer (29.41%) and futsal (36.66%). However, a comparison with the literature cannot be established because it sees the percentage of ankle sprains in relation to the total of injuries, while the present study approaches the percentage of athletes that already had this type of injury.

As for the classification of the sprains, the data agree with the literature: 91.3% of sprains in inversion and 8.7% of sprains in eversion. Sheth et al.⁶ affirm that the inversions go from 85% to 90%. These numbers seem to prove what some authors^9,20 mention regarding the large predisposition of the lateral area to have sprains due to the following factors: at a middle level, the strong deltoid ligament provides greater stability, along with the lateral malleolus that limits the eversion movement; laterally the ligaments present insufficient resistance when facing the demands to the mechanism of inversion of the ankle resulted from the sport.

Most of the ankle sprains happened in struggles for ball possession on the ground, making this mechanism responsible for 34.14% of the total of injuries. Those percentages can be related to the discoveries of Junge et al.²¹, that show that the majority (73%) of the injuries of soccer are due to physical contact among the athletes. Emery et al.¹⁹ also found, by evaluating athletes between 12 and 18 years, that most of the injuries (46.2%) is related to the contact among athletes. This prevalence of the sprain caused by physical contact can probably be explained by all the transformation that both futsal and soccer are suffering, where the athletes’ physical preparation and the opponent’s strong defense are prioritized more and more by the teams of all of ages.

The division by modality and, consequently, the division by tactical positions, loses credibility for the fact that the so-called “informal games” were the largest responsible for the injuries, totaling 43.48%. In this item any matches played out of the sporting club were included as, for instance, scholar matches, physical education classes, matches among friends, in the neighborhood block, on the beach, on the street, etc. Those informal games are characterized exactly by the absence of the official rules of soccer or futsal modalities. They can be played by a varied number of players (not always the same number in the two teams), in fields of different surfaces (courts, asphalt, sand, paved streets, etc.), with non-official balls, without characterization of the tactical positions, without a coach, without a referee, etc. Finally, the informal game is characterized by being unique in each place and every time that is played.

Not being able to study each case in depth in those conditions, the odds are increased in the division by modality. However, that is the reality of the interviewed players; before being athletes, they are teenagers that enjoy and need that social interaction out of the atmosphere of trainings and games of the club. The results are still accurate when showing the incidence of ankle sprains in practicing adolescents of the most popular “ball game” of the world.

Besides the informal games, the injuries happened in 32.61% of the cases during trainings, in 13.04% of the cases in matches and in 10.87% of the cases in activities not related to the sport. It would be interesting to gather data regarding the time during which the athlete is exposed to trainings and matches in order to have a trustworthy reference for comparison about the risk of injuries in each situation. There are still various aspects to be observed in that item: trainings happen from two to five times a week, while in that age one match is played per week; there are several types of trainings (collective, physical, technical, tactical, bodybuilding) that facilitate larger or smaller risk of sprain mechanisms; By being the titular player or staying on the bench, some athletes are more active than others, increasing their time of exposure; the competition level between game and training, and even among games of different importance (for instance, a game of the initial or final phase of a championship), could also influence the risk of injury.

Still regarding the occurrence situation, by comparing the modalities it can be noticed that while in soccer most of the injuries (45.45%) happened in trainings, in futsal the informal games were the largest responsible for the ankle sprains (50%). This fact can be explained by the training load (time of exposure) of each modality: soccer players train five times a week, while the futsal players play from two to three times weekly. Besides, it is suggested that soccer players have a lesser incidence in informal games because they be more adapted to irregular fields, as the soccer field itself if compared to the futsal court.

The question of each athlete’s dominant foot and the affected ankle was studied. Of the total of athletes with a sprain record, the dominant lower limb ankle was injured in 59.52% of the cases, the non-dominant in 30.96% and 9.52% presented bilateral sprain. In other words, except for the cases of injury on both ankles, almost twice as many athletes injured the dominant ankle in relation to those that injured the non-dominant. Ekstrand and Gillquist²², analyzing soccer athletes, also found that most of the ankle sprains happens in the athletes’ dominant limb.

