Winter Futsal Soccer Season - Jan 11 - Mar 16, 2025
Register Here
Futsal is a fast-paced game with many touches on the ball, which will help players improve their skills. It is also a LOT of fun. Our goal for this league is to help players develop, while having fun competing and getting players ready for the spring outdoor soccer season. If your 1st - 8th grader is interested in futsal indoor, please register in (Sports Connect). If you have a kinder that can play with 1st graders, you can also register to join.
Activities Overview
(Register in Sports Connect)
Select a program that is available, choose the desired division (1st Grade - 8th Grade), and work through the registration process. If you have a special request, use this request form (here).
Be sure you answer the questions when registering about division, skill, and playing group.
We build activity groups for our futsal program, 12-16 players are split into groups, spend about 30min practicing, then play a game. The 8 weekend activities (scheduled either Saturday or Sunday, often in the afternoon) are about 50 minutes long and will be played at the Ashbrook Independent School. This session will go from mid-Jan - mid-Mar, placement notifications will happen by Jan, with an activity schedule expected soon after.
The season/program fee is $60 and will need to be paid by Credit Card in Sports Connect. Players that have not played with AYSO this School Year often need to pay the AYSO non-refundable membership fee of $25. We cannot guarantee that a division will have enough players for an activity group, if that is the case, and we could not place your player, your credit card would be refunded the $60 (if your player is placed, and you cancel or cannot make the schedule, the refund could be $55. After we start the activities, no refunds) (refund form).
NOTICE: Sports Connect charges a non-refundable $2.75 per credit card transaction, so for one player, it could be $62.75.
Basics to Know:
- The focus is more on control, ball handling, & passing.
- The location is a basketball court, court or non-marking athletic shoes are needed, & player contact will be highly discouraged.
- Scheduling will be in hour blocks.
- A head coach will warm up the same group of players each session, split up the group, & run/oversee a futsal game.
NEW Volunteers (Head or Asst. Coach): During player registration, I am asking for volunteer indication. Once I know the interest/numbers, I will indicate that the individual needs to register as a volunteer. This saves us the cost of a potential Background Check, and it saves you the hassle of registering before we know you are needed.
EXISTING Volunteers (Head or Asst. Coach): Please register as a volunteer online in Sports Connect, if your account is not tied to your player, ensure the helper/volunteer spot in the player registration form has your name, so I can connect the dots.
FAQ
Ashbrook School Building - Gym Entry
- What is the cost for AYSO Futsal?
$60/player all paid online by Credit Card after you are placed with a group. No scholarships are available for this program. NOTICE: Sports Connect charges $2.75 per credit card transaction, so for one player, it could be $62.75.
NOTICE: Players that have not played with AYSO this School Year will need to pay the AYSO membership fee of $25 that is non-refundable. - Can we play up a division?
Please select the division you want when registering, like a kinder player chooses the 1st grade division. If you have a request, please use the form (here). - What is the refund policy?
We cannot guarantee that a division will have enough players, if that is the case, and we cannot place your player, your credit card will be refunded the full program cost. Players dropping after placement, but before games, will be charged a non-refundable fee of $5. Players dropping after playing, cannot be refunded. Please fill out the refund request form (here). - Are there practices?
No. Typically, coaches will do a few activities (30 minute), then organize the group for a game. - How many games/activities will each group play?
8 activities during the season. - How long are the sessions?
50 minutes. - Are scholarships available?
We are not able to provide scholarships. - What happens if not enough players sign up to form a group?
If there are not enough players to form a group, we will do a full refund less the Sports Connect fees. - Are special shoes required?
Indoor court shoes (no nubs, no marking/black souls, no cleats) are required. NO outdoor or turf soccer cleats are allowed.
General Rules
Below are the major law differences between soccer and futsal. If the rule is not addressed below, you can assume that the rule/law is the same as outdoor soccer.
Futsal Laws of the Game (here).
- Players have 4 seconds to get the ball back in play for most restarts.
- You are not allowed to play with anything more than your feet touching the ground.
- No Throw-In, it is instead a Kick-In with nearly the same rules (dribble-in, like a drop ball, can be fine for K-2).
- No Offside.
- Most physical contact fouls are a direct kick. The bar will be low on this, we want to discourage the use of physical force.
- Most remaining fouls are indirect, with the likely indirect fouls: playing in a dangerous manner (no contact), throwing over half, and impeding/blocking an opponent.
- Goal area is just one big penalty area half circle (basketball 3-point line), penalty mark is 20ft from the goal at the top of the 3-point line. No free kicks are taken within the penalty area aka goal area, place the ball just outside the area.
- Goal kick/clearance is given to the goalkeeper to throw, but a kick from the ground is fine.
- Goalkeepers cannot throw the ball over half in the air, the restart is an indirect free kick for the other team.
- We will not be doing this from the Law Book: "Direct free kick beginning with the sixth accumulated foul by each team in each period (DFKSAF)"
ROSTER: Activity groups will consist of 12-16 players (two teams are created on game day). There are 4 field players and a goalkeeper (GK) (for 2nd Grade +) active on the field for each team.
UNIFORM: Teams will wear matching pinnies/bibs. Soccer socks can be any color. Players must wear shin guards and court/indoor soccer shoes (no long nubs, no marking black souls, no cleats). No jewelry can be worn.
SPECTATORS: Spectators can sit on west side of the building, no chairs or benches are provided.
