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Looking for a fun activity that will help you improve your hockey skills and complement your off-ice training? Let us introduce you to floorball!
Coaches at all of the youth hockey organizations encourage off-season sports and activities to improve your athleticism. Soccer, basketball, racquetball, and tennis are all promoted as excellent activities. Well, floorball has them all beat for the following reasons:
- Improves your agility
- Promotes team play and competition
- Provides excellent cardiovascular conditioning
- Improves hockey-specific skills – stick handling & hand-eye coordination
- Improves your ability to see plays developing
- No prior experience or training required
- Can be played anywhere – a gym, recreation center, parking lot, even your garage!
- No special equipment needed – a stick, ball, T-shirt, shorts and sneakers.
- All ages can play together – from 6 or 7 year olds through adult. Boys and girls alike!
- IT’S FUN!!!
Many European born NHL players use floorball as their dry land training of choice. Organizations like Hockey Canada, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, the Durham Hockey Institute and the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey School are involved with the sport. Sacred Heart University has recently begun using floorball for dry land training. NHL stars such as Marian Gaborik, Mats Sundin, Henrik Lundqvist, and last year’s goal leader Henrik Sedin play floorball. Talk to your hockey associations about including floorball in their off-ice training.
Schools all across the country are starting to incorporate floorball into their PE programs and for after school activities. You can play floorball anywhere there is a smooth surface – indoors or outside. Gyms, basketball courts and sport courts are ideal locations. You can practice with a floorball stick and ball in your garage, basement, or driveway. Since you play with a lightweight stick and plastic ball, you don’t have to worry about causing any damage to floors or walls – something you can’t say about a hockey stick and puck.
Get your friends and hockey teammates to form a team for regular competition. Unlike other sports, teams can be made up of all ages and can be coed. Play with or without a goalie. Freely substitute players and everyone gets lots of ‘touches’.
Finally, you can learn to do amazing tricks with a floorball stick and ball. Learn some of the basic “zorro” moves in floorball and amaze your coach and teammates with your stick handling on the ice.
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