Playing for kicks: DLSU Futsal Club

A new sports club has been formed to cater to those Lasallians who have always been itching to play futsal on a regular basis, the DLSU Futsal Club. To give a brief description about what futsal is, it’s basically indoor soccer. The difference, however, is that the ball is smaller, and the players wear rubber shoes instead of cleats. Indoor courts utilized for futsal are also significantly smaller in size than usual football fields.

The DLSU Futsal Club aims to provide an avenue for beginners and avid players to regularly engage in the sport and develop their futsal skills. The club’s main focus is to train and develop beginners while also fostering friendly interactions and camaraderie among the players.  

From humble beginnings

The club started with a group of friends who love playing futsal and wished to get more fellow Lasallians to join them. Bench Gueco, the current president of the DLSU Futsal Club, along with his friends, Mikee Angeles, Royce De Los Reyes, Josuard Gonzales, Abiel Anselmo, and Serafin Gonzalez, decided to form a futsal club in DLSU. As early as March of this year, they have already started gathering more and more people to join the club and as of press time, they have gathered over 200 people to join the club. They have also approached the Office of Sports Development (OSD) with the idea of officially starting the futsal club. As of April 15, 2014, they were granted permission to jumpstart the club, which will be under temporary probation and under the eyes of the OSD. Due to their probationary status, they have experienced some negatives regarding the venue for their games. 

“We have been experiencing problems mostly sa venue lang kasi parang we’re new palang, so we have to adjust to the schedule,” Gueco says adding that they overcame this problem by organizing games outside of the campus.

What’s in store

Joining the DLSU Futsal club promises an opportunity to play with different people in different locations. However, this is not the main focal point of the club. In reality, the main entrèe that the club puts forward are the futsal tutorials and training sessions which will be offered to beginners and other interested members. As much as possible, the club wants to fulfill their main goal, which is to help develop and train people in the sport of futsal. “We want to teach them how to play futsal… because it gives [teaches] you teamwork, hard work, and determination,” Gueco explains. 

To provide the players with more opportunities to play, the club also plans to organize tournaments with other futsal clubs and will be providing special prizes to the winners. Through this, the founders of the club hope that their network shall branch out further, and accordingly, their members will be able to interact with different people who also enjoy the sport. 

Building up 

Still in its growing stages, the DLSU Futsal Club is focusing on expansion and sustainability. Having started only months ago, the club is ready to establish itself among the Lasallian community, with one avenue being through the establishment of partnerships, whether or not it be with other members of the sporting community.

“Actually we’re trying to interact with some of the varsities [varsity teams] so that they can help out with the training and stuff,” Angeles says. 

Aside from making a name as the pioneer futsal club in DLSU, the club also hopes to keep its name clean and worthy of representing DLSU. Fresh off their accreditation, the founding members have stressed that their club will not only uphold the Lasallian values, but also instill the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in its members. This is on top of the typical struggles of having successful activities, which the club understands it will encounter in the coming terms and years. 

“We have to do our best and not to fail in our activities,” Gueco simply says.

“As much as possible we have to keep the name clean. We can’t accommodate conflicts during activities like, when we’re playing we can’t have fights,” Angeles mentions, adding that cancellations and the like will also put the club in jeopardy.

Basketball has been for the most part the more popular sport among Filipinos. Apart from its western roots, its accessibility in only requiring a ball and a hoop makes it easier for an everyday Juan to play over football. Through the establishment of the DLSU Futsal Club, Lasallians will not only get to know the sport but will also understand why futsal is more than just a game. 

“It [Futsal] makes your life easier, holistically, because it gives [teaches] you teamwork, hard work, and determination,” Gueco remarks.