In Nurmijärvi’s Klaukkala Arkadia hall, the floorball women’s league team’s SB-Pro training is about to begin.
With the cup final weekend approaching, the team trains together three times a week.
After a quick introduction and change of clothes, the players gather for the physical part of the training upstairs in the hall.
The women encourage each other, and the laughter is fresh. Everyone trains seriously, but not seriously, as the saying goes.
– Sharp! Quick! If someone this age can do a somersault, so can you!
SB-Pro women’s league team physical trainer Jari Isometsä, 54, encourages his protégés. However, the skiing legend admits after the model performance that the gig put his head on the wheel.
The women training in black will fight for the victory of the Finnish Cup next weekend with Helsinki Eräviikkini, Tampere Classic and TPS.
On the league side, the team has won a medal ten years in a row at its best, and there are also three championships.
It all started with a newspaper advertisement in 1997
Nurmijärväinen Harry Virtanen the middle of the five daughters couldn’t find any hobby.
That’s why Virtanen founded the Urheiluseura Hakaa club in Nurmijärvi’s Nukar village, where in addition to her own child, other girls could try different sports.
The club members themselves asked to play indoor bandy, which was especially popular with boys at the time, and got excited about holeball.
– In 1997, an announcement was placed in the newspaper that they were looking for female players, and they got two team members. In addition, there were 60–70 girls. That’s where it started. We had good coaches and the goal was to get a team in the region of our municipality, so that no one would have to go elsewhere to play.
The goal was quickly realized, and SB-Pro entered the league in the early 2000s with a team that, according to Virtanen’s memory, had at most two adult players.
Currently, the age range of the women’s league team ranges from 15 to over 30-year-old players, with an emphasis on the younger age groups.
At least this is a defender Anu Raatevaaran27, think wealth.
– There is experience and know-how as well as the creativity and enthusiasm of youth in the same package. It’s a really good mix.
8-year-old Elna Tuomivaara is already dreaming of a place in the national team
After a few quieter corona years, even the fairies have found their way back to the sport.
The group includes both those who have started and stopped once and completely new enthusiasts, the executive director of the club Paula Sojalahti rejoices.
– Even the smallest junkies have gotten a lot more involved in the activity. The club is active, and new children come to try it out almost every week. The youngest teams are in a really good mood at the moment.
Ella Luhtaniemi10, and Elna Tuomivaara8, have both lost their hearts to floorball.
– In floorball, the best thing is when you can twist the ball and score goals, Luhtaniemi sums up.
Goalkeeper Tuomivaara naturally prefers to block balls. In addition to floorball, she does parkour and balance gymnastics. In floorball, the girl’s goals are high.
– At least I would like to be in the national team.
So do eight-year-olds Hugo Parviainen and Aarne Rekola describe floorball as a nice sport, which both plan to continue playing until adulthood.
– And floorball looks good on TV, Parviainen points out.
The boys evaluate the women’s team’s chances for the cup championship with one word, from one mouth: maybe.
The executive director of SB-Pro, Paula Sojalahti, started playing the sport herself in Helsinki and after moving to Nurmijärvi ended up coaching her own child’s team.
The term Nurmijärvi effect, which became familiar during the migration winning years, seems to be true in indoor bandy as well.
– We are a really communal club. One of the most important values is that it is easy and nice to come here. Everyone is each other’s friends and knows each other. It maybe has a bit of the same idea as the Nurmijärvi phenomenon, that is, we come here and here we are one big community and group. That we-spirit, of course we try to strengthen it in the club as well.
Nurmijärvi SB-Pro, Helsinki Eräviikingit, Tampere Classic and Turku Palloseura will decide the women’s floorball Finnish Cup championship in Hämeenlinna this coming weekend. On the men’s side, Tampere Classic, Nokian KrP, OLS and M-Team will play in the final tournament.
shows the matches on TV2 and Areena.
You can discuss the topic until Thursday, January 19 at 11 p.m.