With a myriad of teams competing across ages U8-U19 for boys and girls, the inaugural Bluegrass Futsal Cup kicked off with roaring success at the Owensboro Convention Center.
Teams from all over traveled to compete, putting some of the best soccer talent the Commonwealth has to offer in the same building for three days with the tournament beginning on Dec. 17 and ending on Dec. 19.
For Owensboro High School sophomore Peter Saang, that’s one of the biggest draws of the tournament.
“It’s really competitive,” Saang said. “Teams from everywhere are coming here to play and it really brings a new level of competition. At Sportstutor it’s teams from Owensboro mostly, this brings teams from Bowling Green, Evansville and everywhere else.”
Futsal soccer is very different from your typical soccer match as well, with only five players out on the floor at once and much more intensity involved with the style of play as well.
For Owensboro High School junior Jacob O’Bryan, he appreciates it for the ability to get a plethora of reps on the pitch.
“It just allows us to get more touches on the ball,” O’Bryan said. “Especially in the winter time when we’re not able to play outdoors. Coming here to play indoors [is nice] and since there’s less people again you’re going to get more touches on the ball because you’re going to see the ball more.”
Owensboro High School Head Coach Ryan Haley agrees with the sentiment, saying that it allows players to know what they have to focus on specifically in order to grow because weaknesses are exposed in this style of play.
“This is a lot more strenuous than outdoor,” Haley said. “In outdoor, there’s a lot more room, you’ve got 11 players and sometimes a coach can hide a player… There’s no hiding out here. It’s all about being technical, good on the ball, being able to handle the ball under pressure and not lose it and organization.”
Along with the older age groups, Haley believes that the tournament is great for the younger ages as well because of the excitement and competition it brings.
“I think it’s great for the youth especially,” Haley said. “Players, families, their little brothers and sisters that come to watch them play, it only makes for more growth. This town is a pretty big football town, a pretty good basketball town, but it’s starting to get to be a pretty big soccer town and this only adds to that.”
All in all, it was a great turnout not only by the amount of teams and players, but the fans that came out to watch high quality soccer as well. With the first tournament being so successful, players and Haley agree that the Bluegrass Futsal Cup should live on for years to come.
“I think for the city of Owensboro, for the sport, it’s huge,” Haley said. “I think it’s great. Number one we love the floors. All the equipment, I think the city bought all of this. I think it’s in hopes that they’re going to continue to kind of make this annually and this is something that in the future I believe will only grow.”
