Space City Stick Check - A Profile of the Houston Floorball Club

The Houston Floorball Club (HFC) is only three years old, but is already exhibits fine motor skills beyond its age. A typical month in the southeast Texas region includes four league games, four pickup games, a children's demo, and practice or participation in a tournament. HFC boasts more than 100 players on its membership rolls, in the fourth largest city in the United States. And a plurality of those players were likely recruited by Jyri Koivisto.

Since moving to Houston in 2012, Jyri has grown the sport from a handful of players at occasional pickup games to a full league and then some. The Houston area has the fortune of being one of the most diverse cities in the country. And the long tendrils of the petroleum industry mean that many neighbors come from countries where floorball is already well known and popular. HFC's roster features players from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ukraine, Scotland, Singapore, the Czech Republic, China, and even Canada. This produces a broad spectrum of skill sets: players with more than 10 years of experience, fleet-of-foot youngsters still developing their stickhandling abilities, and dawdling incompetents who excel exclusively at trash talk.  Also, chicks. In fact, HFC features members of both the United States and Norwegian women's national teams!

In the past year, HFC was able to improve its play with the one element every club loves and hates: fiberglass boards. Nothing affects the action on the floor better than an expensive, used, heavy trailer full of boards with cryptic advertisements for a funeral parlor in Pori. They certainly legitimize and improve play, however, and will be instrumental in facilitating future tournaments. The boards are also good for containing those littlest ‘ballers: children. While children of current players evolve into walking, talking, stick checking miscreants, they can play alongside local kids curious in picking up the sport. Floorball has proven popular with the local populace as an inexpensive and very aerobic activity for young people.  And an excuse to be inside during a Texas summer doesn't hurt…

HFC also has the added benefit of playing pickup for free at local LDS churches where some of the players are members or even administrators. Of course all players and visitors are welcome, but watch your language! Regardless, players from a wide variety of backgrounds have combined to produce some rapid success at local tournaments. The Houston Pioneers have plied their floorball trade recently at SWIFT (Austin, TX), LIFT (DFW, TX), and the US Championships (CO). Practice has already begun for this year's national tournament in Round Rock!

Houston Floorball Club 2014 from Katie Koivisto on Vimeo.

You can find Houston floorballers online at www.HoustonFloorball.com

On Facebook Groups: Houston Floorball Club AND Floorball "Innebandy" In Houston

And in real life on Saturdays, 0900, at Hometown Heroes Recreation Center 2105 Dickinson Ave League City, TX 77573

Or talk to the brain trust itself:  Jyri Koivisto [email protected]

And Luke Hickey [email protected]

Keep your sticks low and your balls intact!

3rd Place Houston Pioneers at Lonestar Invitational Floorball Tournament

Is there then, a finer feat

Than there is to score a goal?

Harken the flutter of twine

Echo the stirring of my soul.

- Ancient Lapland Proverb

Article by Luke Hickey