'Everyone wants to emulate Brazil's success'

US soccer legend Keith Tozer was in Bermuda this past week working with kids at the International Futsal Camp at Dellwood Middle School.

Tozer, who is the US National Futsal coach and coaches against David Bascome in the Major Indoor Soccer League for the Milwaukee Wave, told the Bermuda Sun the camp has been a success.

Tozer said he’s always wanted to come Bermuda and after this week, he’s glad he did.

Tozer said: “Bermuda, like the United States, are in the infancy stages of futsal. I’ve been involved in the game for 17 years and wanted to pass on a little knowledge.”

The US coach led his sessions with passion and enthusiasm with which the kids and coaches were able to latch onto.

Tozer said: “If we were to have tracked one player this week, they probably had 5,000 plus touches. Every player in this camp has gotten better in a short period of time. That’s the great thing about futsal.

“If we were doing this outdoor – and I love the game – they would have had a lot less touches because we would have been doing different drills and had longer balls.”

He said more of the world’s football powers are during to futsal as a developmental tool.

“Every coach wants a dream player who can think outside the box; someone who can take other players on. Like a Michael Jordan in basketball or a Wayne Gretzky in hockey. The question is how can we help that player get better quicker and become great goal scorers?

“So how do we get that player better, quicker? – more touches on the ball.”

He said the US introduced academy teams for futsal in 2012 to play in the transitional period from November through March (the traditional offseason for US football).

Tozer added futsal is being used to develop better outdoor players.

“I see it playing a bigger role and paying more dividends because it helped Brazil and it helped Spain and I know it will help the US.”

Tozer said Spain started their futsal programme after seeing the success the Brazilians were having with it.

“You want to mirror successful people. You find out how; you find out why and go implement it. Spain did that. They asked ‘why are Brazil’s players so technical?’ They researched it and found out it was futsal. Now England, the United States, Spain, Portugal and Italy are all doing it.

Peter Sousa, president of the Bermuda Futsal Federation, said one of the success stories of the camp was a young boy who came with his mom and on the first day he was “very hesitant, he was very shy. He really didn’t want to participate. Maybe because he was a little overweight and he saw the physical things we do.

“But David Bascome spent 20 minutes talking with the young man and encouraging him. David said to him ‘You don’t have to participate, just come in and watch, maybe you’ll learn something.’”

Sousa said after 20 minutes of encouragement, he came in and watched. After another 10 minutes he started to participate.

“At the afternoon leadership and life skill sessions, this young man became the leader of his group.”

Sousa said his mother saw the transformation in her son and how he was excited about attending. In the morning  he organized himself ‘by getting his kit together and making sure he’s drinking water and not drinking soda.

“To me, that’s a success.”

Sousa added the camp attracted a wide variety of backgrounds - kids from private and public schools; Kids who are upper class, middle class, lower class; and both white and black kids.

“Based on the experiences we’ve had, we’re going to try to do more next time and make it bigger and better without losing the quality.”