The rain continues to pour down overhead. The seemingly optimistic weekend has turned into a dreary morning with the hope of playing soccer washed away into the drainage ditches.

Rain and weather conditions have long been the bane of many outside sports. The unpredictability of the weather has led many to resort to alternative ways to play, including playing inside. One of these indoor facilities, 5aside Texarkana, recently opened. This marks the first indoor soccer facility in town that the public can use.

The decision to make the indoor facility initially sprang from the Gaylor’s children and their liking of soccer.

“I guess it started with my kids’ growing interest in competitive soccer [and] knowing that in terms of soccer training and getting better at soccer it would [benefit them],” owner Aaron Gaylor said. “There is a strong phenomenon for getting kids to train indoors called Futsal.”

Futsal is different than the traditional version of soccer in various ways. For instance, the rules regarding play and the fact that it is played indoors both differ from the traditional game.

“A Futsal field tends to be no less than the size of a professional basketball court,” Gaylor said. “Ours is sort of a hybrid [in the aspect of size] because we bought an existing building.”

Another unique feature about Futsal is the lack of boundaries allowing for continuous play.

“[Futsal] is a sport that has walls so that the ball will never go out of bounds unless it goes higher than the wall itself,” Gaylor said. “It keeps play going and makes it more fun. You can play off of the wall and there are some strategies to that, but [the wall] is mainly to keep the ball going.”

There are many ways one can use the facility, ranging from pickup matches to a full-on league.

“We have leagues that are starting next week. We just finished up registration for the season this week,” Gaylor said. “The facility is also open for pickup games for those with memberships.”

Also on the property is another building, this one being used for martial arts and other related activities. As of now, only Lacy’s Shotokan Karate is using the smaller facility.

“We’re looking for trainers and individuals that are entrepreneurial that want to have their own use of a facility to build their business, whether it be yoga, zumba or some kind of group exercise,” Gaylor said.

Gaylor feels that the 5aside facility will bring together soccer enthusiasts across town, regardless of age.

“There are a lot of soccer-playing people in this town, including adults,” Gaylor said. “With weather issues in town, I knew that indoor was going to fill that void.”