Torrance to host U.S. National Futsal Team
U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Futsal National Team will stage a player identification camp from Sept. 12-15 at Torrance's South Coast Soccer City (Daily Breeze file photo).
In a coup for Torrance's South Coast Soccer City, the state-of-the-art 73,000-square-foot futsal facility that includes an international size field will host the U.S. Futsal National Team from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1 in the team's first official training camp of 2011.
An earlier invitation-only ID camp from Sept. 12-15 is intended to identify the top futsal players in the country, with an eye toward strengthening the U.S. squad that will attempt to qualify for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand.
"We are very excited about our first ever National ID Camp for our U.S. Futsal National Team," said longtime U.S. head coach Keith Tozer. "This ID camp is extremely important in identifying the upcoming Futsal talent in the United States as we prepare for our CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup. We are also very proud to be able to utilize such an amazing facility for Futsal in Soccer City in Torrance. It's a great place to call home not only for the ID camp, but for our upcoming full national team training camp as well."
Local invitees to the ID camp include Torrance residents Spencer Shortland, Ryan Oster, and Caio Gesualdi.
Following the two camps, Tozer will select a roster for an annual invitational tournament in Brazil in October.
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Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
I nominate the Galaxy's Footballeros for the team. Good circus act needs jogglers.
Keith Tozer of the LA Lasers indoor fame is still around? Amazing.
Finally America try to cath up with rest of the world. All the best players come from Futsal. Look forward to seeing this.
Futsal Brasil,
I hear that a lot from salon football players that "all the best players" come from futsal. Ignoring the fact that any claims of "all" or "none" are indefensible, please tell us the role that futsal plays in formal development of pro outdoor players in Brasil assuming you are from there or familiar with it. I have seen videos of Ronaldinho do his thing as a young boy on the hard wood surface but I don't know how typical that is in development of players. I'm guessing he developed his skills before he even played on a team.