Theoretically, the dominant limb presents better motor coordination (and proprioception) than the non-dominant, something that would lead us to assume that this would present smaller incidence of sprains. However, it is suggested that these numbers can be explained in the following way: the dominant limb is the one that performs better when kicking, being used in that function most of the time, which, consequently, makes the non-dominant limb provide a support function. This fact, repeated daily in trainings, matches and informal games would create a pattern, so that the dominant limb would “specialize” in kicking only and the non-dominant in giving support. This way, the dominant limb would become less effective than the non-dominant when it was demanded as a support foot, precisely the mechanism of the great majority of the ankle sprains³. This fact comes to emphasize the importance of training both feet, because this enabled to not only prevent injuries, but also maintain the technical benefit already known.

The bilateral development of abilities is an important aspect of the training process, unfortunately, neglected in most of the sporting centers^23,24. Getchell and Whitall²⁵ says that all of the children and young adults can develop an adaptation of motor coordination on both sides of the body, and the more earlier the encouragement for such, the better.

Stasinopoulos²⁶ affirms that improvements in the technique can be an important prevention measure, and should be taught by the coaches. This author mentions works of Ekstrand and Tropp²⁷, who got to reduce the incidence of ankle sprains in amateur soccer athletes with a program of specific technical training.

Bahr et al.²⁸ inserted in a group of amateur volleyball athletes a prevention program joining specific technical training and proprioceptive training. As a result, they obtained a reduction of 50% in the incidence of ankle sprains.

A total of 21.43% of the athletes presented recurrent ankle sprains at least once. That data can be related with Thacker et al.¹³, who affirm that the most common risk factor of ankle sprains in the sports is the previous record of this injury.

The matter of current symptoms was described to all the participants as pain episodes, instability (feeling of slack ankle), insecurity and/or limps. For the present aspect, it was found that 26.19% of the athletes have these symptoms on the ankles with a previous sprain record, not being specified how long ago each injury had happened. Our discoveries corroborate with Saunders¹¹, who says that symptoms as pain and instability are among 20% to 50% of the cases of ankle sprains.

Both recurrences and current symptoms can be related to the treatment received by the athletes after the episodes of ankle sprain. The present study didn’t have resources to identify the degree of seriousness of such sprains. However, the treatment received by the youths was analyzed generically per treatment modalities carried out in each case.

It was verified that in 93.47% the removal from the sporting activities was necessary. The number of cases in which the removal was due to professional recommendation or due to the athlete’s inability to perform was not observed. In 19.56% of the cases professionals of health intervened immobilizing the athlete’s ankles with casts, plaster, brace or simple bandaging. Physiotherapeutic treatment was necessary for only 13.04% of the injured athletes while surgical treatment was not observed any in case.

Of the total of athletes with recurrences of ankle sprain, 88.89% didn’t undergo physiotherapy. As for the athletes with the presence of current symptoms on the injured ankle, 81.82% didn’t undergo physiotherapy either. Among the athletes that did it, 50% didn’t have recurrent symptoms, while 33.33% presented subsequent symptoms to sprain and 16.66% incurred new sprain.

The study didn’t approach which modalities were used in these athletes’ treatments either. However, those data suggest that the physiotherapeutic treatment is effective in rebuilding the integrity of the injured ankle, working as a treatment technique and prevention of recurrences and/or possible current sprain symptoms, ratifying what had already been described by Safran et al.²⁹, and Mattacola and Dwyer30.

The conclusion is that this research could prove quantitatively how much ankle sprains may affect teenager soccer and futsal players. These data should serve as resource to make the professionals that work in the area more aware of the need of treatment and the prevention in those cases. Besides, one more outstanding difference could be observed among the studies carried out with professional athletes (that constitute most of the researches in the area) and with adolescents who, besides their sporting activity in the club also have a parallel life full of activities where they increase the situations of possible injuries.

