Overall Goal is to Make Floorball Grow

The first game for the Men's U19 team at the World Floorball Championships approaches rapidly. Team USA will face Hungary at 15:30 CET this Wednesday. General Manager Daniel Palm's work is coming to a head as the team finally enters the court.

All the players have handed in their passports for the pending technical meeting and General Manager Daniel Palm, who has few moments to breath during the WFC sits down for some Q and A.

We are closing in on the first game against Hungary, how does it feel?
- It feels good I think. It's going to be a great experience for these guys. We have been working on this for quite a while, getting things together. Definitely the excitement has built up and we are getting there. It's going to be great. We have a good team and a good leadership staff. It's going to be good. We are really excited, says G.M. Daniel Palm.

Palm has been involved as G.M. since the beginning of 2014 and has been working on getting everything set for about 15 months. Things really started getting intense the last couple months as the final logistics where getting done as well as getting the final spots on the squad filled.

What difficulties have you faced?
- Let's be honest. U.S. passport holder born between 1999 and 1996 that play floorball don't grow on trees. So it's not easy finding players but I think we have done a really good job. We found the guys we are looking for. We found a handful of technically really good players living in Europe but the bulk of players reside in the U.S. so we really had to try to find players that may have a good background in a different sport, like hockey. We picked a lot of technically skilled hockey players that we have converted to floorball.

What makes hockey players good floorball players?
- Hockey and floorball are somewhat similar. There are going to be a lot of differences but the basic game, it's five on five and you have a goalie, is the same. Also the positions are somewhat similar but it is mainly the stickhandling, the technique. If you're a smallish and technically skilled hockey player than you can do ok with a floorball stick.

And how do you get the hockey players to keep playing floorball?
- Now that is tough! Obviously we want them to continue playing floorball but we also told them we realize hockey may be priority one for them and that's ok. But floorball is so good for hockey players on so many different levels. It's such a good off ice practice tool they can use and more and more hockey teams in the U.S. realize it and that's great. So for these guys we hope they can take floorball back to their teams and they can continue with floorball off the ice. It's going to be really good for them and their peers. The goal is that they can get their peers to play. Maybe guys that don't play hockey can come and play. The overall goal of the U19 effort is to make floorball grow in the U.S. says G.M. Daniel Palm.

Floorball is huge in Sweden. And the sport has a much higher status in Sweden than in the states. Most of the players didn't know what to expect when they arrived. You can only prepare players so much without the actually being on site. Most have yet to realize that they are at the World Floorball Championships and will soon be facing some of the best nations in the world. After a couple practices in the arenas and occasionally passing other teams at the hotel the feeling seems to be sinking in with most. But the real feeling is sure to hit with the national anthem as the team lines up to face Hungary.

What do you expect from the first game?
- It's going to be tough. Hungary is a good team. I don't want to predict the result but we want them to grow as a team. We want them to start off with Hungary and then if they play well that is good but we want them to improve every game. We want them to grow as a team and individually. But I expect it is going to be a good game and we just want these guys to evolve and develop their skills and their floorball thinking. I think we're getting there. It will be a good game.

And what do you think the U19 means for the development of floorball in the states?
- I think it's a big thing when it comes to developing the sport. The men's team and the women's team  have been around for a long time and in order for the sport to really grow the natural next step is creating the men's and women's under-19. You need the youth, you need the young players to start playing. We really need the guys in this age group. They are going to have a great experience and then they go back and then they will introduce their friends to floorball. I think it's a really huge thing for us to be able to do this because I think this is one of the things that may actually really break the ice and just have the sport explode says G.M. Daniel Palm.

Floorball is indeed on the cusp of exploding in the States and North America as a whole. Keep an eye on this website and our social media channels for the latest updates on floorball in America and the adventures of our national teams.

You will be able to watch all of Team USA's games on the IFF YouTube channel 2 here. The first game, against Hungary, starts at 15:30 CET on Wednesday the 29^th of April.