Youth Indoor Soccer Teams

Indoor youth soccer uses a smaller playing field than outdoor soccer, is popular among the soccer-loving millions in the United States and contributes significantly to national efforts to keep kids active and healthy. However, youth indoor soccer teams do present a conundrum: while fostering recreation and physical activity, they also increase the risk of young athlete burnout and injury.

Indoor Soccer League Players and Fields

United States Indoor Soccer Association's 2009 Rule Book press release cites a survey by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association identifying indoor soccer as the ninth most popular team sport in the U.S., with 4.8 million people playing yearly. Players younger than age 12 or U12 have their own set of regulations, including those that govern ball dimensions and team size. The indoor soccer ball is size 3 or 4 for all U12 players, and size 5 for all others. For U12 teams, a minimum of five players is on each side, with a maximum of 7 players. For players ages12 and up, it is four players at a minimum and six players maximum.

Field Markings And Rules

The indoor field is 180 feet long, with a 6-1/2 by 12-foot goal built into the wall, as diagrammed by U.S. Indoor. The field's smaller size calls for different line markings, including the free kick line being positioned 35 feet from goal. Other lines demarcate where kicks can begin and end, specifically to encourage more passing and to restrict players' kicking the ball into the air. Goal kicks, for example, must end before the midfield line. The three-line violation occurs when a team advances the ball across all three field-marked lines without its touching another player, a wall or the floor. No player can touch the wall with two hands at once. These and other field-specific distinctions separate indoor from outdoor soccer.

Benefits To Skills And Health

Indoor leagues are excellent venues for continuing physical education and team goals. Many indoor youth soccer teams are not even required to be part of an official league. Coaches, parents and the players themselves might see indoor soccer as simply a fun after-school activity, no matter the time of year, no matter the exact dimensions of the field or numbers of players. You can field as many or as few children as are available, with players divided by age, skill or other agreed-upon method. The indoor game is fast, and players can use the walls during play, so sprint speed and overall agility is important, according to US Soccer Players. A weight-bearing sport like indoor soccer improves muscle power and bone density as well as cardiovascular and neurological function.

Drawbacks Of Excess

Kids can be driven -- by themselves if not by parents and coaches -- to build upon achievement, sometimes to the extent of physical and mental burnout, according to the online journal History, Philosophy & Ethics Of Sport. If a child on an indoor soccer team is expected to extend high levels of athleticism from the outdoor season, they simply might not be able to sustain the effort. Ongoing physical injuries, sleep problems and mental fatigue might affect schoolwork, and nonstop athletic competition can increase anxiety and aggression. Nevertheless, indoor youth soccer teams offer benefits and opportunities that many kids truly love, so parents and coaches should work together to keep indoor soccer available and fun.