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Sweating in the Name of Fun
By JUMOKE R. GAMBLE, "The News & Observer on the Web"
"They were getting whacked with sticks, it was getting too rough," said Rupp, who discovered a new game for his students and became the founder of North Carolina's only floorball/unihockey group.
Things changed after Rupp attended a physical education conference in Florida almost five years ago. Peter Skantze, a Swedish professor at MIT in Boston, introduced the game of floorball -- a combination of hockey, soccer and basketball -- to Rupp and fellow educators. The game's lightweight sticks and whiffle ball appealed to Rupp. He introduced the game to his students and some friends on his local soccer team.
"Floorball sticks are easy to handle and won't cause injury," said 31-year old Jeff Morris, a member of Rupp's group. "The rules are more benign. If you raise the stick past your knee, there is a penalty called."
Soon, a core group of 10 friends started renting rink time every week at the Soccer Dome in Raleigh. Many of them use the game for conditioning and relieving job stress. Rupp says now an ever-changing mix of people come out each week.
Asia Niedziela, a 27-year-old Durham resident from Poland, has been playing with the group for over a year. She says the fast pace of the game and the teamwork immediately hooked her. Despite having flu symptoms, she was there on Sunday in 100-degree weather. She fought for position, flailed her stick at a whiffle ball, sweated profusely and loved every minute of it.
"Most people play floorball and can't stop coming," Niedziela said. "I'm not the most athletic person, but I like to work up a sweat. I especially like the the team cooperation. It's a unisex sport. There's a community feeling of working toward the same goal."
People have taken to the game for different reasons. All participants agree, however, that the continuous action of the game is good exercise. They play up to six-on-six for one hour with no timeouts and no referees.
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Photo By Scott Sharpe
Durham resident Asia Niedziela sets up to make a pass during the weekly unihockey/floorball gathering at the Soccer Dome in Raleigh. |
Dan Wilkinson rides his bike to work three miles every day. The 41-year-old engineer was introduced to floorball by a friend, Don Moffitt. Wilkinson says that over the past eight months floorball has provided him with another way to work out.
"And it's up to you how far you want to take it," he said. "You can relax and play defense or really get involved and try to score goals."
Moffitt, who is between jobs, says cost is a major part of floorball's allure.
"All you need is the stick and indoor soccer shoes or flat-soled shoes with no tread,'' Moffitt said as he waited his turn in the rink. "Then you get a heck of a workout."
Sticks are provided for the majority of the players, but some choose to buy personal sticks, costing as little as $12.
Darius Ejlali, 34, is one of five group members who play soccer and use floorball for cross training. Recently, Ejlali has been bringing his 5-year-old son, Dylan, to the games. He says floorball is the best way to get a workout that is safe enough to have his son participate.
"At first, I felt that I was imposing by bringing Dylan," Ejlali said, his shirt drenched in sweat. "But everyone is very supportive."
That embracing atmosphere is what makes people come back, says Ejlali. Initially, the group met once a week. About two years ago, the group had blossomed to 20 regulars and decided to set up a five-team league for eight weeks. The experiment failed because the fun quickly gave way to heated competition.
"We saw guys starting to take the game too seriously," Ejlali said. "We started keeping score and people started contesting the calls."
After the tournament, the group decided not to reorganize in that format. Ejlali says they haven't experienced the same turnout since, and the group still would like to figure out an amicable way to conduct more tournaments.
Similarities to other sports gives floorball legitimacy to first-time players.
Andy Jones, 26, played street hockey growing up in Washington D.C., and was looking for a group to play with.
"This game is much more tame, but it's similar because the team that does the best passing usually wins," Jones, a Raleigh resident, said.
Eric Golder, 30, admits to being a huge soccer fan. He says floorball was easy for him to start playing "because it shares basic skills concepts with soccer like spreading out the field, controlling the ball and passing."
Floorball's roots derive from the U.S. game floor hockey in the 1950s. The game was originally introduced as a team game for youngsters and played indoors with a light plastic puck and plastic sticks. The sticks look like ice hockey sticks with a soft blade that bends easily. In the late 1960s, the game was introduced in Sweden and quickly became popular in schools and youth clubs. Eventually, the original floor hockey gave way to the more popular floorball. The simplicity of the game's rules and equipment made it very attractive for people seeking recreation.
"In Sweden, you can see people walking around the streets with floorball sticks," Rupp said. "It's a common and growing game."
Soon countries around the world began playing the game competitively. The International Floorball Federation was founded in Huskavarna, Sweden, in 1986. A world championship is played every other year for men and women, but the United States doesn't participate.
Enthusiasts in this country, however, are taking steps to make the game more popular. The first step was modifying the game so that young kids could learn it and grow with it. To facilitate high scoring, hockey-sized goals are used. Also the goaltender has been eliminated.
With the influx of Europeans working in Research Triangle Park, the Triangle group expects more people participants soon.
"We are definitely trying to spread the word and playing every week is a wonderful way to do it," Niedziela said. "People just need to give it a chance then maybe there will be more groups like us."
© 1999 Jumoke R. Gamble