Before getting to the actual interview, I would just like to begin by thanking Juha Mikkola of
floorballpro.com for the opportunity to interview him and get some insight about the growing sport of floorball. The overall interview was very enjoyable and exceeded all of my expectations. For those of you who do not know what Floorball is, just keep reading as Juha did a very good job of explaining the sport in the interview, he also touched on some other issues related to the sport and his hopes for the future. The interview questions will be in bold, with Juha's responses below them. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed interviewing.
D: Alright, so first of all: introduce both yourself and what it is you do in relation to the sport of Floorball.
JM: Well, my name is Juha Mikkola and what I do in terms of my work is two-fold. My main area of work is 'floorballpro' where we provide equipment for the sport such as: sticks, balls, among other things in over 50 retailers. We also are the main marketers of the sport in Canada, with our main focus being to provide people interested, with an opportunity to play the game. It is also a really good way for kids (in Canada especially) to develop hockey-related skills and get a good level of athletic training in a safe and enjoyable way. The other branch of my work has a lot to do with Floorball Canada, and Floorball at the grassroots level. Essentially, I am trying to bring the sport to Canada and get people playing, we also organize the Canada Cup; which is an open Floorball tournament and we expect about 70 teams this year. I mean, I just love the sport and want it to be popular!
D: So would you say that you are among the leaders in Canada when it comes to Floorball?
JM: Yeah, I would say that I am one of the leaders for it here in Canada, I mean, we were the first to introduce the business here in Canada, and we also started from zero basically. Also, I really wanted to play the game myself, having grown up with it. I will also add that we have come a long way from our beginnings at U of T in 2002, when we actually started. We were given a 9am time-slot, which is probably the most brutal time for any university student to do anything. But, it caught on, it became popular, we had guys coming in tired, hung-over, and they were really loving it, so we just went forward from there.
D: I can attest to that 9am time being very tough on students, but now that you have given us an overview, can you tell us what floorball is exactly? What is unique about it? and how is it played?
JM: Basically, Floorball is very similar to floor-hockey and I would describe it as hockey, in shoes, in a gym. Some of the differences that separate it from the comparisons I listed are the equipment. There is no helmet, no gloves, a very light-open bladed stick which is more aerodynamic then a normal hockey stick, and it really allows players to execute fun skills such as the toe-drag more easily than a traditional stick. We also have a 'free hit' rule similar to the 'free kick' in soccer, where if a foul is committed, the ball is dead and the team has a chance for a hit. The sport is also less contact, there is no slashing of the stick, no raising the stick above the waist, no off-sides or icing, which leads to a very low injury rate in the sport. That's not to say that it is watered-down version of hockey, it is still very competitive, fun to watch and play, even without the contact.
D: Does the fact that its safe to play appeal to parents looking to get their kids into sports? and expanding on that; how affordable is it to play?
JM: It definitely helps, I usually use that as a selling point: it takes a really unique set of circumstances to get seriously injured in this sport. On the topic of costs, it is very affordable for the average Canadian family, we have leagues where the fee is $110.00 and the stick is $30.00, and that is all you really need. So for under $150.00 to be able to play for about three months is a pretty sweet deal.
D: What levels are these leagues at? Pro? Recreational?
JM: They are house leagues, at this point Canada does not really have semi, or professional leagues, but in countries (in Europe) where the sport is popular, they have legitimate clubs and competitions.
D: You mentioned at the U of T sport-business conference that floorball has been recognized by the International Olympic committee. Can you take me through that process and what it means to the sport?
JM: Oh it was really great news, personally, I am only a part of Floorball Canada and I was not involved in the process, but I can tell you some details about it. First of all, it is very difficult to get recognized as an Olympic sport, you need to have 50 members, comply by all rules (including doping regulations), and even then you may never get an organized Olympic tournament. Floorball has met all of the requirements, and the goal is to have a tournament in the 2024 games. The next major step is to get it to be a 'medal sport', golf only just got that far, but the youth Olympics are really the place where the sport can grow. What we are trying to do is get the sport recognized in North America, because that will be the push that it needs to really take off I think.
D: On that note, what do you see as some challenges to floorball and getting it recognized in North America? and what are your strategies to over-come them?
JM: I see a lot actually. Some of them are opportunities as well, like the craze for hockey (particularly in Canada). But we don't try to market the game during the peak of Hockey season, there is just no point, everyone is so tuned to ice hockey that we have to pick our spots. Another challenge is the lack of interest that is associated with introducing something new into a well-established culture, and trying to get hockey players into floorball is very tough because hockey (even at the house league level) is a big commitment. So what we try to do is complement, and not compete with hockey. This way we might get some help from them, we definitely do not want a rivalry there. The lack of organized rep leagues hurts a lot too. I mean, hopefully we will be able to build up an infrastructure soon with an emphasis on grassroots. The thing is, there are so many options out there for young athletes, and right now floorball is not really all that enticing. Our strategy there is to have floorball be a platform on which some hockey skills can be honed, again we want to complement hockey, it is the best thing to do for us. The fact that some pro's play also helps on the marketing side.
D: Can you expand on the professionals and how they help the marketability of floorball? Have you approached them asking them to endorse floorball?
JM: Oh for sure, I mean, all of the Swedish and Finnish pro hockey players grew up playing floorball but for obvious financial reasons, they pursued hockey. We are able to get some guys to come out to some charity games like Steve Stamkos, and he was just a natural, and some of the stuff he was doing was really great. Again, referring back to the complement vs. competition initiative, we think that hockey will help us out if we support them.
D: What are your hopes for the future? Where do you see Floorball in 10 years?
JM: I think that 10 years is a really good window to judge the progress of a sport, but we have not yet seen the 'explosion' that we want. The big thing for us will be proving ourselves and being acknowledged. My hope is that our link with minor league hockey will show some benefits two, to five years down the road, but what I would really like to see is a year-round league be formed. In the grand scheme of things, our focus is to make the sport grow in schools, to the point where it will be organized, and they will have city championships and other competitions within the school system for it. Just something to show that kids can go somewhere with it, and speaking of kids; our number one goal is to get floorball to be among the top youth-participated sports in Canada. That will really help us in the long run. Soccer is a cool example to compare it with, it is now the #1 participation sport, and is growing rapidly, and we like that floorball compares to it in terms of simplicity (very little needed to play a game). It is inexpensive, you can play anywhere, and all you really need is a stick.
D: Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer these questions, I look forward to tracking the growth of floorball in Canada and wish you the best.
JM: Hey, anytime, I love talking about the sport, its my passion and this was absolutely no problem for me.
That concluded the interview, I honestly wished to carry it on longer, but this is a good overview and also a good place to leave it at. For those of you interested, check out some clips on youtube and check out Juha's website (floorballpro.com) if you want to get some equipment and play. Who knows? sometime down the line we may even get a pro league for floorball here in Canada, regardless, watching the sport grow should be fun on its own. Cheers!
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