However, the main conclusion of this study is the verification of the need of conducting more researches with those individuals and their particularities. If, for instance, 32.81% of the athletes cannot go through puberty without having an ankle sprain, and of these 26.19% remain with clinical symptoms after the sprain episode, how many will be able to reach the senior category, becoming soccer or futsal professionals, in perfect physical conditions? Another question: how many might not have reached their objectives for having their performance limited by those injuries? Finally, how much can that high index of injuries in that age group (know to be a transition period), influence in a young athlete’s life? All those questions should serve as motivation so that new studies are done in order to provide better conditions, either in the sense of prevention or treatment, for those adolescents to be able to carry out their sports at their best of capacity and physical integrity.

References
1. Junge A, Dvorak J. Soccer injuries: a review on incidence and prevention. Sports Med. 2004;34(13):929-938.
2. CBFs - Brazilian Confederation of Futsal, Who We Are, Origin. Avaliable at: http://www.cbfs.com.br/novo/origem.asp. Accessed November 25, 2006.
3. Giza E, Fuller C, Junge A, Dvorak J. Mechanisms of foot and ankle injuries in soccer. Am J Sports Med. 2003;31(4):550-554.
4. Junge A, Dvorak J, Graf-Baumann T, Peterson L. Football injuries during FIFA Tournaments and the Olympic Games, 1998-2001. Am J Sports Med. 2004;32(1):80-89.
5. Lindenfeld TN, Schimitt DJ, Hendy MP, Mangine RE, Noyes FR. Incidence of injury in indoor soccer. Am J Sports Med. 1994;22(3):364-371.
6. Sheth P, Yu B, Laskowski ER, An KN. Ankle disk training influences reaction times of selected muscles in a simulate ankle sprain. Am J Sports Med. 1997;25(4):538-543.
7. Hergenroeder AC. Diagnosis and treatment of ankle sprains. A review. Am J Dis Child. 1990;144(7):809-814.
8. Nitz AJ, Dobner J, Kersey D. Nerve injury in grade II and III ankle sprains. Am J Sports Med. 1985;13(3):177-182.
9. Hamill J, Knutzen KM. Biomechanical Basis of Human Movement. New York, NY: Williams & Wilkins; 1995.
10. Pahor S, Toppenberg R. An investigation of neural tissue involvement in ankle inversion sprains. Man Ther. 1996;1(4):192-197.
11. Saunders EA. Ligamentous injuries of the ankle. Am Fam Physician. 1980;22(2):132-138.
12. Van Dijk CN, Lim LS, Poortman A, Strubbe EH, Marti RK. Degenerative joint disease in female ballet dancers. Am J Sports Med. 1995;23(3):295-300.
13. Thacker SB, Stroup DF, Banche CM, Gilchrist J, Goodman RA, Weitman EA. The prevention of ankle sprains in sports. A systematic review of the literature. Am J Sports Med. 1999;27(6):753-760.
14. Tropp H, Odenrick P, Gillquist J. Stabilometry recordings in functional and mechanical instability of the ankle joint. Int J Sports Med. 1985;6(3):180-182.
15. Lentell G; Baas B; Lopez D; Mcgure L; Sarrels M; Snyder P. The contributions of proprioceptive deficits, muscle function, and anatomic laxity to functional instability of the ankle. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1995: 21: 206-215.
16. Lephart SM, Pincivero DM, Rozzi SL. Proprioception of the ankle and knee. Sports Med. 1998;25(3):149-155.
17. Eckert HM. Motor Development. 3rd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Benchmark Press; 1987.
18. Gallahue DL, Ozmun JC. Understanding Motor Development: Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adults. 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill; 2002.
19. Emery CA, Meeuwisse WH, Hartmann SE. Evaluation of risk factors for injury in adolescent soccer: implementation and validation of an injury surveillance system. Am J Sports Med. 2005;33(12):1882-1891.
20. Andrews J, Harrelson G, Wilk K. Physical Rehabilitation of the Injured Athlete. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2004.
21. Junge A, Dvorak J, Graf-Baumann T. Football injuries during the World Cup 2002. Am J Sports Med. 2004;32(1):23-27.
22. Ekstrand J, Gillquist J. Soccer injuries and their mechanisms: a prospective study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1983;15(3):267-270.
23. Magill RA. Motor Learning: Concepts and Applications. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 1998.
24. Bompa TO. Periodization: theory and methodology of training. 4th ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1999.
25. Getchell N, Whitall J. How do children coordinate simultaneous upper and lower extremity tasks? The development of dual motor task coordination. J Exp Child Psychol. 2003;85(2):120-140.
26. Stasinopoulos D. Comparison of three preventive methods in order to reduce the incidence of ankle inversion sprains among female volleyball players. Br J Sports Med. 2004; 38(2):182-185.
27. Ekstrand J, Tropp H. The incidence of ankle sprain in soccer. Foot Ankle. 1990;11(1):41-44.
28. Bahr R, Lian O, Bahr IA. A twofold reduction in the incidence of acute ankle sprains in volleyball after the introduction of an injury prevention program: a prospective cohort study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 1997;7(3):172-177.
29. Safran MR, Zachazewski JE, Benedetti RS, Bartolozzi AR 3rd, Mandelbaum R. Lateral ankle sprains: a comprehensive review. Part 2: treatment and rehabilitation with an emphasis on the athlete. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999;31(7):438-447.
30. Mattacola CG, Dwyer MK. Rehabilitation of the ankle acute sprain or chronic instability. J Athl Train. 2002;37(4):413-429.