BALL: Games are played using an official size 4 futsal ball, which is heavier than a typical soccer ball, so it bounces less and stays on the floor more. Balls are provided.
REFEREE: Each match will have one referee (aka lead coach) who will officiate the game from the mid-court line. The referee will control the match, manage the clock, record goals scored, and call fouls.
SUBS: Both teams will have areas on the same side of the court. Substitutions are made "on the fly" at any time during the game through the area immediately in front of the teams' respective areas. There is no need to wait for a stoppage in play, and the referee does not need to be notified. Teams do not need to stop or wait for the other team to make substitutions. A new player cannot enter the court until the exiting player completely leaves the court. It is the coach's job to balance playing time and ensure that every player in attendance plays at least half of the game. Because of the time required to change GKs (switch jerseys, put on gloves, etc.), GK changes should only be made at halftime, if possible, but technically can be done on the fly like all the other positions.
TIME: Matches will be about 40 minutes, with two 20-minute halves. All halves will be played with a running clock. Dead balls and injuries do not stop the clock or result in added time. Halftime will be 2 minutes. Each coach may call one 1-minute time out per half when in possession of the ball. Timeout requests are made to the referee, who will stop the clock during the timeout.
Fouls and Misconduct Rules
Futsal is a minimum contact sport, which means there is no use of the body to establish an advantage over another player (such as shoulders or elbows). However, some contact may occur, as long as it is done in a legal manner, such as using the body to shield the ball without using the arms to keep the opposing player from the ball. Contact fouls, including kicking, tripping, striking, charging, pushing or holding an opposing player, are called and result in an indirect free kick.
Players who repeatedly and/or aggressively commit contact fouls, including repeatedly and/or aggressively leading with their shoulders or elbows to challenge for the ball, will be warned by the referee, who also has the discretion to send players off the court for the remainder of the half in such circumstances. Teams may replace such players on the court.
Slides are NOT permitted, and no player is allowed to play the ball while any part of their body is touching the floor, beside their feet. Only the GK is allowed to play the ball with anything more than feet touching the ground. The GK is also allowed this as long as the GK only attempts to makes contact with the ball and not an opposing player.
Delay‐of‐game fouls result in indirect free kicks (taking more than five seconds to re‐start play via a kick-in, goal clearance, corner kick, or indirect free kick).
Handling the ball results in indirect free kicks (except the GK in their own penalty area).
Indirect free kicks mean the ball must touch another player before it can enter the goal. Kicks are taken from the spot of the foul, except for fouls committed in the penalty area, which are moved outside the circle.
Game Play Rules
"Offside" - There is no offside!
"Kick Off" - opposing players must give 10 feet of distance from the ball until the ball is in play. Kick offs can be played in any direction (backward or forward).
"Kick In" - a ball kicked out over the touchline (sideline) by one team becomes the other team's ball and is placed on the touchline where it went out. The team kicking in has 5 seconds to get the ball back in play or it becomes the opponent's kick in. Opposing players must be at least 5 feet of distance from the ball. A team cannot score directly from a kick‐in.
"Goal Clearance" - this is basically a goal kick in futsal. When the offensive team puts the ball over the end line, the defending team receives it and the GK must return to the penalty area and throw or roll the ball back into play within 5 seconds of retrieving it. The GK can go anywhere inside the penalty area to distribute the ball, but the throw/roll must leave the penalty area and must first bounce in the defensive half of the court. The GK cannot drop the ball and play it in with their feet. Opposing players must stay out of the penalty area during a goal clearance, and if any player on either team touches the ball before it leaves the penalty area, the GK must retake the throw.
"Corner Kick" - When the defensive team puts the ball over the end line, the offensive team receives it and must play the ball in (after being put down at a complete stop) from the corner where the end line and touchline meet. Opposing players must give at least 10 feet of distance from the ball. The player taking the corner kick has five seconds to put the ball back in play, or the defending team gets an indirect free kick from the corner spot. A goal can be scored directly from a corner kick.
"Free Kick" - opposing players must be at least 10 feet of distance from the ball, including any walls that might be set up. All free kicks resulting from fouls are indirect. The kicking team must put the ball in play within 5 seconds of placing the ball down (at a complete stop), or the opposing team gets the ball as an indirect free kick. For all kicks and balls played back into play, players do not need to wait for a whistle when restarting play unless they ask the referee to move the defending players back the required minimum distance. In those cases, the play resumes on the whistle.
Goalkeeper Rules
GKs wear a different‐colored pinnie from the field players. GKs can play anywhere on the court but can handle the ball only inside the penalty area. If a teammate intentionally plays a ball to the GK in the penalty circle, the GK cannot pick it up unless the teammate heads or chests (above the waist) the ball to the GK. GKs can only play the ball (by feet or hands) for 5 seconds in their own half. There are no such playing restrictions when GKs are playing in the opponent's half. A GK who handles the ball within the penalty area must throw or roll it to another player within 5 seconds of receiving the ball. No punting is allowed. Any ball thrown by the GK must first bounce in the defensive half of the court. If the ball first bounces in the offensive half, an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team at midcourt. GK throws that bounce before midcourt can continue into the offensive half without being touched by a teammate. GKs may put the ball down to their feet after making a save, but they must still play the ball to another player within 5 seconds. If a GK takes longer than five seconds to put the ball back into play after the ball is: 1) played to the GK, or 2) a save is made, or 3) on a "goal clearance", an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team outside the penalty area.
