T

here’s a new sport set to take the world by storm. And it’s uniquely Indonesian.

The SuperSkills Soccer program has developed 1v1, combining outdoor soccer skills with the philosophy of martial arts, where players meet in combat style matches. And the best thing about it? It can be played with anybody, anytime, anywhere.

SuperSkills teaches the secrets of expert dribbling and complete ball mastery. Picture the true ball artists of the game, like Lionel Messi and Nani. But the aim is not to create better outdoor soccer players, although this is often one of the consequences as national representative Dale Mullholland admits. “This [1v1] is not soccer as we know it,” Mullholland says. “If 11v11 is the ultimate team game, then this is just the opposite.”

SuperSkills has been seven years in the making, with the program going public one year ago. It’s aim? “Enlightenment through the relentless pursuit of soccer excellence,” Mullholland says, reciting the organization’s mission statement. “It’s about education. Our vision is that it’s teaching them [the students] how to train themselves and become excellent athletes. There are a lot of benefits that come with that.”

American-born Mullholland was a professional outdoor player himself, playing 14 professional seasons in Europe, the US and Israel. Now a qualified Asian Football Confederation (AFC) coach, he first came to Indonesia in 1998, before settling here in 2002. In 2007, Mullholland began as Arsenal Soccer Schools Indonesia’s Director of Coaching, and in 2009 also became the General Manager.

However, Mullholland left Arsenal in March 2011 to focus entirely on SuperSkills, a very different
initiative from the big-name branded international soccer schools.

Currently, SuperSkills operates in nine locations throughout Jakarta, and between all locations, with sessions running daily. The classes are for both boys and girls, and whilst currently participants range between four and 14 years of age, everyone is welcome, provided they are old enough to follow the routines and drills.

Classes run for 100 minutes, starting off with skill development and finishing off with 1v1 combat sessions. About 160 kids are participating in SuperSkills across Jakarta. “Our goal is to get 400 students,” Mullholland says.

With classes held in martial arts dojos, they run every week of the year and are never cancelled due to holidays or weather conditions. Another thing SuperSkills lends from the world of martial arts is its unique belt system. As one of the co-founders of SuperSkills, Mullholland explains. “What we did was break down the skills and movements into categories, and then belted them like in martial arts, so they have to master one group before they can move on to the next.”

One of the categories students have to master before they can test is playing in a 1v1 tournament. The inaugural national 1v1 tournament was held in September 2011, with the next tournament scheduled for March 12, to be held at the Pro Arena Futsal Dojo.

Richard Azreg, a UEFA licensed coach, has been coaching the outdoor game for almost 13 years, including in the Middle East, Africa, the US, Argentina, Denmark and Sweden. Azreg met Mullholland at the Arsenal school and is a SuperSkills head coach, or as he is more aptly referred to, a dojo master.

Azreg believes that the SuperSkills program will work, because of one word: development. “Learning young is learning for life,” he says. “You don’t come to [SuperSkills to] compete. This is why I believe this is going to be successful. The purpose is really development.”

So what does the future hold for 1v1? “I just want 1v1 to be recognized as an Olympic sport and for us to have a world champion [and] people who are professionals playing this game,” Mullholland says. He aims to start expanding the sport internationally this year, and have 1v1 as a demonstration sport at the 2020 Olympic Games.