I was playing soccer in a men's recreational league. We played our soccer on a field 100+ yards long by 50+ yards wide. We played in the rain. We played in the mud. We played in the heat. We played in the cold. We played in the wind. Sometimes we played in the snow. We thought this was what soccer was all about.
Then some of the guys thought it would be a good idea to join a new indoor soccer league that was being formed in our town. I wasn't convinced since it didn't involve the rain or the mud or the heat or the cold or the wind. Here was soccer being played inside a building that was heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. What a concept! There was no wind or rain in here. The field was artificial turf the same as used by the local major league baseball team (no mud here). A wall encircled the playing field. The ball didn't go out of bounds and you didn't have to chase it down and then execute one of those two-handed-overhead throw-ins. The field was actually like an ice hockey rink except the floor was artificial turf rather than ice and the goals were openings in the end wall rather than the "crease" used in hockey. This kept all play in front of the goal rather than allowing play behind the goal as in ice hockey.
Well, the game turned out to be a lot of fun. Each side has six players including the goal keeper. Playing in the small field makes a high number of touches for each player. The ball usually bounces true since the floor is much smoother than the outdoor fields we played on. The ball didn't get stuck in mud holes or water puddles. (Our outdoor fields were not pristine grassy surfaces.)
Substitution is very fluid. Substitutes can enter the field as the player being replaced comes off the field. In our case, the player coming off the field vaulted out over the low fence and the player coming on the field vaulted into the field being careful to make sure the leaving player had cleared the field (if both were on the field simultaneously a penalty was called). A gate was available, but using it would have been a sissy thing. Anyway, using the gate slowed the transfer. We would work out a schedule for the substitution based on the scoreboard clock and based on the number of players available with each player going for a pre-determined time. With the non-stop action, most players were ready for a substitute when the time came. There is no waiting for a stoppage of play to substitute. The game keeps moving until a goal is scored or a foul is assessed. This makes the game more enjoyable for all the players.
Ball handling skills develop much more quickly than in outdoor soccer out of necessity. Players must learn how to trap and make short accurate passes because everyone is so much closer together. Long passes don't work in indoor soccer because of the 3-line pass rule. This rule replaces the offsides rule in outdoor soccer. The indoor field has a center line and an onside line either side of the center line. A pass that clears all three of these lines without touching the floor or a wall is a foul. The ball is given to the other team at the offending team's onside line. This eliminates teams from playing the "offside trap" and makes the game more fluid, thus more enjoyable. Players can use the wall to advance the ball down the field. Passing the ball around an opponent by playing it against the wall and recovering the carom downfield is a common tactic.
Think indoor soccer isn't for you? Think it's for sissies? It's not. It is a lot of fun and really exhausting exercise. Try it, you'll like it.
Then some of the guys thought it would be a good idea to join a new indoor soccer league that was being formed in our town. I wasn't convinced since it didn't involve the rain or the mud or the heat or the cold or the wind. Here was soccer being played inside a building that was heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. What a concept! There was no wind or rain in here. The field was artificial turf the same as used by the local major league baseball team (no mud here). A wall encircled the playing field. The ball didn't go out of bounds and you didn't have to chase it down and then execute one of those two-handed-overhead throw-ins. The field was actually like an ice hockey rink except the floor was artificial turf rather than ice and the goals were openings in the end wall rather than the "crease" used in hockey. This kept all play in front of the goal rather than allowing play behind the goal as in ice hockey.
Well, the game turned out to be a lot of fun. Each side has six players including the goal keeper. Playing in the small field makes a high number of touches for each player. The ball usually bounces true since the floor is much smoother than the outdoor fields we played on. The ball didn't get stuck in mud holes or water puddles. (Our outdoor fields were not pristine grassy surfaces.)
Substitution is very fluid. Substitutes can enter the field as the player being replaced comes off the field. In our case, the player coming off the field vaulted out over the low fence and the player coming on the field vaulted into the field being careful to make sure the leaving player had cleared the field (if both were on the field simultaneously a penalty was called). A gate was available, but using it would have been a sissy thing. Anyway, using the gate slowed the transfer. We would work out a schedule for the substitution based on the scoreboard clock and based on the number of players available with each player going for a pre-determined time. With the non-stop action, most players were ready for a substitute when the time came. There is no waiting for a stoppage of play to substitute. The game keeps moving until a goal is scored or a foul is assessed. This makes the game more enjoyable for all the players.
Ball handling skills develop much more quickly than in outdoor soccer out of necessity. Players must learn how to trap and make short accurate passes because everyone is so much closer together. Long passes don't work in indoor soccer because of the 3-line pass rule. This rule replaces the offsides rule in outdoor soccer. The indoor field has a center line and an onside line either side of the center line. A pass that clears all three of these lines without touching the floor or a wall is a foul. The ball is given to the other team at the offending team's onside line. This eliminates teams from playing the "offside trap" and makes the game more fluid, thus more enjoyable. Players can use the wall to advance the ball down the field. Passing the ball around an opponent by playing it against the wall and recovering the carom downfield is a common tactic.
Think indoor soccer isn't for you? Think it's for sissies? It's not. It is a lot of fun and really exhausting exercise. Try it, you'll like it.
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