USA Play for 3 Charlotte Futsal Players
It’s not every day a player gets to wear a United States jersey lined up on the court beside a referee, facing an International squad of players. Three Charlotte Futsal players had this exciting experience as 2019 came to a close. Our academy players traveled to Barcelona, Spain, as part of the USYF squad.
Landon Alepa, Jeanette Fieldsend, and Noah Sari joined the “very best” playing for U.S. Youth Futsal International Teams in this year’s competition. The players first had to qualify in regional tryouts. Then, they traveled to Kansas City, Kansas, to vie for one of the spots on the traveling team.
Jeanette, 14, had tried out four times before, so donning a jersey with USA emblazoned across it was particularly sweet. Futsal, she says, “is a very unique sport.” And it was a great “honor” to represent her country.
Futsal Training in Barcelona
The USYF teams started out training together in FC Barcelona facilities before the game play began. “It was different,” Noah said, especially since he didn’t know any of his teammates other than Landon. Landon had played with some of them previously on the Legacies team in Oklahoma.
Nevertheless, the training was a change for both of them. One thing their coach focused on was man marking. “You didn’t really stay in a position. You had to follow your man,” Noah said.
The team also worked on defense at the same time as offense, transitions, and set plays. The practice sessions were fun, Landon said.
Coach Todd “knew a lot about the game,” the boys agreed, which was great. Plus, they made friends with others on the team. When they weren’t practicing, or sleeping eight people in a dorm room, they all went touring to Barcelona sights and an amusement park.
Barcelona was all new for our players. For Landon, the food was a problem. He was not impressed with Spanish fare. Except for the churros!
Playing International Competition
When the games began, the real change was the level of play. Or at least in some cases. Some teams were more skilled, but others not so much, Landon said. One team that stood out? The Catalan national team.
It helped that they practice regularly together and know each other well. Plus, Landon mentioned it might not have hurt that everyone was so tall. “I was shorter than every single player, he said.
Still, CLT Futsal’s players were proud to say they found they could keep up. The boys’ team played four games, ended on a 6-4 victory with both Landon and Noah scoring, and a 3-1 record overall.
Now, they can bring the new things they’ve learned back to training with us. It’s a change though. “Now we’re not man marking,” he said. “It's going to be weird.”
Noah added, "you can’t really transition with our team because they don’t already do it and they don’t know how yet.”
Asked what they would advise to players hoping to make a future USYF squad representing Team USA, the players agreed that training hard before was important. “It will help you impress the coaches,” Noah said. Landon added, “If you don’t then you aren’t going to be invited.”