Still , the outlying Gabarra appeared 14 times for the USMNT ( 19 if we count 1988 Olympic qualifiers ), all between 1987-89 , and he captained the U . S . National Futsal Team from 1986 until his retirement in 1996 . From there he went straight into coaching , first in the old Continental Indoor Soccer League , then out of doors — in the women ’ s professional game . Gabarra is surely the only person to coach in all three iterations of women ’ s pro soccer in this country . His last gig , with the NWSL ’ s Washington Spirit , concluded in the spring of 2018 .
“ It ’ s been a very nomadic but pleasing life . Decisions had to be made along the way , and not always by choice ,” says Gabarra . “ When I graduated college , if you wanted to play professionally , that meant playing indoor , as NASL opportunities were very limited for U . S . players . Then NASL went away and it became the same for everyone , whether they preferred the outdoor game or not . Every two or three years , the team or the league would fold . So , you were out there looking for the next opportunity , to keep playing . My coaching career has been a similar journey .
“ I try to explain to my son and my students how different it is for American kids today . Yes , there is the danger of overuse . But getting to your professional potential , as a player , is a process — a four- to five-year investment of time and grit . And during that time , you ’ re likely going to hear no a lot . Every coach has an opinion . But today , players need to understand that if one coach doesn ’ t like or prefer you as a player , someone else will feel differently .”
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In finessing that transition from outdoor to indoor , it ’ s more important how often coaches manage to say yes . According to Gabarra , the moment a player gets the impression a coach isn ’ t fully invested in that kid ’ s development journey , the jig is up . Unfortunately , today ’ s premier and academy models — specifically , the capitalist imperatives underpinning those models — put coaches , players and parents in some very difficult positions .
“ The transition to indoor can and should protect players by concentrating on the aspects of indoor that serve everyone ’ s development . Fitness levels are different ; that transition requires time . But if the game is faster , the spaces are smaller ? For me , that means the player is making hundreds of times more decisions per game , per training session . Those increased reps and decision-making ? I don ’ t see a downside there . Futsal is just a far more technical environment , less physical . It ’ s really sort of perfect for developing all players . And for high school teams , it ’ s far more practical : You ’ re not relying on a rink with boards . You can go play in the gym .
“ If you compare passing patterns for the outdoor game to futsal pattern play , there are certainly differences — both in number and shape . I believe in outdoor soccer : The patterns there are a little more linear . In futsal there is more circulation , faster circulation in tighter spaces . Both , in my opinion , provide a positive developmental environment .”
Gabarra also sees a lot of commonalities between the work he does at Pelota and the sort of sessions that make sense for these shoulder periods between seasons .
“ I try to cover multiple skills in a session : You ’ ve got dribbling , prep touches , half turns , passing , finishing , defending , heading — things that U . S . players haven ’ t been trained to do in a detailed way , to be honest . But if you can cover a bit of everything , the kid gets hundreds of hundreds of touches . With supplemental training , I always make sure it ’ s position specific , as well .
“ But there ’ s no reason coaches can ’ t apply the same methodology in their training environments , in short spells : one hour , maybe twice a week . And that ’ s yet another way to program your transition week for kids coming off a club or high school season .” n
“ The business side of it has really distorted our game in a lot of ways ,” Gabarra asserts . “ It ’ s hard nowadays to know when and how kids and coaches should diversify training . That ’ s where most of the world has it right : The parents aren ’ t paying for that [ academy training ] and , as a result , parents don ’ t say boo . But you can ’ t call your parents and tell them to back off when they ’ re your customers ! In my opinion , if you call yourself elite or academy with a path to pro , those kids shouldn ’ t be paying a dime .”
Some may accuse him of bias , but Gabarra sees a ton of transitional utility in futsal , no matter how or where winter season matches are contested .
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