To many futsal players, the attraction of the five-a-side form of soccer, played on a basketball size court, is that it’s fun, fast, and exciting. It emphasises technique and gives each player more chances to touch the ball and shoot at goal.
And that’s certainly the case for a trio of young players barely in their teens – Dennis Menalaou, Nick Kyranakis and Nick Theodosiou.
The young trio’s talents at this form of the game have earned them selection for the U13 Victorian State Futsal team for the second year running, and in just over two weeks time, the team flies up to Sydney for some serious competition in the 2016 FFA National Futsal Championships.
Speaking to Neos Kosmos, Kyranakis and Menalaou said they were very excited when they learnt of their selection in the elite state squad.
“I feel very proud and honoured to represent the state,” said Kyranakis.
Coach of the U13 State Futsal squad Harry Amiridis said: “Getting selected for your state or country is of the highest honour. The players play with the best in the state and test themselves against the best players in the country. It’s a wonderful opportunity to be in this type of elite environment and a stepping stone to greater things.”
Last year, the trio represented Victoria at the nationals as part of the U12 futsal team, again under coach Amaridis, when they narrowly missed winning the national title, losing to NSW in a close final and winning the silver medal.
“Seven of the 10 players (in last year’s U12 squad) never had formal futsal training before,” said coach Amiridis. “This year we can build on that foundation. The ultimate goal for these budding young futsal players would be to get invited to train for the Australian futsal team (Futsalroos) and potentially represent Australia.”
In preparation for the upcoming tournament, Amiridis, who is a full-time PE teacher, says the players have been working hard to develop technically, tactically, physically, mentally and socially. He says there is a large tactical component at the elite level of the game.
“Our coach is trying to base it on what it’s going to be like up there. It’s very intense,” Menalaou says of the training.
“And he makes us watch professional Futsal matches on YouTube,” Kyranakis adds.
Both players find the videos very useful for learning about the tactical aspects of the game.
Amiridis says of the young Greek Australian trio in the squad: “Kyra, Nick T, and Dennis are fine young men who have a positive attitude, strong core values and love playing both futsal and football. They thrive on competition, love winning and are prepared to put in the hard work to do so. They are technically good players and play their football at the highest level. They all have leadership qualities and express these qualities in different ways.
“They have also built a strong bond with each other and with their other teammates. Win, lose or draw, in years to come, they will reflect upon their national futsal experience and know it helped them develop into better players and gave them the opportunity to make some really good friends along the way.”
He is confident the boys have the right attitude to cope well with the challenge of playing at the nationals.
“The boys will thrive on the challenge of the FFA National Futsal Championships. To them, futsal is fun. Off the court, the boys are in good spirits, joking and laughing. On the court they are determined and focused, and that’s how it should be. I don’t put any pressure on any player or team to win. What I do demand is that they are passionate about what they do and give 100 per cent effort, 100 per cent of the time. The boys cannot wait to play in the nationals.”
Kyranakis believes the team will perform well at the nationals because “we’re a talented group of kids who work well together, and are really dedicated and focused to go one better than last year. Plus we have a very good coach who knows us well.”
Menalaou says, “I’ll be pretty proud (to win) because losing it last year and coming back and winning it will be a great achievement.”
The FFA National Futsal Championships take place in Sydney from January 4-8. 2016.
