It was a very cold winter day in the southern state of Alabama, when Darryl Gross from FloorballPlanet and Kim Aaltonen from USA Floorball arrived to a High School in Birmingham to teach a group of teachers the secrets of floorball on the 12th of November, as a part of the preparations to familiarise floorball for The World Games 2021.
The day started by unloading 40 sets of floorball equipment destined to schools in the area, brought from FloorballPlanet in Dallas as a part of the school program sponsored by The World Games 2021.
And soon there were over 50 Physical Education teachers, representing schools in the Birmingham area crammed into a classroom to hear about floorball.
After an hour of learning about the basics of the game and watching a few videos, it was time for real-life practice. It started with education in basic floorball skills; passing, dribbling and shooting. And of course, a game of scrimmage. The afternoon was then spent on discussing various techniques for teaching floorball to young players. And after a final game of scrimmage, it was time to call it a day at around 3pm.
– The sport is great as it takes only a short time to teach and the kids will love it, as it is easy to pick up and is fast and exciting and suitable for their environment, says USA Floorball President Calle Karlsson.
Almost six hours of floorball education was given, and the teachers headed back to their respective schools, equipped with knowledge and enthusiasm.
– The Floorball workshops in Birmingham are a very important part of the grassroots development of Floorball in the state of Alabama. This effort solidifies and continues our effort in reaching out to all age groups and social layers in our society. Floorball is for everyone and TWG and Alabama is a true testament of the Floorball 2020 vision in the USA, says USA Floorball President Calle Karlsson.
It is extremely encouraging to see the excitement here in Alabama, where practically no floorball experience exists until now. And it is great that The World Games (TWG) has decided to invest in the sport through the local schools. Both IFF and USA Floorball are excited to be part of this floorball journey and look forward to continuing to run such clinics to raise awareness for floorball!
– It is imperative to run these types of excellent workshops for schools and universities to make Floorball know in the region prior to The World Games. We will, with USA Floorball, continue the preparations and aim to have as a legacy after The World Games in Birmingham 2021, an active community of floorball players in the region, the IFF secretary general John Liljelund concluded.
Floorball included in the TWG 2021 “Let’s Move” initiative
The programme will provide students with the opportunity to play sports featured in The World Games 2021 through a partnership with the “Let’s Move” initiative. Initial sports will include Korfball, Floorball and Flying Disc. It will also provide classroom resources and activities that will connect The World Games 2021 with physical education, social studies and athletics, as well as provide professional development opportunities for educators.
Visit theworldgames2021.com or find TWG on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
