What is floorball? The fast-growing sport is coming to Winter Haven. Here's how it started
Game planning and running a local floorball camp have been the recent duties of Daniel Williamsson.
Williamsson, 47, over the past few years has brought the sport of floorball to Central Florida, culminating in a North America Floorball League championship in the 2022 inaugural season. And now the Sweden native is running a local youth camp ahead of the Florida Vikings Cup, which will take place at the AdventHealth Fieldhouse Thursday to Sunday.
The CEO and head coach of the Florida Vikings over the years has worked through a process to bring the new sport over to Central Florida, and now he can't be more satisfied that his vision has grown to the point of the sport finally showcasing in Winter Haven.
"It's very cool. We're trying to push the envelope to grow floorball in the U.S.," Williamsson said. "...We have the best players in the world here. It's amazing to see the sport."
Floorball is played like hockey, as players compete indoors, but there is no skating. Utilizing a special stick, it's a very fast-paced sport that is played on a floor.
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In this sport, all you need is a stick and ball. With the game being played with five players and one goaltender per team, the rules include the following: the stick must remain below the waist, the ball is played below knee level, there is no body contact, including no blocking/screening of opposing players, stick-on-body contact or stick-on-stick contact is not permitted and there is no offsides or icing, according to hockeycanada.ca. Additionally, there are three periods that last 20 minutes each.
Essentially the sport is a form of floor hockey that started in the 1970s in Europe. A much safer and traditional game than hockey, floorball is used in many hockey Canada development programs as an off-ice training tool.
"It's a good sport for hockey players to work on their hands ... and they can work on it at home," Williamsson said. "It's very hard with a hockey stick at home, but (this) is with a ball and a lightweight stick. They can work on things at home."
Sweden floorball background inspires Williamsson to start team in Florida
Working on floorball in his parent's home in Sweden was a constant for Williamsson, as he started in school when he was just 7. He played in many leagues as an adolescent through his high school years.
When it was time to attend UCF to study for a Master's in software engineering in 1998, he and longtime friends from Sweden brought their floorball sticks. Playing daily in pick-up games and tournaments was a must for Williamsson and his peers.
In 2017, he and those same friends decided to play the sport competitively and travel around the United States to compete in high-level leagues, while also starting the youth movement to participate in youth nationals. Just last year, Williamson recruited some of the best players in Europe and started a team to compete in the NAFL, which resulted in that illustrious championship.
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"It's been an amazing progress and we continue to progress. Our ultimate goal is that this sport is going to be huge in the United States," Williamsson said. "...We have a lot of talent, but everybody on the team wanted to win so badly and it was such a team effort."
But the team last year was led by its best player in Josef Juha ― a 23-year-old forward from the Czech Republic. Juha last year was the NAFL MVP and led the Florida Vikings in scoring.
What is the NAFL and when does it start?
A semiprofessional league comprising six teams across the United States, "the league exists to bring the highest level of floorball to North America in order to showcase the sport to a new audience," according to nafloorball.com.
The league starts in the summer. And the Florida Vikings have already competed in a tournament in Austin. Florida is now playing in Central Florida, and the next stop is in Dallas, which is the end of the regular season. In total, there are 10 games for each team before the semifinals and finals.
Players competing in this league journey to this league after their full season overseas. But it's Williamsson's goal to have a whole season in the NAFL.
"To me it's really an amazing sport, but everybody should open their eyes (on it). It's great for schools and YMCA," Williamsson said. "...We want people to come out and cheer for us and try and get as many people as possible to look at us this weekend."
Kevin Haglund, a former hockey player from Sweden who is helping to run the youth floorball camp ahead of the tournament in Winter Haven, is a vital part to Florida's success, as he is one of the main scorers on the team this year. But he is also focused on paying it forward to the youth.
"I think it will be different levels, but mostly it's about talking about different experiences. You can go far in sports," Haglund said. " One of my biggest things (is to) tell the kids that they can go their own way, and that of course depends on their skills..."
For folks 7-18 years of age looking to sign up for the youth team, go to flvikings.com/camp. The next youth camp will be in Davenport.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Sweden native Daniel Williamsason embarks on local floorball team
