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The participants of the first ever floorball trainingcamp on U.S. soil.
The first ever men's camp was held in February '04. One participant was Juha Mikkola, a Finn residing in Toronto. He wrote a logg we have decided to post here. To find his original posting visit his website. Here you can also find links to photos from the camp.
We want to thank Whole Foods Market for their support of the camp.
Training Camp Day One
Highlights of the day: Training, Part 1 of the RefClinic, and more Training :)
After driving 750 miles yesterday just to get here,finally playing some floorball was an awesome feeling! My roommates, Philip andPeter, are both from Switzerland. The guys are around my age and very nice andas it turns out both are excellent floorball players. After introductions byAdam Troy and Ollie Rupp, the camp got underway with some light jogs, passingdrills, and goalie warm ups. After that the real fun started. Adam’s longlist of drills included some quite complex passing, shooting, and drop passexercises. Stay tuned to FBC practice to see some of these drills make theirCanadian debut! Adam has promised to photocopy his drill book for us. Thatshould be fun. Anyway, after an hour and 30 minutes of drills, we split up intotwo teams (we have 12 players and 3 goalies here) and played 5 minute longscrimmage games to practice the 2-1-2 combination. After three games, a total oftwo goals were scored, both by our team. Daniel, a Norwegian-American scored theopening goal from my assist, and I put one in later in the drill. Unfortunately,the goal didn’t count for some reason, probably because I’mrepresenting the Canadians After an exciting first day of camp, I’mlooking forward to the referee clinic and anything else that we might have planned for today.
Here’s a quick Listof People at the Camp:
From Texas: Jefe (Chief), Chris, and Lee
From Bay Area,California: Zack and Calle
From NorthCarolina: John (goalie), Arup, Kimmo, and Ollie
From Norway:Daniel
From Switzerland: Peter andPhillip
From Sweden: Adam (goalie)
At the referee clinic, we sawanother, more professional side to Daniel as he morphed from player to refereeinstructor. His educational slides were made on the computer. So Daniel promisedto send them to us! He is an actual referee instructor in Norway. This refereecourse usually takes 12 hours, but we are trying to complete it in 6 hours.We’re going to be BUSY! Besides going through half of all the IFF rules,we also were encouraged to voice our questions and in the process I learned alot of new things. If anyone has nay questions they have about the rules, pleaseemail me and I’ll ask Daniel tomorrow. Anyway, here are some goodies:
- The visiting team gets to choosewhich side they want to put their blade in a face-off: not the team that gotscored on like we thought. In the defensive zone, the defensive team always getsto choose their side. The main things to note here are that the blades must beperpendicular to the centerline, as the feet must be, too. Both feet must be anequal distance from the centerline.
- Hitting the shaft of the opposing player’s stick with your stick is always a2-minute penalty. (Charles, how many times has someone hit your shaft? Just lookat the thing...)
- Dangerous play by hittingthe body or reckless play results in a 5-minute penalty.
- Stepping on someone’s blade and falling is not an offence. If an injury occurs, resume play with aface-off.
- Goalies must be given threemeters to throw the ball, but this is counted from where the goalie picked upthe ball, not from where he throws it. If the player tries to block the throwwithin three meters, it’s a penalty, but if he is just unintentionally hit, then it is a free hit.
- Hitting the ball out-of-play intentionally (including goalies kicking the ball) is always a 2-minute penalty
- You can’t pass backto the goalie until the ball has crossed the centerline. This is enforced evenif the goalie kicks the ball or if the goalie “protects” it with hishands without passing it out.
- A goalie can’t wait to grab the ball by protecting it with his hands to waste time.He only has three to five seconds.
A small Canada Cup update: so far, North Carolina has expressed serious interest to senda team. I donated the Canada Cup shirt to Arup as requested by Ollie, and heloved it! Texas is doubtful, but they might send a few players. The Bay Areaguys might also show up. A lot depends on who ends up making the US NationalTeam, as those who make it will be so strapped for cash that they can’tcome to Toronto. Ollie also promised to look into their insurance policy to seeif it would cover our tournament as required by the U of T.
After the clinic, we went back to playinganother two hours! Pretty much the same drills... and a little bit morescrimmage action with our set teams. I managed to get on the scoreboard with twogoals and an assist, including a beauty on a great pass from Peter, my roommate.I am playing left wing and really learning where I should be on the field at alltimes, i.e. covering the defenders or dropping back to help the center.Unfortunately I’ve had some trouble with my stick (the HOD 32 is too softand the 23 is too hard for this field!) so I have been alternating with both. IfI only had my trusty old 25 ;-) After a decent pasta dinner, it’s time toclose the first day of camp and see what happens tomorrow.
