Champions: Jrs at Futsal Nationals

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors strong showing at the United States Youth Futsal Nationals culminated today with an SKC squad in the championship match of all five age groups that Sporting entered teams into for the tournament. With all the results in from the Overland Park Convention Center today, Sporting Kansas City crowned four new champions!

• Sporting KC U13 Jrs Croatia were 8-2 winners over 99 SportsTutor Ligers
• Sporting KC Juniors Italy were 5-4 victors versus Magical Futsal Academy
• Sporting KC Juniors Portugal triumphed 6-4 against Sporting BVSC U15B
• U16s Sporting KC Jrs - Uruguay prevailed 5-4 past Sporting BVSC 94/95

Today's lone loss came in a narrow defeat as U16 Sporting KC Jrs fell 7-6 to BNC Revolution A in the Boys U16 Super Group finale. Congrats to all the Sporting KC Juniors on their performances at the US Youth Futsal Nationals and best of luck as they wrap up their seasons this weekend in the Futsal KC league.

Video: Jrs at Youth Futsal Nationals

Here is a recap of each of the Sporting KC teams in the tournament...

• In the Boys U13/U14 bracket, it was an all-SKC Juniors semifinal as Sporting KC U13 Croatia (3-0-0) advanced past Sporting KC U13 Argentina (1-1-1) with a 6-4 victory on Sunday. The U13's are now facing 99 SportsTutor Ligers at 9am this morning.
• In the Boys U14 Super Group, Sporting KC Juniors - Italy went a perfect 3-0-0 in pool play and face Magical Futsal Academy in the finals at 9:15am this morning.
• In the Boys U15 division, Sporting KC Juniors - Portugal went 3-1-0 in pool play and will have a shot at avenging their lone loss in the championship when they play Sporting BVSC U15B at 8:15am this morning.
• In the Boys U16 Super Group, the U16 Sporting KC Jrs went 3-0-0 in pool play and won 8-6 in the semifinals to advance to the 9am CT final against BNC Revolution A.
• In the Boys High School Super Group, both U16 Sporting KC Juniors - England and U16 Sporting KC Juniors - Uruguay went 3-0-0 in pool play. Uruguay advanced to the championship match at noon today against Sporting BVSC 94/95.

Video: KSHB covers futsal

As we mentioned yesterday, several Sporting Kansas City Juniors teams will be competing in the US Futsal Nationals this weekend. Well today, NBC Action News caught up with Sporting Kansas City Juniors Director of Coaching and US Youth Futsal Executive Director Jon Parry to talk about the tournament while the playing surface was being installed at the Overland Park Convention Center.

Watch below for the report from Jack Harry during the 6pm newscast...

US Futsal Nationals in OP

The 2012 United States Futsal Nationals will be held this weekend - Feb. 17 thru 20 - in the Overland Park Convention Center for boys and girls teams from across the country in the U8-U19 age groups. Among the 100+ teams registered to participate, the Sporting Kansas City Juniors will have a large presence:

• U16s Sporting KC JRS - Uruguay in Boys High School division
• U16s Sporting KC Jrs in Boys U16 Super Group
• Sporting KC Juniors - Portugal in Boys U15 division
• Sporting KC Juniors - Italy in Boys U14 Super Group
• Sporting KC U13 Croatia in Boys U13/U14
• Sporting KC U13 Argentina in Boys U13/U14

"To have all 1100 players along with coaches and families in one space will create an atmosphere that is nothing short of electrifying," said John Sciore, director of development for US Youth Futsal, in this Examiner.com preview.

Admission is open to the public with weekend passes available for $8 or Saturday/Sunday passes sold for $5. Mondays finals will be free of charge! Follow @usyouthfutsal on Twitter for updates and news throughout the tournament.

Video: U13 Juniors futsal highlights

The winter futsal seasons are well underway for the Sporting Kansas City Juniors in the local Futsal KC league and here's the latest video to showcase the skills being developed at the youngest age level. Check out clips from the U13 SKC Juniors - Croatia's 10-4 victory over Galaxy-White on Sunday at the Roeland Park Sports Dome, courtesy of Peter Wilkinson.

And here's an update on how each of the teams are doing in their respective divisions...

• U13 SKC Jrs - Croatia, 6-0-0 (66 goals scored), 1st place
• U13 SKC Jrs - Argentina, 5-1-0 (41 goals scored), 1st place
• U14 SKC Jrs - Italy, 3-0-0 (25 goals scored), 2nd place
• U14 SKC Jrs - Portugal, 2-1-0 (13 goals scored), 4th place
• The U16 & U18 Juniors are dueling it out in their own division, with the U18 SKC Jrs - Netherlands currently atop the standings with a 5-1-0 record

Video: U13s Futsal Action

Video courtesy of Chris Bihuniak

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors have taken their seasons indoors during the winter months in KC and can now be seen playing in Futsal KC, one of more than 40 US Youth Futsal leagues throughout the country.

Sporting Kansas City has played a major role in the growth and progress of the sport and the league in the U.S., as juniors Director of Coaching Jon Parry and Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes are both on the leadership team for US Youth Futsal. Check out the video above of the Sporting KC U-13 Juniors in action this past weekend.

National Futsal Tournament Results

Over the weekend, a slew of SKC Junior squads played in the Super F Champions Cup, a National Futsal Tournament. Over 90 teams were there to compete, with over half of them coming from out of state.

The U13, U15 and U16 SKC teams were each split into two separate teams for the tournament and placed in opposite groups. The U13s faced each other in the semifinals of the U14 division. The winning side (Italy) went on to lose in PKs in the final game against FC Black Nights from Boston.

The U15s played in the U16 division. Neither team qualified for the playoffs, but they were both able to keep pace in each game with the older boys.

The U16s played in the High School Boys division. Again, the SKC teams faced each other in the semifinals. The winner (USA) was able to go on and win in the finals against Central Falls Warriors (from Cleveland) pretty handily, 7-1.

Also, make sure to check out The Back Post for pictures, a review of the championship games and an interview with Keith Tozer, the Head Coach of the US Men's National Futsal team, from Friday's clinic.

National Futsal Tournament

This weekend, the sixth annual Super F Champions Cup will take place in Kansas City with the U16s, U15s and U13s all participating. Tonight, the Sporting KC U16 Juniors will help Keith Tozer, Head Coach of the US Men's National Futsal Team, conduct a futsal training clinic leading up to this weekend's tournament.

The clinic will focus on offensive and defensive tactics, training techniques, restart plays and much more. All coaches, players and parents of players are invited to attend. The event will take place tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. It will be complimentary for Cup participants and $10 for all others at the door.

The tournament will run through Sunday at three facilities in Overland Park and Shawnee, KS - Roeland Park, MAWC and Johnson County Community College. Check out a video of the U14 Juniors at last year's edition...

Goals

Not so much about scoring goals but more about Goal Setting...Head coaches Paul Rideout (U18's) and Jon Parry (U16's) touch on what they hope the end result will be for these players and how they want to produce exceptional players but also "good people" in the community.

Why Futsal?

Director of coaching Jon Parry and U18's player, Sean Latz (who is off to DRAKE this Fall) explains why they are currently playing futsal and how it helps their overall game.