mika karusaari- floorball player extraordinaire
Most Monday evenings, Vancouver’s local Floorball community gathers in downtown Yaletown’s Roundhouse Community Centre. Mondays have always been a nice mix of new and veteran Floorballers. We have also been privileged that visiting European students have commonly found their way to the Roundhouse to participate. The attendance at Yaletown’s Roundhouse has always been steady, but since the New Year, we have really noticed a boost in numbers. Monday night Floorball has always had a steady influx of new visiting European players and recently, we have been blessed with 3 special Finnish visitors.
Frequenting our Floorball evenings have been Mika, Timo, and Tuomas. From there very first time playing Floorball in Vancouver, it was clear how much talent and experience the 3 of them possessed. The increased intensity and speed of play on Monday and Thursday were instantly evident. Recognizing Mika, Timo, and Tuomas‘ passion and enthusiasm for the game, BC Floorball executives and players (Greg Beaudin and Blair Zimmerman) approached our Finnish friends to help coach Floorball to our beginner and intermediate players. The 3 of them have helped to run and coach our West Vancouver youth and adult programs. We have greatly appreciated their dedication to growing and teaching Floorball in Vancouver.
Mika has played elite Floorball back home in Finland, as high as the second division. He has coached Floorball to children aged 5-8 years old for the past two years and coaches an adult team in Finland. Timo is also an active Floorball player. His career has mostly been in cross-country skiing but as we have seen, he is also a gifted Floorball player. Tuomas spent the last year working hard to join his 2 friends in Vancouver. He has played high-level Floorball for 9 years. All 3 of our Finnish friends have chosen to visit Vancouver to experience the Olympic games. They are students of Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences, studying Sport and Leisure, and majoring in Coaching.
Kiitos to our new Finnish friends for taking their own free time to help build our Floorball programs here in Vancouver. Please join our Finnish friends, regular players, and newcomers for some exciting Floorball on Monday (Roundhouse) and Thursday evenings (West Vancouver Community Centre). Regular schedules to resume after the Olympics. Please see the website for further details.
Stephanie Allam and Jonathan Koo