The pride of Porvoo, PSS, which has played successfully for years in the floorball women’s F-league, started the new season with a new situation.
Most of the players are inexperienced and young at the league level. From the champion team from three years ago, the lineup now includes the goalkeeper Arla Salo. The head coach is also new at the league level, having been promoted from youth coaching to the helm of the national team Katja Ulmanen.
The beginning of PSS’s season has been difficult as expected. The first four games resulted in four losses with a goal difference of 5–35.
“The Man” left
The big changes started a year and a half ago, after eight years of spending most of my free time on club work Tero Nurme quit as Manager. Even though Nurme emphasizes that he had a good team and the work was done like a carrot, the loss of his work has not gone unnoticed.
Nurme used up to 60 hours a month for social work.
– Eight years is a long time when there is work to be done all year round. Even before the end of the season, building the next season’s team and attracting sponsors started, Nurme says and remembers how golfing in those summers was limited to a few rounds.
The work of the former Manager, both in the background of the club and as a spirit creator, is fondly remembered.
– Tero was “The Man” in that team. He spun the whole tree, he had all the threads in his hands. He has been really important to the players as well, and not just in the background, says head coach Ulmanen.
– Of course, it has been seen that such a big figure has left the background of the team. A big hat must be lifted to all the others who have done the same thing all over Finland. Among other things, in Rankoi Ankoi Jani Laukko and in SB Pro Janne Raatikainen have done a really great job. I hope that the athletes and the association would appreciate them a little more, goalkeeper Salo emphasizes.
Familiar social problems
The story of PSS is familiar from many Finnish sports clubs. One proactive, enthusiastic person carries a lot of responsibility – when he steps aside, the hole can be deep. And the situation is not made easier by the fact that it is constantly more difficult to get people to volunteer.
– If there are 22 players in the match, then there were twenty of us running the match event: cafeterias, ticket sales, all other related activities. That’s quite a large amount, Nurme recalls.
– This is certainly a big problem in many places. I would wish that each of us would help in such projects or teams that we are involved in, that there would be more contributors. Then it won’t squat so easily when “The Man” is left out of it, Ulmanen reflects.
According to Nurmi, it is not enough to be ready to do volunteer work. Success also requires dedication and love for the sport.
– If someone just wants to come here to work, it can be difficult to find employment. Some special skills are always needed. The series regulations are also constantly tightening and there will be all kinds of keeping a launch map and other things. You need certain skills for that, you can’t just come to the stand with a piece of grid paper.
Although volunteering takes time, Nurme reminds us that there is also a lot to be gained from it.
– It makes a lot of friends and new relationships. And of course there is winning, Cup championships, other medals that are a bit duller and of course the incredible match events. For example, when we went (in the 2022 finals) to a stalemate with TPS, those are the ones I will never forget.
According to Arla Salo, however, things have been handled well in Porvoo and everyday life runs smoothly.
– Everything works flawlessly now and the background is also gaining experience. This is a completely new place for them too, but things are going well.
Players are looking for the best option
Even if Nurme and Ulmanen do not believe that the change of Manager alone would have influenced the transfer of players elsewhere, it certainly has its own part. Nurme, who lived closely with the league team, made it possible with his work, among other things, that the players did not have to pay for playing.
There are plenty of league teams in southern Finland and there is a tight competition for players. According to Ulmanen, it’s natural that players look for solutions that suit them best. However, he regrets that a few talented, young players who left the club were left without playing time after changing clubs.
Although Salo, who debuted in the league in 2010 and has now made saves in nearly 270 league matches, has had new teammates around him, the decision to continue in Porvoo was quite easy for him.
– What affected me the most was that I wanted to help the club and the team reach a common goal this season and that the league sky would continue in the following seasons as well. I see that there are good guys growing up there and now good young people have already been promoted to the league. I see the future very bright.
When building the team has had to start almost from scratch, the success goals have been set far enough. We hope to return to the top five in three or four years. The club is ready to work for that, but it is not enough on its own.
– It requires hard work and attitude from the players. The fact that the physical characteristics are put in order, and it also requires a bit of doing things on your own time. I believe that it is possible, says head coach Ulmanen.