The Principles of Physical Training in Futsal

THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL TRAINING IN FUTSAL

Cătălin Octavian MĂNESCU 1

Abstract

A theory is useful if it can have practical applications. After research and experimentation,
sports science has established six principles of fitness training that are practical and can be
used as guidelines for conditioning both the energy production systems and the muscular
systems. Whatever path is choose in establishing a training program, these rules of action
will enhance the probability of success and it can be applied to everyone at all levels of
physical training, from world calibre professional players to the weekend amateurs.

Keywords: futsal, conditioning, physical training, principles, demands.

JEL clasification: I10, I19.

1. Introduction

One of the misconceptions in the sports world is that playing the game will
get you in shape. Playing the game will teach you the skills, technical and tactical,
but it will not make you faster, stronger and more agile. Many players in the world
can kick a ball exactly where they want it to go or keep an attacker from moving past
them, but only some of them have the sport specific skills and the level of
conditioning to perform those skills from the first minute of a game till the last one.
If you are aiming at taking your game to the next level and achieving your genetic
potential by increasing strength, power, speed, agility and endurance, then
conditioning program are the only way to doing it by putting yourself under a certain
amount of adaptive body stress without the risk of causing damage to the body.
Futsal involves a combination of a number of athletic skills which are quite
demanding for the body, therefore it is very important that fitness training be
personalized because each player has different individual phases of development and
adapts in a different way to training.

1
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Telephone: 0040213114170
E-mail: [email protected]

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2. Building the foundation

The components of a good futsal conditioning program refers to:

Flexibility
Flexibility is a basic need for the futsal athlete. Flexibility means having a
generous range of motion in a joint. Players achieve flexibility by increasing the
elasticity of the muscle or the connective tissue associated with that joint. Players
need a certain amount of flexibility to perform certain movements correctly. Making
slide tackles, kicking long volleys and jumping correctly require the athlete to be
flexible. Flexibility also reduces the chance for injury when the body is placed in
awkward positions, such as landing on the ground following contact.

Strength
The ability of muscles to contract and overcome resistance is an exhibition
of strength. Maximal strength is an all out effort to overcome a maximum resistance,
independent of time. Strength, in general, is the means to achieve the optimal levels
of power, endurance and speed. The development of strength is critical for laying
the foundation to perform work specific to futsal. The athlete must develop adequate
strength to attempt the type of training designed to increase speed, vertical jump and
endurance.

Power
The combination of speed and strength is common to successful futsal and
football players. Power is the term applied when speed and strength come together
as unit. The development of a good strength base is the avenue for increasing power.
Pure strength alone is too slow for the dynamic sport of futsal and top speed is
momentary without being strong. The futsal player must strive to achieve the best
combination of both.

Endurance
The endurance of a futsal player is more than just being able to run forever.
A high level of endurance will allow the futsal athlete to maintain nearly perfect
execution of skills at close to 100 per cent effort throughout a match. Speed
endurance, strength endurance and power endurance are three important areas of
fitness. Futsal players must have both a high level of running endurance and the
ability to run repeatedly at top speeds without much rest. Changing speed and
direction is also an example of speed endurance. The constant pushing and shoving
during a match can sap the energy from a defender who lacks strength endurance.
Frequent jumping, tackling and striking require a certain amount of power endurance
if the athlete is to remain effective for the entire match.

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Agility
The ability to adjust movement quickly based on a changing environment is
agility. Because the situation develop so quickly in futsal, the athlete must improvise
and swiftly change direction and speed. Making quick decisions and immediately
acting on them while moving at game speed could be the difference between scoring
or being scored on. The feet, eyes, legs and brain must be agile and work together if
the futsal player expects to be successful.

Speed
When we speak of speed, typically, we think of running fast, but speed in futsal
includes much more than this. Quickness, short bursts of movement, rapid
movement in all directions, the ability to start and stop rapidly, speed of reaction
time, speed of thinking, these are all examples of game speed.

3. Principles of fitness training

The six principles of fitness training in futsal are: warm up/cool down; overload;
progression; specificity; individual response; reversibility.

Warm up/Cool down

The body has to adapt before engaging in vigorous activity. A warm up
period is necessary in order to raise the heart and respiratory systems gradually.
It also helps to raise the temperature in muscles, they work better at temperature of
40 degrees, it increases the blood flow and oxygen to the muscles, it increases the
speed of nerve impulses, making you faster and it increases the range of motions at
joints, reducing the risk of tearing the muscles and ligaments.
A proper warm up session is divided into two phases: general warm up
(consisting of walking, building up the pace every 10 seconds or so before breaking
into a gentle jog until the body is beginning to warm up) and stretching that will
increase the range of motion at joints.
After a training session or a game the body needs to cool down. This is as
important as warm up because it allows the body to adapt from its physically active
state to a resting state. This is done with light aerobic activity such as jogging before
slowing down to a brisk walk, reducing the speed every 10 seconds or so. After this
the players should stretch all the major muscle groups lightly before they shower,
have a sports recovery drink and rest.

