Men's soccer team prepares in the off-season

Reporter

Practices, indoor tournaments, and futsal (a fast paced quick moving soccer game played on a basketball court with medium-sized goals with only four players on a team) are helping to prepare the men’s soccer team for next fall’s season.

“This will help the team,” said Travis Young, a returning player from the 2002 soccer team. “It keeps us in some shape. It is also helping the team bond because we spend time with each other in the off-season. Doing training like this will help build habits for summer training and will prepare us for next year’s preseason.”

On Mondays and Wednesdays the team has pool fitness from 7 to 9 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays consist of weight training, and Fridays begin with training at 6 a.m. On the weekends, the team usually has either an indoor tournament or futsal.

“We are actually doing futsal instead of indoor soccer,” said head coach Marty Shirley. “Futsal is recognized by (the Federation of International Football Association) and indoor is not.”

Shirley also said that fewer injuries occur in futsal, and it more closely resembles outdoor soccer than indoor does.

Not only are the futsal games used as practice for the team, but they are also used to evaluate recruits. The coaches have been in contact with over 100 prospective players. Ten recruits have come previously and eight more are intending to come this weekend.

“Futsal and the indoor tournaments have been a good way to see the skill level of the recruits,” said freshman Justin Fuller. “It’s also a good way to see how they fit in with the rest of the team.”

Coach Shirley said the team is doing well. In fact, two of Milligan’s teams reached the semi-finals in the Maryville College Tournament on Feb. 14.

“There was very good competition, and overall the tournament was a lot of fun,” freshman Caleb Bollman said.

The Buffs are scheduled to play futsal next after Spring Break.