World Cup : South American finalists decided

Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay have advanced to the semi-finals of the Futsal Copa America, and have thereby secured qualification for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008. Three places were on offer to nations from South America, with Brazil already taking part as hosts.

The Charruas, hosts of the South American event, were the first to book their passage, when they defeated Ecuador 4-2 on Tuesday and thus assured themselves of a top-two finish in Group C, the only four-team group. Despite losing to eventual group winners Brazil 8-1 on the final day of the opening phase, Uruguay had done enough to qualify for this year’s world finals.

Argentina and Paraguay, meanwhile, had to wait until Wednesday to make sure of their qualification for Brazil. The Albicestes topped Group A by disposing of Venezuela 3-0, while the Guaraníes destroyed Peru 6-1 to finish on top of Group B.

On Friday, in the semi-finals, Brazil will take on defending champions Argentina, while Paraguay will face Uruguay. The final will take place next Saturday in the city of Mercedes.

The 20 participants in the sixth edition of the Futsal world championship, which will take place in the cities of Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro between 30 September and 19 October of this year, are now known.

They are: Brazil (hosts), Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay (South America); Cuba, Guatemala, USA (North, Central America and Caribbean); Thailand, Iran, China, Japan (Asia); Egypt, Libya (África); Portugal, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Italy, Czech Republic (Europe); Solomon Islands (Oceania).

The draw will take place on 10 July in Brasilia.

Source : FIFA
Published : 26/6/2008

Magic raise the bar yet again! (NSW)

Futsal club and current 3 time consecutive club Champions Sydney Magic PCYC continue to make in roads in establishing themselves as one off, if not the sports leading club throughout Australia.

After an unprecedented season in 2007/08 which included 54 NSW representative players individual awards of Most Valuable Player to Jake Mason, Natasha Lo Giudice and Natalie Spirovski as well as 9 other awards alomg with most importantly having successfully won and retained the highly coveted Club Championship for 3 consecutive year, last season with the hiring of ex Futsalroo Jamie Amendolia as the teams head coach achieved what his predecessors couldn’t and recorded the clubs maiden Senior Men’s championship winning the grand final 3 goals to 1 and only recently took on the National side of New Zealand and comprehensively beat them 6-0 as well as having beaten Oceania favourites to Qualify for the World Cup the Solomon Islands 4-3.

