QUEENS — It’s futsal time in Forest Hills.
A local soccer school will soon start offering special indoor classes for a sport organizers say is ideal for the wintertime.
The game is similar to soccer but it's played indoors on a smaller pitch and with only five players on each team.
It's also often seen as a tool to improve young players' skills, said Sean Peckett, coaching director at Soccer Friends USA.
“It will help support the progression of the children’s skills throughout the winter season, when they can’t play outside," Peckett said.
Peckett said that soccer is gaining popularity in the neighborhood and local parents kept asking for additional options for their kids to learn dribbling and passing.
The classes will begin in January and will be available for kids ages 5 to 12, the organizers said.
Futsal, which originated in South America, is especially beneficial to small children, the organizers said.
“When they first start playing and they are on a big field, they kind of get lost,” Peckett said, referring to kids playing soccer.
“But because [in futsal] the field is smaller, the children are able to visualize it a little better and it keeps them more involved in the game.”
Futsal balls are also smaller and heavier.
“The smaller the ball the more control it requires,” Peckett said, adding that a number of famous soccer players, including Pele, Ronaldo and Neymar, grew up playing futsal and they often credit the game with improving their skills, he said.
The school, which runs its programs year-round, also offers a number of soccer classes, including programs for toddlers.
Parents can now register children for the late fall and early winter season, the organizers said. For more information go to www.soccerfriendsusa.com or call (347) 756-2988.
Futsal classes will be held from January through March (10 sessions for $190) at The Kew Forest School on Saturdays and at JHS 190 Russell Sage School on Sundays. Each game will be approximately 30-40 minutes long.
