7 Ways to Show Support for Your City's Futsal Club During COVID-19
Life without sports--where's the 'reset' button?! If you grew up during the N64 era and your sibling was beating you in heated battle of MarioKart, you could slam the reset button or just unplug their controller, right? As we all would LOVE to do this during a global pandemic, that simply is not an option.
For us, sports ended the first week of March. Other businesses have gone on to operate a few days and weeks longer but eventually their operations have also been suspended and the world is seemingly at a halt.
While we were already missing futsal after the first day or two (no lie, seriously, how can life exist without futsal?), it has been eye-opening that during the crazy-everyday-rush of life we may have forgotten or unintentionally taken for granted the social counterpart that sport gives us. The handshakes after the games. The rush of adrenaline with 1 minute left to play. The self-discipline and determination after a loss. The times you didn't give 110% during training and now you can't but desperately want to. Missing your coaches and teammates. The sound of your shoes squeaking on the court. A hug from your Mom as you place sweaty shinguards in her hands. Literally EVERYTHING.
In this time of uncertainty, we are all in this together and we cannot wait to get back to the courts with YOU! We've made a fun list of how you can support your futsal club during COVID-19 shutdowns:
1. Handwrite a Letter of Appreciation to Your Coach - Who doesn't love a handwritten note? Handwritten letters show you have dedicated time to tell a mentor how much they mean to you or how they have impacted your life. Maybe you can share you favorite memory from a game or training session. Tell them what you've been working on in your free time. Ask what you can do to improve. And you don't have to just stop with your coach--maybe your team admin needs a reason to smile and feel appreciated, too! Handwriting letters isn't your thing? Record a video to show your appreciation and send via text or e-mail instead!
2. Subscribe and Share - Take part in growing your local online community! Subscribe to our YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels to stay up to date with your futsal curriculum and share to try fun ball challenges with your teammates. During COVID-19 isolation and quarantine, your online community is just as important as it is IRL! The work you put in as an individual will make you a greater asset to your team! Your educators from your school have provided you with lessons on platforms such as Google Classroom or Class Dojo. Coaches and sporting directors are educators, too! Many of them career futsal professionals who are also learning to bridge the gap as local small business owners during the sports suspension. We are just living up to CF's mission statement, "...keeping kids healthy, happy, and active" no matter the circumstance.
3. Order That Merch You've Been Wanting - Social distancing doesn't hinder us from shipping you all the great gear you've been eyeing all season! We have NEW long sleeve tri-blend shirts perfect for hanging out on the couch while still supporting your Columbus Futsal team! Novelty "Pandamonium" fan jerseys are also available through FutOhio as an officially licensed Columbus Futsal product. Visit our online shop https://www.columbusfutsal.us/shop for free shipping now through 3/31/2020.
4. Buy a Ball! Futsal balls have low bounce and are perfect for your quarantined kid indoors. This is a great time to send a ball to your grandkid, niece, or neighbor's kid. Low bounce means less broken objects in your living room (hint, hint...)! The futsal ball is a low-bounce ball that is smaller than a normal outdoor soccer ball whose properties are specifically designed to develop skills. When a futsal ball is received via a good pass, it virtually "sticks to the foot." This builds great confidence in tight spaces when rapid passes are being issued repeatedly. Interestingly, that same property which makes the ball easy to receive makes it more difficult to strike. A futsal ball gradually eliminates the ’lazy pass’. Players rapidly get acquainted with the merits of bending the knee, turning the hips, and striking the ball firmly to propel it. Repeated touches on the ball eventually produce a motion which, when transplanted outdoors with a high bounce ball, translates into a firmer and proportionately longer pass appropriate for the big field. All Senda futsal balls are 10% OFF with free shipping via our online shop: https://www.columbusfutsal.us/shop
For the most benefit, play with your futsal ball on a hard flat surface like your garage, driveway, hardwood/tile, or cement basement floor.
5. Donate to the Columbus Futsal Foundation - Did you know? Columbus Futsal has a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation! Our non-profit deeds and philanthropic work have been going on for over a decade. In 2019, we formally launched our non-profit organization to support more futsal opportunities in Columbus. Your donations help with scholarship funding, community court repairs and new safe places to play, sponsoring new individuals interested in becoming referees, and hundreds of hours of outreach clinics and free play! You can make a one-time monetary donation or set-up recurring monthly donations online and immediately receive a receipt by clicking here. You may also use Venmo, @columbusfutsal.
6. Season Ticket Membership for 2020/2021 - It is still uncertain whether we will resume play for the 2019/2020 season. We couldn't have pushed ourselves to the top of the NFPL table without you! Your support means everything to the guys on the court each and every game day. And now, they need your support more than ever. Pre-purchasing next season's ticket packages will help us get back to training after COVID-19, upgrade and secure other venue options to better your fan experience, provide streaming options and officially launch the Columbus Futsal Women's team! After purchasing your 2020/2021 season ticket package, you'll be put on the list to receive special STM benefits and member items later this summer prior to fall's pre-season events. Get or GIVE a STM here, https://www.columbusfutsal.us/memberships.
7. Sign-up For a Referee Course - Are you already a USSF referee? Great! You can take an online course for your futsal certification and begin assessment to referee Columbus Futsal League games throughout the year. Columbus Futsal League through United States Youth Futsal, hosted the first futsal referee course for Ohio South in 2016 with around 20 futsal referees becoming certified that year. We recently hosted a 'referee night' during an NFPL game for Ohio South and Ohio North referees interested in becoming certified for futsal games. Visit https://www.ossrc.com/ to get started.
We had so many great things happen in 2020 already--we can get through this and celebrate even more great triumphs together! Please remember to stay healthy and support your community. See you soon!
- Your Columbus Futsal family