Overload
The only way to bring about a change in the energy production and muscular
systems is to apply stress to these systems. When we demand more of a body system,
the system responds by reaching a higher state that can easily handle stress. Overload
should not be increased too slowly because the systems will not respond; it should
not be increased too fast, either, because it will result in damage. When the body has

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adapted, after a certain time, the sessions which seemed hard initially will appear
normal. So, fitness training needs to push you beyond your current limits, but this
should be done in amounts that the body can handle. A beginner should start near
threshold level and gradually move up.
There are four factors that we can manipulate to produce overload within an
exercise: intensity, duration, frequency and recovery.
The principle of intensity states that a greater than normal stress or load or
effort on the body is needed for adaptation to take place. The body will adapt to the
stimulus. Once this happened, a different stimulus will be needed to continue the
upward change.
Duration is the principle of how long a task should last. Increasing the
duration of exercise can be used to enhance the aerobic energy production system
and muscular endurance. This is relevant for a single training, session, sessions per
week, per month, etc.
Frequency refers to the number of times (repetitions) you perform a task in
a given period of time. As frequency increases, exercises shift from having a
conditioning effect on the aerobic energy production system and muscular endurance
to having a conditioning effect on the anaerobic energy production system and
muscular power. These are standard principles regarding the number of times certain
tasks should be completed in any given week.
The rest period between bouts of exercise, during which a muscle or muscle
group is moderately inactive to inactive, is the recovery period. Continual stress on
the body and constant overload will result in exhaustion and injury. If you do not
give yourself the proper rest, you will be led to overtraining and a great deal of
physical and psychological damage will result.

Progression
The overload principle must be applied in progressive stages. You start with
an exercise intensity that your body can handle, allowing time to recovery before
you proceed to an increased work level. By doing this the body will adapt, if not, the
body will break down.

Specificity
To optimize the benefits of a training program it must be developed with the
specific physiological requirements of futsal. This argument is based on the principle
that the training will not only condition the appropriate muscles when you go out
and play, in terms of physical and biochemical properties, but will also and equally
importantly train the appropriate neuromuscular pathways of the main activity.
Training should simulate as closely as possible to what actually happens in
futsal games. Specificity also relates to the level of a player s involvement in modes
of training; specific training brings specific results.
The specificity principle also states that, for these reasons, training must go
from highly general training to highly specific training.

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Individual response
Every player s response to exercise is different for reasons such as:
- hereditary: physique, muscle fiber characteristics, heart and lung size
- sensomotoric: sight, touch, reaction, joint and muscle sense
- maturity: more mature bodies can handle more training
- gender: women generally need more recovery time than men
- nutrition: nutritional needs vary according to age, sex and body type
- rest: some players may be fatigued because they need additional rest or
sleep
- fitness: unfit players fatigue easily and are more prone to injury
- environment: emotional stress or factors such as heat, altitude and so on
- motivation: players who are motivated will work harder and progress
further
All these factors will come into play during a player s training routine.
A proper training session should take into account individual differences.
Experienced trainers are aware of these differences and do not expect all players to
perform the exact same routines. The toughest challenge is designing effective drills
that meet the demands of the individual player in a team content. Evaluate each
player relative to the following parameters: work capacity, strength and power,
speed, coordination and skills, flexibility, body composition.
Reversibility
It is not enough to reach a certain level of fitness and expect to keep it by
just playing the game. Peak physical fitness is hard to attain and easy to lose, this is
why a maintenance program is needed and necessary to prevent the conditioning
benefits from being lost.

4. Futsal demands

Drills and conditioning should meet the specific demands in futsal. Futsal is
a game that requires quick starts and quick stops executed in a state of fatigue. The
game calls for a constant interplay of force production and force reduction. Most of
the injuries and performance occurs during the force reduction phase of stopping and
kicking. Consequently, drills that emphasize speed, speed endurance and power
production are most effective for soccer players.
Skill level in a skill dominant sport, such as futsal, will obviously have a
significant impact on ability to play the game. Without mastery of skill, all aspects
of conditioning are for naught. At the same time, deficiency in any component of
conditioning will cause skill to erode quickly. A proper conditioning base will create
a favourable environment, which will enable players to attain a higher level of skill
development.

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5. Conclusions

As with most sports, the futsal competition schedule determines the plan for
training. Physical training should be part of daily training throughout the year. The
various components of training should be distributed throughout each training week
and should meet the following three primary objectives:
- injury prevention
- performance enhancement
- education
To accomplish these objectives, the coach must emphasize three key
concept:
- Warm up and play. Do not play and warm up.
- Condition the body to kick and run. Do not kick and run to condition.
- Condition and prepare the whole body using the kinetic chain concept.
Failure to understand and use these concepts will predispose players to
injury and obstruct their skill development. The body is a linked system in which all
parts together to produce efficient movement.
All aspects of an effective futsal physical training program must meet
the ”3M” criteria (Foran, B., 2001). Everything must be manageable. Can it be
accomplished given the facilities, equipment and personnel available? Facilities and
equipment should not be limiting factors. All training should be done on the court,
any activities off the court are supplemental. The result must be measurable. Can the
work and progress be quantified? The program must be motivational. The player and
coach must understand the reason for training and be able to relate it to greater
success as a futsal player.

REFERENCES

1. Burns, T., 2004 – Holistic futsal. Lulu Publishing.

2. Foran, B., 2001 – High performance sports conditioning. Human kinetics.
3. Goncalves, J.T., 1998 – The priciples of brasilian soccer. Reedswain Inc.
4. Hermans, Vic-Engler, Rainer, 2003 – Futsal technique, tactics, training.
Meyer&Meyer Sport.
5. Kresta, Jan, 2009 – Futsal. Grada publishing.
6. Lozano, Javier&hermans, Vic, 2003 – Futsal – trainer. FIFA, Zurich.
7. Mănescu, C.O., 2010 – Futsal. Editura ASE, București.
8. Mănescu, D.C., 2008 – Dezvoltare fizică și musculară. Editura ASE, București.

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