I was wondering whether or not practicing indoors will have benefits on outdoor surfaces or will it just be improving my touch on that particular type of surface......?

I always think that playing on concrete/asphalt/indoors helps touch, control and passing. The ball moves faster and bounces so you have to learn to control it better.

Yeah totally agree with both you guy's.

From a keeper's point of view i find it hard to practice on any surface bar grass. Even though i wear 3/4 keeper pants - diving about on this surface hurts like hell!

So all i can do is handling practice - which isn't a bad thing i suppose.

Kingy

Agreed as above.

Also, on flat surfaces, the bounce of the ball is generally more true. So you can actually concentrate on your technique.

I used to train in a sports hall. Perfect bounce every time, so instead of having to adapt to odd bouces like on grass, I could really focus every time on the technique of striking the ball exactly the same every time.

So practicing on concrete surfaces will still be beneficial for grassy surfaces?

Yes. As long as you're also playing on grass. If you JUST play on concrete for a period of time and then go back to grass, you might find a few 'side-effects' such as when you dribble, you won't push the ball as far ahead of you, as a result, on grass you'll get it stuck under your feet.

^ interesting, I've noticed that somehow because I used to play a lot of street football and futsal.
I guess playing indoors is really great for your touch and control, it gives you more confidence. But don't forget that it's also gonna become challenging once you switch to grass because you have to put in mind the trajectory change of the ball etc( and besides who doesn't notice the difference of comfort between soccer cleats and indoor shoes...)

Definitely futsal is good for developing techniques, that's how a lot of good South Americans developed their skills (most notably Ronaldinho).

I play regularly and it develops first touch a lot as well as giving you more confidence on the ball - you see a lot more of it, a minute will rarely pass without touching the ball (unless you aren't seeking it).

The main problem, in my opinion, is that you become more comfortable using the bottom of your shoes playing indoor, because it's easy to control the ball with flat soles. Then on the pitch (particularly with soft-ground studs!!) ball control feels a lot harder. So if you grow accustomed to using the sole of your shoes, you better make sure you buy firm-ground boots for the outdoor season, because they have better stud formations for controlling the ball with foot soles. Still, it won't be as easy as using indoor shoes.

^good post, i need to play futsal but theres no futsal clubs naer my area. I'm gonna join one though for the offseason.

thanks for the info esepecially Renee.

iagreed make sure u pracice on grass also..

and make sure u practice with ur cleats...

cuz thats the shoes ur gonna waer...

so u must get use to it