Training Camp Day Two
Highlights of the Day: Some More Drills, RefereeCertification, A Couple of Goals, and 'Canes Hockey!
Day two is upon us. Slept in today, as I needed agood 8 hours to recharge after yesterday. We started with the regular warm-ups– dribbling, dekeing, passing, and shooting. After that, we did somepassing drills, like the string pass, and also some one-timer and redirectionpractice.
We played five games in themorning. Peter was definitely the star of the game for our team. Our team scoredtwo goals, and Peter got both of them, including a really nice shot off of ournew free shot routine that we developed earlier. Peter and Daniel stand in thecentre, and I go in front of the net to bother the goalie. I managed a goodscreen on the goal and Peter put a great shot in the open net. No points for mein the games today, but I had a few good chances, including a pass to Peter infront that just deflected wide of thenet.
After morning training, it was back to the referee clinic. Some stuff to note from the referee clinic today:
- If the ball is lodged on top of thenet or on the back of the net blow the whistle for a face-off. Same thing if youhave made a mistake and want to resume thegame.
- Free hit if the opponent tries toplay the ball between the other guy’s feet.
- Jumping happens only when both feet leavethe ground.
- If a free hit is hitincorrectly or too slowly, the free hit is given to the otherteam
- Delaying the game: there is no legalpossibility to get the ball if the player has the ball up against the rink withhis feet wide apart. If the ball is still moving, this is a free shot. Thepenalty is if you are not even trying to play theball.
- Equipment:
o Stick:the maximum curve allowed is 3 cm +/- 3 mm. This is measured to inside (lowerpart) of the blade. The blade doesn’tcount.
o The penalty given is a match penaltyand a 5 min penalty for the team.
o Thecaptain can request the measurement, but if the blade is okay, thecaptain’s team gets a 2 minpenalty.
o Rings, piercing, or jewelry shouldbe taken off or taped over. The only headwear allowed is those with elastics,i.e. head bands, but no hats or bandanas. If a player does not comply,it’s a two-minute penalty, if they still don’t comply, thenit’s a red card.
- Home team usuallyappoints the secretariat.
- Holding is acommon offense. It is called for both holding the player and the stick,including if a goalie is holding a player or a stick. It’s always atwo-minute penalty.
- Obstruction is blockingwhen you are not going for the ball. Always a two-minute penalty.
- Playing the ball on the ground is atwo-minute penalty.
- There is no leeway withchanging offences – players should know how this works! Refs should call atwo-minute penalty immediately.
- If you loseyour stick, any play other than going for your stick is a two-minute penalty. Ifyour stick breaks, go and pick-up the pieces, and go to your BENCH, orit’s a two-minute penalty.
- If aplayer protests, you can give them a 2-minute penalty. The captain is allowedmore leeway as he has permission to talk to the referee. Spontaneous reactionshould be allowed and disregarded.
- If aplayer leaves from the penalty box early or late, it’s a two-minutepenalty. The secretariat keeps track of this stuff, and they should notify thereferee.
- Only two-minute penalties can beserved at once. If a single player gets multiple 2-minute penalties, they mustserve them in succession. 10-minute penalties are personal. If there are morethan two separate two-minute penalties, the third one is only served after thefirst one is over.
- Roughing against thegoalcage or very rough play should be a 5-minutepenalty.
- MatchPenalties:
o OneGame:
o If the hook of the blade is toomuch.
o If the player is not on the matchprotocol.
o TwoGame:
o Mildfighting
o ThreeGame:
o If you start afight.
- 2x 2+10 is a red card (i.e. matchpenalty)
- 2+10 Unsportsmanlike conduct(cursing, throwing the stick) Sign is your first high in thesky.
- 5-minute penalty for throwing thestick
- Penalty shot: benches must be totallyquiet on both sides. The ball has to move forward at all times. Provocativecheers after a goal in front of the other team is a 2+10 minpenalty.
- For a serious injury, you shouldstop play immediately and stop thetime.
- When you as a referee are playing,don’t talk bad to your refereecolleagues!
- Do not do compensation calls:just block out the call you missed.
