England Futsal head coach Peter Sturgess has been providing a real insight into the Four Nations Tournament in Newcastle and he returns with his entry for Saturday.
Saturday was a rest day at the international Four Nations tournament. The England players were given the day to rest and recover after two hard games and two well earned wins in the space of two days.
However, it was a busy day for the rest of the staff as the venue at Northumbria University hosted a training day for 16 young Futsal players who had been selected from the successful Regional Centre of Excellence programme.
Sturgess has been blogging from the England Futsal camp
The players were invited in for the day and given a taste of what might be in store if they continue to develop and get into the senior team. The group, ranging in age from 16-19-years-old, experienced a variety of tight possession practices combined with half and full court games.
Just watching the enthusiasm, energy and technical ability of these young players makes me very confident that very soon there will be a growing number who will be good enough to progress to the next level - this is very encouraging in such a short period of time.
I really hope that these players continue to play Futsal and show how quickly talented players can progress through the pathway that is now firmly in place. The opportunity to represent your country in Futsal World and European competitions has never been clearer and we want to give our young players the chance to live out this dream.
The players went home tired but happy having taken a very important first step to becoming an international Futsal player. Well done to them all and thanks to the parents and staff as without their hard work and support, days like today would not be possible.
We play our final game against a very strong and competitive side from the USA on Sunday. This game will decide the outcome of the tournament and it is a new experience for the England squad.
We will embrace the event and ensure that it brings out the best in us all. I know the players will be ready for whatever the game throws up and it is a great opportunity to show how this type of occasion excites and motivates us to even greater efforts. We will need this when we embark upon the hard qualifying games to come in 2015.
The competition has already been a very successful one for the England squad. Eight goals and two clean sheets has put them in with a great chance of making history again. If hard work, commitment and a desire to improve dictated the outcome in tomorrow's final then we are in for a treat.
Remember, "With Unity Comes Greatness".
Seize the day, boys.
