A Winter Youth Soccer Week: Futsal Championships, College Spring Soccer, and Snow Days

Futsal Championship, Winter Training, and a Snowstorm Pause

This past week was a perfect snapshot of winter youth soccer life—part championship celebration, part logistics marathon, and part weather-induced pivot.

US Futsal Regional Championships: Silver Division Champions

Our week began on Monday in Akron at the US Futsal Regional Championships, where we competed in the Silver Division finals. After a long and competitive weekend, the team finished strong and came home as champions. It was a great reminder of why futsal plays such an important role in player development during the winter months—fast decision-making, technical growth, and confidence under pressure.

You can read more about our experience here.

Straight From Akron to Supplemental Training

There was no downtime after the final whistle. We drove straight home from Akron and went directly into supplemental training. By Tuesday, forecasts were already pointing toward a major snowstorm, making it clear that weekend soccer was likely off the table. With that in mind, we leaned into what we could control: consistent team training and supplemental sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The younger kids stayed busy as well, continuing their tennis lessons—an excellent cross-training option that supports agility, coordination, and overall athletic development for young soccer players. I have them in a program where they all can learn together making it easy on us, only having one trip for tennis each night. They always end with a game that by all reports is highly contested. This week it sounds like my 8-year-old won, although my 9-year-old was not happy.

Behind the Scenes: Tournament Planning and Team Logistics

Off the field, I spent a significant amount of time supporting my 13-year-old’s team in an administrative role. We are planning an upcoming tournament in North Carolina, which meant researching hotels and coordinating with the housing company to ensure the entire team could stay together close to the fields. These details matter, especially for families traveling long distances, and solid planning can make or break a tournament weekend.

You can read more about Stay to Play here.

College Spring Soccer Looks Different—but Just as Intense

At the same time, our 18-year-old is already deep into his college spring soccer season in North Carolina. Spring college soccer is short—typically around six games—but the training intensity remains high. Strength training and lifting are a major focus, and we have been getting updates from practices that highlight the contrast in weather. While it was 6 degrees at home, they were training in shorts and T-shirts in 40-degree temperatures and sunny.

With winter weather headed south, he shared that many parents were anxious about the incoming storm. Their forecast included sleet and ice, which can be especially disruptive in their small town that is not equipped for winter road and sidewalk conditions. To be safe, I DoorDashed plenty of food (like an absurd amount of food) in case they were confined to the dorms. By Friday, the school announced remote learning for Monday, although the team still trained yesterday he and his friends are keeping put today.

Indoor Soccer and a Rare Winter Pause

Despite the storm, we did manage to squeeze in some soccer locally. I know the Volta Cup in Cincinnati was canceled yesterday and a lot of indoor complexes canceled their Sunday training but on Saturday, we watched our 13-year-old play in an indoor soccer game before heading home to hunker down and wait out the snow. Once we settled in, my daughter and I took advantage of the downtime and binged the first season of The Kicks*, a show I highly recommend for girls soccer players and their parents -its like The Babysitters Club but for soccer. So good.

*this is an Amazon Affiliate link and we may receive a small commission from purchases made after clicking this link.

Looking Ahead: Indoor Training Takes Center Stage

Looking to the week ahead, it is likely that school will be closed on Monday, and with a foot of snow on the ground and consistently cold temperatures, outdoor training may be limited for some time—even on turf fields. For many families, that means a renewed focus on indoor sessions, supplemental training, and strength training until conditions improve.

Ohio Soccer Moms and Dads Updates

From an Ohio Soccer Moms and Dads standpoint, this is also a big week. We are releasing our Recreational Soccer Guide (submit your rec program here), and we are still accepting submissions for our Summer Camp and Supplemental Training Guide (submit your summer camp or training here). Winter may slow things down on the fields, but it is one of the busiest seasons when it comes to planning, preparation, and supporting soccer families with the information they need.

As always, winter soccer requires flexibility—but weeks like this remind us that it's okay to sometimes take a break.