KAILUA-KONA — Raphael Alves doesn’t tout a secret recipe for soccer success, or a patented blueprint on how to become one of the greats. He prefers to keep it simple, only asking that his pupils show up with two things: a ball and a desire to play.
That’s the kind of culture Alves grew up with in Brazil, where the game of soccer is played on just about every street corner. It doesn’t matter what club you play for, or what color your jersey is. Wherever there’s a ball, there’s a game — even if there’s not a field.
“Without culture, soccer does not work,” Alves said. “In Brazil, it’s ingrained in the culture, everywhere you go. That’s what makes it great.”
For the last two years, Alves — a former pro player — has been coming to the Big Island with his Culture FC club, teaching the game in a variety of ways, some that take players away from the traditional pitch.
On the concrete slabs of Old Kona Airport Park at the basketball courts and hockey rink it comes in the form of futsol — a modified version of soccer played with five players per side on a smaller field.
Last week, the game took on yet another form for the scores of keiki that showed up to Coconut Grove Marketplace through footvolley — thew sport follows the basic rules of beach volleyball but without using hands.
Utilizing some well-placed kicks and headers, the two-on-two game — made up of equal parts circus act and athletic wizardry — attracted a crowd at the Alii Drive sand volleyball court as the Culture FC crew put on a display.
To serve the ball, players tee it up on a mound of sand and kick it over the net. The opposing team gets three touches of the ball before returning it. It’s not as easy as it sounds and certainly not as easy as Alves and Co. made it look.
“People get confused and think it’s impossible at first,” said Alves with a laugh, who plays on a professional footvolley tour. “But once we introduced the techniques and the basics, people fall in love with it.”
The kicker with footvolley is that is provides important training for those looking to improve their game on the soccer field. The creativity and skill set needed to get the ball over the net translates flawlessly to a traditional pitch.
“From youth to the professional levels, there are players who have problems with balls in the air,” Alves said. “When you play footvolley, you are used to balls coming at you from different angles. Then you go back out and play soccer and any ball that comes in the air is a piece of cake.”
Culture FC’s holistic approach to the sport is one that impressed Keone Au, who has taken the reigns as the local organizer for the camps and keeps the game going year-round.
“What they bring is the world perspective,” Au said. “Outside of the US, people are doing things differently. I imagine us all in this small room, doing things a certain way. Then Raphael and his guys knock on the window and say, ‘Hey, look what we’re doing outside.’”
The goal for the group is to have kids playing with a soccer ball — whether is be on grass, concrete or sand — as much as possible.
“The best soccer players in the world achieved that level, not by having great coaches at a young age,” Alves said, “but by playing soccer in the streets with their friends.”
The group has free “open runs” — which are pick-up-like futsol games — and footvolley matches, currently slated for Sundays and Wednesdays at Coconut Grove. Au said he is also in talks to get the Kailua Playground converted into a full-time futsol court.
”Kids only burnout if you are trying to train them all the time. But if you make it something like surfing where it is a ton of fun, they will be kicking and screaming when you tell them it’s time to go home,” Au said. “A kid from Brazil is no different than a kid from Hawaii. It’s just the culture of the sport around them that’s the difference.”
For more information on Culture FC or how to get involved, contact Au at KeoneAu@hotmail.com or call 640-8831.