If you are looking to develop a new hobby that requires you to be active or you want to introduce your kid to a sport (along with another language and an instrument), one sport you can consider is the fast-paced and inexpensive Floorball.
What is Floorball
Floorball is a sport similar to floor hockey that can be played by all genders and all ages.
Not to be confused with floor hockey, floorball is less aggressive and safer because it does not allow body checking and uses its own special stick and ball. The play is also similar to soccer in the way the goalies handle the ball coming their way and in the utilization of the entire court to score.
Why Play Floorball
Floorball is a sport that is easy and inexpensive to start learning. You only need to dress in your sports shirt, shorts, and shoes and have a floorball stick and you can already begin learning the basic skills – stick and ball handling, passing, and shooting.
Plus, you are not likely to get hurt with the floorball stick which is made of lightweight fiber with a plastic blade and even the floorball is also made of plastic.
Additionally, body and stick checking is prohibited in floorball so no need to worry about getting pushed around or getting tripped down. You are also not likely to get hit as players are not allowed to swing the sticks higher than the knee.
Floorball in the US
The official governing body of US Floorball is the United States Floorball Association (USFbA), officially recognized by the North Carolina state and the federal government in December 2001.
Floorball was first introduced to the U.S. by Swedish and Finnish players who still wanted to play the sport while in the country like it did in M.I.T. and Caltech. The sport spread across university clubs and in teams who have Scandinavians working in the States or people from the States who picked up on the sport working/studying and/or living in a Scandinavian country.
The sport really took ground in the U.S. when Adam Troy got Caltech lobbied as the seat of USA Floorball in 1998 to be able to send a team to the World Championship as they were able to do in 2001.
How to Play Floorball
There are two teams with 5 field players and 1 goalie in the court at a time, and up to 20 players in the lineup, playing against each other in a rink 40m by 20m large, just a few meters smaller than 3 basketball courts put side by side. The idea is to score more goals than the other team.
The standard playing time is 3 20-minute periods with 10-minute breaks where teams change substitution zones. Teams can substitute players any time during the game as long as there are only 6 players in the court at a time.
Most importantly, floorball can be played for fun and not just as an organized sport. You don’t need to have some bulky equipment, just the stick, and ball and you can play it at home with your family and friends.