Kickstarting indoor soccer: one of the most popular outdoor sports can easily be moved inside for fun during all seasons.

Much more than just a game, indoor soccer offers a fast paced, affordable and exciting experience for players and spectators of all ages. Also known as arena soccer, Futsal and small-sided soccer, indoor soccer is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing sports in America. Contributing to the sport's popularity, many park and recreation districts are offering a variety of indoor soccer programs in their communities.

Vince Kalke is youth coordinator for the Chicago Fire Juniors, a program hosted by the Wheaton Park District and Major League Soccer team the Chicago Fire. He attributes several factors to the popularity of the sport.

"I think indoor youth soccer has been a very easy game to introduce players to," says Kalke. "Basically you have a ball and kids who can run. But in addition we've seen a lot of parents that have actually played back in the days when soccer wasn't as popular and now those parents are introducing the game to their children." This "second generation" of players as Kalke puts it, is what will continue to grow the game for generations to come.

Larry Sunderland, director of coaching for the Chicago Fire Juniors and manager of Youth Development for the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer team, has a different viewpoint as to the growth of the sport.

"I think the growth of indoor soccer directly correlates with what's happening in youth sports in general." He suggests that society today has a "more is better" mentality and that as adults are becoming more competitive in the workplace, their competitiveness transposes to their kids through sports as well. As a result, to keep that competitive edge in soccer, indoor soccer offers players the opportunity to stay in competition form by playing year-round.

Kalke agrees, "We offer a Professional Developmental Program (PDP) which allows high school and college students the opportunity to train with us during their off-season and prepare them for their college seasons. In addition, this program offers training for those that want to continue on after college and make a run at the pro ranks."

Though indoor soccer offers plenty of competition, those interested solely for the recreational and fitness aspect of the game will find no shortage of programs and leagues available. Many park and recreation facilities offer programs that appeal to a wide variety of people's interests. Men's leagues, women's leagues, co-ed leagues, men and women "over 30" leagues, and a huge variety of youth leagues are just a sampling of the many programs that contribute to the growing popularity of the sport.

Within these categories, programs are broken down even more to accompany different skill-sets and age groups, ensuring that no one is excluded. For example, youth indoor soccer leagues are usually broken down by age groups, not necessarily skill levels. Players are placed in groups like U6, U8 or U10. The "U" stands for "Under the age of" and is typically followed by a specific date according to the location's league schedule. Therefore, a U8 league offered at a location with a cutoff date of Aug. 31 would mean that the child would have to be under 8-years-old upon the date of Aug. 31 of that year.

Indoor soccer leagues generally run anywhere from eight to 12 weeks long. Depending on the seasonality of the location, some offer leagues three times a year while others only once a year. Teams typically consist of five players plus a goalie while youth teams with players under the age of eight vary. Prices for indoor soccer leagues range anywhere from $425 per team to $2,500 per team--some offer junior leagues starting as low as $69. The fees usually include the arena time, trophies and prizes for the winning team(s) and may or may not include the referee fees.

Rob Marchand is the Recreation Center director for Mitchell Parks and Recreation located in South Dakota. "I didn't know anything about the game until my son got me involved." Now, Marchand not only knows about the game, hut coaches and is an advocate for helping the game grow in his community.

"About six or seven years ago," recalls Marchand, "my son and a bunch of his classmates were really influential in our local soccer association as far as getting teams together. They were primarily looking for something to do in the off-season and none of them really played any other sports other than soccer. We had two gymnasiums in our facility and we provided one of these gymnasiums for them to play. About 10 to 20 high school and college students would show up.

Eventually I approached our programming division about doing a Saturday morning program for kids. I ran the program for the first two years--that program still continues."

Typical indoor arenas are usually either rectangular or oblong in shape with full-size arenas measuring in at around 180 feet by 80 feet. A variety of flooring material is used including hardwood floors, Astroturf, concrete or synthetic turf, which simulates actual outdoor turf conditions made from recycled tires.

Some arenas have boards around the perimeter which allow players to rebound the ball off of them, thus eliminating off-side rules. Other facilities have eliminated the boards to simulate outdoor soccer. The rules between outdoor soccer and indoor soccer are basically the same with a few exceptions such as disallowing slide or side tackles, and a three-line rule, which states the ball cannot travel in the air over three lines on the field without touching ground.

"In the early 1980s, we used to play indoor soccer in hockey arenas," says Patrick Martinez, recreation supervisor 1 for more than seven years at the Escondido Sports Center with the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Escondido in Southern California. "But with the popularity of the sport, fields were created. We started with one large field that was shared by adults and juniors, but as the programs continued to grow we added a 'mini-field' measuring around 90 feet by 45 feet specifically for juniors."

As one of the largest sports facilities in Southern California, the Escondido Sports Center has an indoor soccer program that consists of 60 adult teams and more than 34 junior teams. Its programs attract men, women and juniors from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds as well as culturally diverse backgrounds consisting of teams of Irish-American, Spanish-American, Yugoslavian and Iranian descent.

Reving Yahya is the assistant coordinator for Williams County Parks and Recreation located in Franklin, Tenn., and like Martinez, has seen the popularity of the sport continue to rise. "Our indoor soccer facility opened nine years ago" says Yahya. "Indoor soccer is so popular that we're booked through the end of 2007. As soon as I post a new league on the Internet, the league fills within a week."

The facility at Williams County Parks and Recreation is about the size of a regulation hockey rink and has synthetic field turf for its flooring. It has 4-feet-high fiberglass boards around the playing field with 8-feet-high boards behind the goals. But with the increase of growth for the sport over the last several years, one building is not enough.

"We are building another facility in Brentwood that is about four months away from being completed," announces Yahya excitedly. "It's not even finished yet and we are already booked through April of 2008! It will be state-of-the-art with a sunken arena, seating for over 400 spectators, vending machines and concession stands, warm-up areas for the players, a conference room that can be used for meetings, a referee meeting room and offices for the teams. It will be the best facility not only in the state of Tennessee, but in all of the adjacent states as well."

While some of the larger park and recreation districts have specific indoor soccer arenas, many locations don't have the space, finances or resources to build. However, stories like Marchand's, who started on and continues to play on an indoor basketball court, show the flexibility that the game has to offer. Smaller districts can use their existing gymnasiums, basketball courts and hockey arenas as playing fields to accommodate their communities' interest for the game. "We see our programs as teaching opportunities that give kids something else they can try," says Marchand.

Yahya adds, "Indoor soccer is growing because it is interesting and fast-paced. Therefore, word of mouth and offering consistent times so that adults can plan their schedules for either playing or bringing their children to play are important keys for growth. With these keys and lots of support, parents and kids will be playing from generation to generation."

With only about 14,000 people in his community, Marchand points out that while they might not be as established as other places, "indoor soccer is fulfilling a need that offers many people another option in the community. I encourage everyone to try it." Marchand concludes, "It takes kids, like my son and his friends, to spur interest from parents and adults. They have the motivation and interest. Parents want to be involved but don't know anything about the game. The best advice I have is just get involved. Many of the kids have developed a real passion for the game. Kids that probably have no other alternative kids that need a little help. That's what it's about."