Australia’s youngest ever Futsalroo, Amendolia’s feats haven’t gone unnoticed throughout Futsal and was only recently handed the reigns of the NSW Thunder side at the up coming National Championships in January.

There is also the extra incentive of victory in January as the winner will have a place as Australia’s representative at the inaugural Asian Futsal Club Championships held later that year.

Amendolia, as well having being re appointed as the Magic first grade coach next season has also been given the head coaching role in the revamped club overlooking the entire club set up.

With the continued support and backing of one of Australia’s most well known and respected brands in the PCYC (Police and Community Youth Clubs), Magic has managed to continue to elevate its status as the leading club in NSW off the court also.

Trying to establish itself as the sports first fully professional club it has been agreed that next season the First grade Men’s side will all be fully paid and with the clubs and PCYC full support of equality between sexes the First grade Women’s squad will also be fully paid for the first time.

“This is a truly remarkable feat, not since the National league days of decades past has a club come out and paid their entire squad and never has any club also paid their women’s side, I’ve only been at the club for one season and with PCYC’s backing the club is without doubt heading down the right path to become fully professional. We are already the leaders on the court and with some of the structures and ideas we are now implementing the club will continue to grow and establish itself Asia wide” said Amendolia

With Amendolia having traveled to Thailand recently for the Asian Futsal Championships Amendolia made good work of his time having met with numerous high ranking officials within the Asian Futsal Confederation.

One of those Men was Iranian Mr Ali Targholizade whom is the Futsal development officer and head of the coaches education and development in the A.F.C another of

those highly influential men was Thailand’s Adisak Benjasiriwan whom is the Head of the Thai National League and current A.F.C Futsal committee member with both men having numerous and ongoing talks with the club it seems Sydney Magic PCYC will now travel to Asia’s number 3 ranked nation annually.

Along with many other initiatives now being implemented such as the C.E.O award which is presented annually at the Clubs season ending presentation evening where one male and one female under the age of 16 are presented with a $500 scholarship which in turn pays for the players registration fees and state representative fees for the following season with Samantha Bergin and Jake Mason being the current recipients.

Continuing with its off court upgrade the club has began speaking to numerous overseas clubs in forming a link which will see young Magic players sent to Brazil to hone their skills and the club which seems to be closest to agreeing terms is Brazilian giants Malwee.

In the coming months Magic will be sending 2 players the first of an annual trip on an expenses paid 10-12 week scholarship to Brazil.

Malwee are 5 time Brazilian Cup winners and defending Brazilian Liga Champions and is also the home of the worlds best futsal player Falcao.

The up and coming players hand picked by Amendolia and the Clubs committee will spend 12 weeks training fulltime 2 times a day at the clubs training base in Santa Catarina where other top Youth players from around the world are also there honing their skills.

“Having spent time in Brazil myself as a player, the experience is unreal, what the kids will learn over there in 10 -12 weeks will take players here 1 to 2 years to learn that’s how beneficial it will be for our players”.

Dylan Maloney 18 and Roberto Maiorana 18 are the 2 players selected for this years trip and with both players having already established themselves within the Magic’s first grade team and both having represented the NSW Thunder Men’s team at the previous National Championships both players are deemed ready to push for the next step by Amendolia ” Look its still a long way away for both the boys to break into the Futsalroo side but the experience these 2 boys will have being in that fulltime environment will hopefully speed up that process, both boys are good enough to make it and hopefully they will continue to get better and break into that side sooner rather than later”.

“The competition is getting better and better every season, there are now so many talented players playing futsal in NSW it makes the competition so evenly matched, so we need to keep working hard to keep Magic ahead of the chasing pack and the chasing pack are really becoming top quality and a lot more professional.

Every year we try to set the standard, we have all accredited coaches and we will even have a fulltime goal keeper coach next season in current Futsalroo number 1 Peter Spathis, so that’s also something new.

