WHAT THE BLEEP IS FLOORBALL?

One of the most exciting parts of my job is the chance I get to meet so many great hockey people — from the parents of my little Learn-to-skate kids to my fellow CoachChic.com members to some awesome professionals (many of whom have contributed to these pages).

Consequently, I’m as excited to have Greg Beaudin share with us some very interesting information on a hot topic here, floorball.

As you’ll discover, Greg knows his stuff.  So, here he is, answering a question many of you may have asked (but not necessarily in such a colorful way)...

Innebandy(Swedish), SaliBandy(Finnish), Unihockey(Swiss/German) and Floorball are all the same sport, just different names to reflect regionality. The International Sport Governing Body is known as the International Floorball Federation and the IOC recognizes “FLOORBALL” as the parent term to describe the sport.  The Canadian Federation is simply known as “Floorball Canada” (FC) and in the US, they are known as the US Floorball Association(USFbA)

By Greg Beaudin

Floorball is a sport for Everyone.  It has a MASSIVE opportunity to be a leading team sport option at the recreational level through schools, youth groups, community centers, adult sport and social clubs, hockey associations, seniors activity groups, disabled sports communities and just about any group in Canada that is trying to be active in sports.

As a Hockey Player, Instructor, Coach, Parent and owner/operator of Modern Hockey I have a pretty solid understanding of all varieties and brands of “Hockey”.  As I began to learn about Floorball, I started to embrace it for the following characteristics.

The Equipment:

• The Sticks are brilliant, engineered for safety and performance. They look slick, feel super light, yet can handle the flex power of an NHLer, they are totally ergonomic for Gym play, unlike the floorhockey sticks that have been around our schools for the past 30 years.  A Floorball stick is the perfect balance between power, creativity and control, a stickhandlers dream!
• The Ball is like a whiffle ball at first glance. Take a closer look and you will discover that the dimple pattern, and design allow for harder shots, true ball flight and when you block a 100kmh shot, it doesn’t hurt or leave a welt.  A Floorball is the perfect balance between power, creativity and control, a stickhandlers dream!

Simplicity– see above…all you need to play is a stick and a ball.

Accessibility & Affordability– I liken Floorball to Soccer, no expensive equipment to prevent you from playing hockey and super easy to just start playing.  Sticks are very light, yet strong meaning that they work for young and old, girls, boys and wheelchair athletes can really enjoy Floorball too.

Speed– Floorball moves really fast, the ball moves faster than a hockey puck and it keeps the body moving at all times.

Fitness– The speed, movement and flow of Floorball is very cardiovascular and it’s the main reason why NHL players play Floorball regularly in the Off-season.

Spirit– Having played Ice Hockey, Inline Hockey, Ball-Hockey, Street Hockey, Pond Hockey, FloorHockey and just about every other brand of Hockey out there, I can honestly say that the Spirit of Floorball truly promotes sportsmanship and fairness like no other, It’s built right in to the culture of the game, like Ultimate.  It keeps the goonery out of the sport so that everyone can enjoy, have fun and remain highly competitive at the same time.

Rules– The rules are very smart and well written to increase offense, and game flow while promoting speed and skill.  A well refereed game will completely eliminate Hacking and Whacking and encourage smart plays, rewarding both well played offensive attacks and super-smart defensive positioning.

International Growth– Floorball is the fastest growing team sport in the World!  Now that Floorball is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, we will see worldwide growth accelerate.

FUN, FUN, FUN!- scoring goals, making plays, great saves, creative dangles, and all the greatness of Hockey rolled up in to a brand of Hockey that is affordable, accessible, safe and wicked Fun!

PS: Greg’s post is actually a reprint from my previous CoachChic.com site, but it’s just as valuable today as it was just a few years ago.