THE winter break is being put to good use by a clutch of teams from the Barrow and District Junior Football League.

Half-a-dozen sides have signed up for Barrow AFC Community’s under-eights futsal league.

Barrow Celtic Under-eights and Under-sevens, Hawcoat Park Minions and Hawcoat Park Monsters, Holker Old Boys and Furness Cavaliers each have squads of up to nine players taking part.

The youngsters will play each other several times over a four-week span in Chetwynde School’s sports hall, contesting a series of matches – with eight played on the opening day. The futsal matches are designed to help the children boost their footballing skills and keep in touch with the game during the mid-season break from league competition.

Barrow AFC Community’s Marc McAloone was impressed with what he saw on the opening weekend of the five-a-side fixtures, which take place on a standard five-a-side court, but with goals which are slightly narrower, but taller than those normally used for adult games.

“For these younger children it’s non-competitive – it’s all about participation,” said McAloone, who watched some of the six teams play three matches and some two on the first day, with that number reversed this weekend.

“We just let them play and try to help them to enjoy it and they will all get a certificate at the end to say well done.

“It works on their basic touch and control, getting them to try and control their passes. The decision-making is a little bit different to what it would be on an outside pitch – it’s a little bit smaller and you have to think differently.

“We try to get them to get a feel of the ball and the different decisions they can make. The ball stays mainly on the floor – we use the proper futsal balls, which don’t bounce, so it is all about trying to keep the ball down and move it quickly.

“We’re trying to make their technique better, rather than smashing the ball as hard as they can. They will naturally learn to take the ball under control, because the balls are made that way.

“It’s a more technical game of football.”

As well as the under-eights matches, there are four weeks of under-nines games and five weeks of under-10s fixtures, with the latter two age groups each culminating in finals for the right to be declared champion.