Indoor soccer is by far the most adrenaline-charged experience that you’ll have playing any sport. Additionally, you’ll find that there are so many benefits to indoor soccer that will help you with your outdoor soccer games as well.
Indoor Soccer is a small sided game that requires ball skill, speed, and intelligence, all of which will help you become a better athlete, especially when you start taking the skills you learned from indoor soccer to your outdoor soccer game.
What Are The Benefits of Indoor Soccer?
Below you’ll find several of the benefits to indoor soccer:
1. You Can Play at a Faster Pace
Indoors, you’re playing on a smaller pitch than playing soccer outdoors; this creates a faster game pace that is often difficult for a soccer player who isn’t used to it. This forces those players to adjust and learn how to handle the fast-paced game.
With this being said, there is a long-term benefit to this: soccer players will start to become better at handling faster-paced matches in their outdoor soccer games where you can be trapped in condensed areas.
Indoor soccer never has breaks in play. This can help with player development by increasing endurance, helping players find their way out of small areas, and keeping players on their toes. These things help you when you go back to playing outdoor games because your technical, mental, and physical skills will be improved.
2. Improved Skills in Tight Areas
To really succeed in outdoor soccer, you must have enough technical skill to play in small spaces because you’re surrounded by opponents and need to find ways out using nothing more than skill. The benefits of indoor soccer show with these skills.
To succeed in indoor soccer, you have to learn how to play in small areas because of the turf size, making players craftier and more technical when they’re under pressure in these small areas.
While passing is important in soccer, dribbling and ball skill are even more instrumental. One of the best parts of watching professional soccer is when an attacker “humiliates” a defender by dribbling out of a small area when there was little room to get out of. Additionally, learning how to play in proximity and in relationship to indoor soccer walls also requires developed skill and practice.
3. Increased Interactions with Teammates
Both outdoor and indoor soccer are both a team sport, and because of this, you’re continually having to emphasize being connected with team members during the game.
Knowing where your teammates are at all times can have a huge impact on the way your soccer match unfolds, which is especially true in indoor soccer. The benefits of indoor soccer are that by making watching your teammates a good habit, your “soccer IQ” will be greatly enhanced in your outdoor games.
You’ll find that there are more short, quick interactions and passes with your team members when you play indoor soccer due to the small turf size. Because your opponents can press you faster in indoor soccer makes it more natural to want to keep interacting with your teammates and try to communicate with them more during the game.
This is great for when you go back to outdoor soccer in the long run because you and your teammates will be used to passing between each other, and a mutual understanding would’ve been developed, which results in better team interactions.
Short passing will draw opponents close on a much bigger soccer field, leaving spaces behind or between opponents, creating more goal-scoring opportunities.
4. The Heavier Ball Improves Your Strength
Improved strength is one of the benefits of indoor soccer that isn’t touched on very often but can be a big difference when you play outdoor soccer.
The soccer ball in indoor soccer is heavier than the ball for outdoor soccer, which typically leads to players developing more strength in their legs to better pass the ball. This can be extremely useful with outdoor soccer because the ball is lighter and easier to pass around. The stronger you and your teammates are, the more capable you all are during your soccer matches.
5. Greater Understanding of Soccer
Because of the continuous, fluid play and confined space, indoor soccer improves players’ skills and brings forth a better conceptual understanding of the game. For example, players must stay “involved” in the game and stay alert and proactive even without the soccer ball present.
This awareness is slow to learn in traditional soccer because of the larger soccer field – less experienced players might stop and watch the game after the ball leaves their area, rather than trying to find a place where they can help their teammates.
Indoor soccer emphasizes the need to stay alert and active throughout the entire game because the soccer ball can rebound into your corner just as quickly as it left. Variations of the game such as fustal are very popular in countries outside this US, and heavily draw upon these skills.
6. Inclusivity
By its very nature, Indoor Soccer allows individuals of a wide range of endurance, speed, physical strength, and size to excel in the game.
This is because awareness of the game dynamics and coordination often counts more than kicking power and speed. Players who are advanced with their game understanding and ball skills, but not as powerful or fast as their teammates, can still become team leaders in indoor soccer. Of course, soccer is sometimes forced indoors for other reasons. Having familiarity for indoor play ahead of time is a huge competitive advantage.
7. It’s Fun!
One of the main benefits of indoor soccer is that the game is extremely fun to play. The constant action means that players can’t let down their guard and have to try harder to score and stop their opponents from scoring, all within a few seconds.
Outdoor Soccer has slower build-up play and moments. Indoor Soccer is always on, which can create a drive during the game and creates passion for soccer that will grow as the player plays more games.
Play Both Outdoor and Indoor Soccer
Overall, playing indoor soccer is a great discipline where entertainment, skill, and teamwork are combined to create an overall amazing experience. The tools and skills that you learn while playing indoor soccer on a smaller turf will only hone your overall skills on a larger field.
So, if you’re looking to improve your soccer skills when soccer is out of season, go to your local sports facility and find an indoor soccer league to join. While youth players will get the most out of player development, indoor soccer can help players at any age improve their skills. Most facilities offer both a youth and adult soccer league, so check it out!
Thinking of starting an indoor soccer club or special practice regimen in your area? We have worked with large organizations and also local initiatives/outreaches for years. We can offer you advice and products to successfully set up your indoor soccer field, complete with dasher boards. Get in touch!