We are looking forward to another intense but enjoyable season and hopefully our Men’s side can do the double” said Matteo Maiorana

With the Futsal Premier League scheduled to kickoff in mid September Sydney Magic PCYC look set to continue their ominous form and be there abouts come the seasons end with a 4th consecutive trophy not looking that far out of reach.

The future bodes extremely well for the club.

Source : Sydney Magic PCYC
Published in Australian British Soccer Weekly

Gavin Moon in Brazil

Futsal player Gavin Moon from Victoria Vikings Futsal has embarked to Brazil to train with Club Futsal Malwee.

By playing in the National school titles last year, at Danendong, Gavin was selected in the “All Start” team and then invited to take part in this scholarship, offered only to the best players in the country. Young Gavin started his carrer when he attended the Trials for the Under 16 Vic squad that was to travel to Surfers Paradise for the National titles in January 2006. He was successful in this trial and participated in the nationals. The squad finished first in the round robin stage winning 7 of their 8 games. They “ran out of legs” and were defeated by South Australia in the Semi Final.

After this Gavin and a group of friends participated in an open men’s tournament at Box Hill where the team of 15, 16 & 17 year olds won the competition and Gavin also won player of the final.

Gavin participated at the January 2007 National titles where he once again represented Victoria in the U19’s squad.

In the October of 2007 Gavin captained the Vic. City under 19’s team in the Australasian Schools Championships. This team finished first in the round robin stage and managed to win through the semi’s after some very hard fought games to meet New Zealand in the Grand Final. N.Z. had been the only team to defeat them in the round robin. The game was all square at the end of regulation time and went into golden goal extra time. With only 10 seconds left on the clock Gavin took a free kick from his own side of half way putting the ball in the back of the net to end a truly great grand final and give his team the win. Gavin also picked up an “All Star” award along with 3 other of his team mates.

Gavin represented Vic again in January 2008 in the National Titles when the team finished top of their group in the round robin stage but lost in the quarter finals when the team under estimated their opposition.

Gavin has played outdoor soccer for Knox City Soccer Club from Under 7’s through to Seniors over a period of 12 years. He played in Super League sides in U13’s, U14’s, U15’s & Under 16’s. He currently plays for the Knox City Senior ranks making regular appearance’s in the first’s.

Source : Vikings Futsal
Published : 26/6/2008

2008 South Queensland Champion of Champions

Held @ Beenleigh Arena & Cornubia InsportsMonday 21st July - 12 Boys & 12 Girls Primary
Tuesday 22nd July - 13 Boys & 15 Boys
Wednesday 23rd July - 14 Boys & 19 Boys
Thursday 24th July- 14 Girls & 19 Girls
Friday 25th July - 16 Boys & 16 Girls

Please click here (XLS) for schools that qualified for the tournament.
(please note: Yellow highlight means we have not recieved an official nomination from the school )

For More Information please contact Jade Banks on school@vikingsfutsal.com

Source : Vikings Futsal Queensland

2008 Futsal Referees AGM (NSW)

When: 18th July 2008
Where: Auburn Soccer Club
Time: 7:00pm for a 7:30 start

Here is your opportunity to see that you have the team to lead you in the next couple of years, or better still be part of that team.

This year the positions up for election are -
A) President
B) Treasurer
C) Secretary
D) Assistant Secretary
E) Assistant Treasurer (Gear Steward)
F) Registrar
G) Three floor members

If anyone wishes to nominate for any positions on the committee, nomination forms can be downloaded from the library.

If you have any further questions, please contact the secretary Alessandra on 0423 276 000.

Please be advised that these nomination forms will need to be lodged with the Secretary fourteen days prior to the AGM. All forms to be mailed to:

Alessandra Moussa
PO BOX 1184
Burwood North NSW 2134

Only financial and life members present at the AGM will be eligible to vote

Will see you there!

Source : NSW Futsal Referees Association
Published : 18/7/2008

Next Page »