WHHS is known for many things nationally in both academics and extracurriculars. Many students have a wide range of interests and talents. One unique student within the WHHS community is Spencer Shroyer, ‘20.
Just sixteen years old, Shroyer’s passion to play the up-and-coming sport, futsal, recently gave him the opportunity to compete against the top players and teams in the world in Colombia, South America. This meant a seat at the table against elite, international competition.
Futsal as a game is very much similar to soccer. It is played on a field the size of a basketball court. The sport originates in Montevideo, Uruguay, created by Juan Carlos Ceriani. Ceriani produced five-a-side version of soccer for youth competition in YMCAs.
The most fundamental difference between futsal and soccer is the size of the ball. In futsal, the ball is heavier and smaller, making it less bouncy. Other differences include the fact that there are only five players on each team in futsal, opposed to eleven players for each team in soccer. There is also no offsides rule in futsal, and there are also unlimited substitutions, creating a faster-paced game.
Shroyer has been on the WHHS Men’s Varsity Soccer Team for two years, but futsal was something different entirely. His futsal journey began six years ago, when he signed up to a play for a local futsal team named Ginga. He has continued to play futsal in the winter during the offseason.

Shroyer said playing futsal at a young age “really contributed to developing my skills in soccer at a faster pace.” Little did Shroyer know, six years later he would be given the opportunity to travel to another continent to compete in futsal.
Shroyer was invited to a tryout with hopes to make the U.S. Futsal National Team. Tryouts lasted three days from July 3 to July 5, 2018, with fifty kids trying out and hoping for a position on the team. The following Friday, Shroyer received the amazing news in an email.
He said, “I was so nervous that whole week. My mom called me and told me [I made the team], and I just lost it. I was so happy.”
Shroyer and his mother left with their bags packed July 23, excited for the week-long trip.
He stayed in a hotel in Medellin, rooming with three other teammates. Shroyer said being in a place he had never been before with people he had never met was “really nerve-racking. But once I got to know my teammates, we had a ball.”
The level of talent he faced and went against was “mind-boggling.” The team did not practice together before the trip, yet still went 1-1-1 overall.
“They were some of the best athletes I had ever seen. Fast and strong players, effortless in their movement,” Shroyer said.
All they had was one training session and a team bonding experience, before playing games. The team bonding experience especially resonated with the young Shroyer.
“We went to see a creek and really got to know each other. It was rewarding being able to see the true beauty of Colombia. It really is an amazing country,” Shroyer said.
On an off-day on the trip, the team went sightseeing in their host city of Medellin. The intensity of the city, the streets flooded with vendors, the loud music. Shroyer said of his adventure, “This was by far the coolest trip I have ever experienced.”