- Refereeoutfit has to be professional: wear black shorts, black t-shirt, and blackshorts if there are no professionaloutfits.
- Stand up straight and show themthat you are the boss!
- Do not talk toplayers or fans that you know – ignore them during the game to avoid anysigns of favoritism.
- Stuff youneed:
o Referee shirt and shorts, whistle,red card, measuring tape, pen & paper, rules book, match protocol, and tapefor substitution zones
o Just don’tlook in the book during the game!!
After the referee clinic, we were all presented with USFA Referee Certificates from Ollieand Daniel for completing Referee-Level 1 training! We are now USFA certifiedreferees.
After the clinic, it was back toplaying some floorball. Drills, drills, and more drills, including some newvariations to get us to pass the ball better, and to play our system better. Weneed to know where we should be at all times. After practices, we played 30minutes of games. Things went much better for me now than they did in themorning, as I scored both of our team’s goals. One came off a niceshot/pass by Daniel as I was in front of the net. I stopped the ball and slid itunder the goalie. The other one was definitely lucky, my centering pass frombehind the net banked in off the goalie and scored. The rest of the games werereally tight, and I think the other team scored a few goals on us too.
After the practice, we hit up the hottub with Peter, and then got ready for our “mystery team activity”.To our huge surprise, we headed to the RBC Center to watch the Hurricanes! Agreat game against the Washington Capitals ended in a 3-3 tie. Pavol Brendl forthe Canes and Olaf Kolzig for the Capitals were the starts of thenight.
That’s it for day two. Tomorrow will be our last day of training. In the evening we’ll have our firsttournament games. I am joining the Triangle Area Team and I’ll get to facethis US team soon!
Training Camp Day Three
Highlight of the day: Training Camp Finishes and theGames Begin!
Our last training camp session took place in themorning, with us recapping a few of the drills we have learned so well. Weplayed some scrimmage games at the end, but the game was quite defensive, andthere were no goals scored by my team. We then took the afternoon off to go eatat Whole Foods, who kindly sponsored us with $500 for the team to use on food.After a great lunch, I took a nap for a few hours, and then went to have a smalldinner with Calle and Daniel. I then began to get ready for the game, and met afew Czech guys playing for Team NY, one of who won silver at the Elite A Levelin the Czech Open last year! You can imagine Team NY will be incredibly strongtomorrow:) After some warm ups and meeting the Triangle Select team, it was timeto start playing some competitivefloorball...
GameRecap:
Triangle Select 3 at Team USA 7
JuhaMikkola 2+0
Our first game was abit disappointing when looking at the score, but we felt we gave Team USA apretty good run for their money. Andreas, our team captain/GM, did an amazing job getting us beautiful Nike jerseys with our names and numbers on the back (photos will be posted soon). The game started with USA getting a quick 3-0 lead, which we managed to cut to 4-2, until USA scored a 5th goal to put the game away. USA's team tactics were obviously much better than ours, but Anders and I managed a good fore-check that seemed to put the weaker US defenders in alot of trouble. Considering we never practiced what to do when there's a strongfore-check present, I think we might have caught the US team a little bit offguard. Our first goal was a shot by Anders, and our second was a great pass by Anders to me in the centre, which deflected off my foot and counted because thereferees luckily missed the kick :) The third goal was off a pretty passingplay, Anders to Andreas, then back to me on the right side. I got off a prettyweak one-timer that somehow beat Lee along the floor. During the game, I tried to play a mix of the forward positions and play some responsible defense, that resulted in a few steals and more importantly in three or four blocked shots.Playing a full 60-minutes was a new experience, and I obviously noticed that Igot tired in my fore-check, but things went more or less okay. However, I wasreally surprised though by the amount of physical play from both teams,including a body check by my pal Peter in center field. I still think Team USAwill get itself into penalty trouble in the World Championships if they keep up this line of play...
Stay tuned forsome recaps from tomorrow:
Team NY - Team USA8 AM
Team USA - Triangle Select 10AM
Team NY - Triangle Select 12noon
Thanks for reading :)
Training Camp Day Four
Highlights of the day: Triangle Select goes 0 and 2but team improves towards the end
Game 1: Triangle Select 5 vs. NY Team 10(Mikkola 0+1)
New York came into the game tired from taking on Team USA, but it didn't show on the court. We got thoroughly outplayed and again fell behind early. Through out the two games, I played a mix of center and left wing, and at first tried to set players up.Unfortunately, I tweaked my groin in this match, making side to side movement painful and sometimes difficult. My only personal highlight came in the secondperiod, as I sprung Andreas on a break-away with a short flip pass from center.I also hit the cross bar after a save by David (NY Goalie) deflected the ball upwards. I had quite a few shots in this game, but nothing to show for it in the goal column.
