Soccer by a New Name: Futbol

The Spartan Indoor Futbol Club is not only diverse nationally, but internationally as well. Its members come from countries like Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Brazil.

While they may not be fluent in one another’s languages, when they are on the pitch, they all speak the same thing: futbol.

Javier Pincay ’14, a dual graphic design and sport management major, said they’ve all learned futbol-related phrases in each other’s languages. They hope to serve a growing desire from the UT community to watch and play the sport with their first tournament, the UT Spartan Cup, Nov. 9-12 against the University of South Florida and St. Leo University.

The Spartans kick off the weekend with an opening ceremony on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a game at 8 p.m. in the Cass Gym. All the games are free for fans, and there will be giveaways for the audience, food and entertainment.

The fast pace of the game, played five on five, promises excitement, said Pincay.

“Indoor is a lot faster and a lot more technical,” said Pincay, of Newwark, NJ. “You have to have good stamina to play. It’s a lot quicker passes, and it’s all about control.”

Bryan Ortiz ’16, a psychology major, said he played a lot of sports growing up in Puerto Rico, but he enjoyed futbol the best.

“It’s more exciting, and you have to use more creativity,” Ortiz said. “There are more things working together in order to score a goal.”

Joe Santagata ’15, an entrepreneurship major from East Northport, Long Island, said the members are committed to the team and are constantly working to challenge each other on the pitch.

“There is a feeling of satisfaction after a hard game or practice,” said Santagata. “We practice three times a week. We’ll practice at midnight. Whether we win or lose, we’re always pushing each other for more.”

Since the majority of the team went from crawling as infants to playing futbol as kids, it seemed natural to seek out a team to play with at UT. When one didn’t exist, they convinced Kelvin Huerta Kettelsen ’13 to organize the club sport. He did, along with a women’s team, the Women Spartan Indoor Futbol Club.

“I love soccer, but I felt frustrated with the casual play of intramurals,” said Kettelsen, who founded the club this year with Christian Carrillo ’13.

Kettelsen remembers receiving a soccer ball as one of his first gifts as a child. Growing up in Mexico City, it was part of the culture. He’s happy to have a community to share his passion with here at UT.

“I consider these guys my second family,” said Kettelsen, a dual international business (accounting) and management major.

And he isn’t afraid to set the bar high. Of the approximately 50 who showed up for tryouts, 26 made the team. Through attrition, there are 20 that make up the club, and they intend to host tryouts again after the tournament.

This first semester has been informal in terms of the schedule, though they practice several times a week on campus (including regular midnight scrimmages), and with the Cinco Soccer community league on Tuesdays. Beginning next semester, they’ll play against schools like the University of Central Florida, Eckerd College, Lynn University and the University of Florida.

With pride Kettelsen said, “We have big dreams for this club.”

For more information and complete tournament schedule, contact Kettelsen.