While the Cleveland Browns, Cavaliers and Indians continued in their collective title slump in the 1990s, goalkeeper Otto Orf and the Cleveland Crunch professional indoor soccer team racked up three championship wins.
Orf played for the Cleveland Crunch and the renamed Force from 1989 until 2004. But even as he played indoor soccer in Cleveland, he also competed internationally in another sport — futsal.
He earned goalkeeper of the year during the 1996 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Futsal Championship in Guatemala. His team won that tournament and qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Segovia, Spain.
Today, Orf is a passionate advocate for the sport that shares similarities to soccer.
“I believe it’s the best way to develop young soccer players,” he said.
On July 1, 2021, he came to Kiwanis Recreation Park in Painesville to help dedicate what a city news release described as “the first public futsal courts in Lake County.”
“Anywhere there’s a community that wants to try to get involved, I have been trying to facilitate the game,” Orf said.
But why futsal?
According to Orf, futsal can help aspiring soccer players develop their skills. Teams are only composed of five players, games last for two 20-minute periods and the court is much smaller, resulting in a much faster game where each player gets more action.
“Compared to outdoor soccer or indoor soccer or even seven against seven soccer, you get anywhere from three to seven times – they average it out at five times the amount of touches for actually having the ball on your feet,” Orf explained.
He added, “In futsal, there’s an attempt on goal about every 60 seconds, and if there’s anything that kids love, it’s shooting at the goal and trying to score.”
Futsal also helps players develop passing skills. Orf said that unlike indoor soccer, there is no wall around the playing field. Because the field is much smaller and players lose possession if the ball goes out of bounds, there is greater motivation for them to better control their passes.
Kevin Cindric, Painesville’s Recreation Supervisor, added, “Futsal is a very fast-paced sport which develops quick thinking and precise foot skills. Teams must learn to work together in small areas, which develops helpful skills that can translate directly to the soccer field.”
The futsal ball is also smaller and heavier than a standard soccer ball. Cindric said that this “keeps the ball close to the ground to ensure quick ball movement.”
Orf promotes futsal not only as a training tool, but as a game for gym classes and other community events. While soccer uses a large, grassy field, futsal requires a smaller court with a hard surface.
“That is really where I think that futsal can change the sport in the United States, specifically by addressing the lack of sports options in the urban areas, in inner cities and the underprivileged areas,” he said.
In addition to promoting futsal as a recreational sport, Orf continues to contribute to the game in other ways. He is an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s Futsal National Team, which made the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania last year.
He is also the founder of the Heart and Sole Futsal Academy and the HandsOnSports Foundation, which according to its website promotes soccer and futsal by “providing equipment and instruction for youth in communities where recreational opportunities are limited.”
Finally, Orf worked with a former Crunch teammate to co-found the Great Lakes Futsal Leagues, which operate in Lorain, Strongsville and Akron.
“We have one of the probably 10 largest leagues in the country,” he said.
Local residents who want to experience futsal can head to the two courts located at Painesville’s Kiwanis Recreation Park, 301 Latimore St.
“The futsal courts in Painesville have been very popular throughout the first year of being open,” Cindric said.
He added, “Futsal helps keep people active and creates a healthy lifestyle. We see everyone from kids to adults playing on our futsal courts.”
A full list of rules is posted on the entryway to the courts, which are located in the back of the park at the old tennis courts.
“The best way to learn is to show up and jump in on some pickup games,” Cindric said.