Game 2: TriangleSelect 4 vs. Team USA 7 (Mikkola2+0)
We really wanted to play a good game vs. the US, but playing back-to-back games had us all a little tired to begin the game. A few silly mistakes by the team (and myself) resulted in a 7-1 beating in the first period. The star for USA was Philip "Pip" with 4 goals! Lee started the game for us in net and was screened on most of the goals scored, but he didn't . Our team did an amazing job to pick-up our play for the 2nd and 3rdperiods though, which we won from Team USA with a combined score of 3-0 ,including two goals by me. My last two goals against the US in our first game were admittedly very lucky, but today I managed to put in a few pretty ones.What made them extra special was scoring against Adam Troy, Team USA's regular goalie. The first goal came in the second period as I streaked down the leftwing, deked defenseman Jefe to the outside, and then placed a snap shot fromclose range into the upper right hand corner of the net. The second goal came in the third period, from a pretty ("foot") pass from Josef, the game me a partialbreak-away down-low. Lacking space, I moved in on Adam from the left side, faked to the forehand, and snuck the ball under him with a quick backhand move. A really enjoyable game from a personal and a team perspective, not counting the horrific first period. It would have been nice to face Team USA one more time, as I believe we could have had a good chance to beat them.
Our jerseys are cool Nike burgundy red, with big white numbers and our last namesprinted on them. Mine obviously says #28 Mikkola. I'll post some more photos online soon :)
Training Camp Day Five
Highlights of the Day: A Bad Defeat Ends an Otherwise Amazing Camp
The last day of the training camp/mini-tournament featured another NY-USA match-up and NY-Triangle game. The NY-USA game was close and exciting, with Team USA rallying from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game 4-4.
Our game, however, was one of themost embarrassing I have ever been a part of:
Triangle Select 1 at NY Team23
Juha Mikkola 0+0 +1-8
Yep, you read that right, a tired NY team scored 23 times in 60 minutes to thoroughly defeat the TriangleTeam! For some reason, our team was not moving at all, and not committed to playing any type of defense, despite the addition of Ollie and Kimmo from theTeam USA squad. Especially notable was our first line (1A) which was on for 15 setbacks by my count, and Goalie John's difficulty with some of the NY shooters. I was on for our only a goal, a nice back hand shot by Anders, but also for atleast 8 setbacks, many of them shots from the slot. I had a few very nice passes to set-up my line mates but unfortunately they did not result in goals. A bad end to an otherwise exciting tournament. Thanks to Andreas and the entire Triangle Select squad for including me on their team and letting me play! Despite the loss, I had an awesome time, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
I'd like to thank everyonewho played a part in making this camp and tournament so much fun! Special thanks go out to Ollie, for organizing all this and for always being so accessible andhelpful, Adam, for running the camp and teaching us so much, Daniel, for all the referee tips, and Kimmo, for graciously inviting us to his house and feeding us on Saturday. Of course, special thanks to Andreas for organizing the TriangleSelect team and our fine jersyes. Hopefully we will see all of you at the Canada Cup in April or at the East Coast Tournament over Labor DayWeekend.
Thanks again for inviting meto attend this awesome event! |
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Floorball California's Report from the U.S. Championships!
10.08.31 The US National floorball Championship tournament hosted by myself, Erik Larsson of floorballca.com, was played August 14-15, 2010 at The-Rinks in Huntington Beach, California. It was played in combination with the 3rd annual US Open Championships. 
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Taking Aim at 2012!
10.08.23 In February of this year the U.S. Men’s Team fell to Canada but preparations for the next World Floorball Championships Qualification games are already in full swing.
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The USFA becomes the USFbA!
As you might have noticed the USA Floorball Association acronym has been changing on the website. The work is not yet complete but we feel we should inform everyone why. The simple fact is that the USFA is the US Fencing Associaton.
We where not aware of this and aplogise to the USFA for any inconvinience this might have caused them. We also send thanks for their understanding in this matter.
We will continue the work with changing the acronyms on the website until it is complete. So from now on the USA Floorball Association is know as the USFbA. |
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