Espoon Oilers forward Aaro Astala is fast, strong, reachable and studies. Astala advises young people to throw themselves into the sport if at all possible.
Aaro Astala25, is moderately excited.
Astala’s long-shouldered figure has dominated the floorball league courts for years, and now for the first time he is part of the men’s national floorball team aiming for the World Cup gold.
Astala has been with the national team for a long time, but injuries have hampered the career development of the 195-centimeter speed forward.
Head coach a year ago Petteri Nykky chose Astala as a substitute player for the home games. Now, power points are expected from Astala, as Finland tries to return to the gold standard after the final loss to Sweden in Helsinki.
Astala is ready for the championship. He admits that the waiting time has been long.
“I’m looking forward to finally being able to play: to score, to solve matches and to push to the limit,” Astala says in a confident and calm voice.
Astala is in many ways the prototype of a top modern floorball player. The versatile attacker has played in the national team in the middle and on the wing, but also as a defender.
According to the sports analysis published by the Floorball Association last spring, the brightest stars stand out for their speed and explosiveness when looking at physical characteristics.
The power output must be in order.
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“No more pounding in the back of my head, whether I’ve trained enough. I don’t think there will be a situation in the World Cup final where I would finish second.”
Astala has enormous potential: he is big, strong, fast and reachable. There is also explosiveness. However, he himself avoids exaggeration.
“It may look like I’m fast and explosive, but according to cell tests I could be even faster.”
“I do well in cornering and twisting situations, they go well. In long-distance running and long movements, my explosiveness is not as good as I would like it to be.”
Astala is helped by his height, good body control for his size and a longer than usual (106 cm) racket, which players over 190 cm tall can use with a special permit.
“If a guy shorter than a head is half a second faster than me, we are on the ball at the same time, when I can reach with a longer club and hand. It is difficult for the opponent to read a quick and surprising reach.”
When Astala breaks down her training in more detail, it becomes clear that speed and strength are also sufficient.
Astala suffered from injuries when she was younger, when her muscles and joints did not keep up with her height growth.
“It felt like the upper body was spinning like it hurt when there was no grip in the middle body. Got back problems. I also needed to gain strength in my legs and hip area. In Sähli, you rely on one leg a lot, so your body is not allowed to falsify in any direction.”
Astala has worked purposefully with the physical trainer, and the injuries have been sorted out. Strength is found, and the step is sharpened to become sharper and more explosive.
Aaro Astala plans to focus on floorball as long as his head and body remain at the top level.
Astala says that the readiness to move on the field is now much better than, for example, three years ago. It’s actually the top of the world.
“Now you don’t have to think about whether physics is enough. I can just go and enjoy. No more pounding in the back of my head, whether I’ve trained enough. I don’t think there will be a situation in the World Cup final where I would finish second,” he says.
Physical in addition to his assets, Astala is also the prototype of a top floorball player in the sense that he has been able to build a professional package by combining studies and top sports.
Astala is studying economics, information systems and business analytics for the fifth year at Aalto University. He is starting to get a master’s degree instead of a bachelor’s degree.
According to Astala, there is not much left over from the salary of a “sahhlyn player” to be transferred to a savings account, but it has enabled a slightly more relaxed study pace.
In the last two summers, he has also not applied for summer jobs in his field, but has been able to fully focus on training and aiming for a place in the World Cup.
In the first year, however, combining studying and playing did not go smoothly.
When the bar was high for both, Astala got tired and got sick. He says that he was tense and stressed, which eventually led to six weeks of overwork.
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“I myself have made the decision that I will play floorball to the fullest as long as my body and head keep up.”
Heart rates rose, and games were missed.
“I went on rounds all the time. The return of schoolwork was left at night, the next day was a game, and I had to get some sleep. It didn’t quite go well.”
Astala says that she finally got help from her friend, who had suffered a more severe version of the similar overexertion condition.
“I got a lot of jeez from him, and it’s been good since then.”
Astala still encourages young people to study alongside playing sports. Studying takes your thoughts elsewhere, and after a playing career, the profession is already acquired.
Instead, full-time At least Astala herself plans to be careful about combining work and top sports, because managing both properly can be difficult.
“A five-day work week is brutal if there are three games at the same time. Regardless of the sport, I take my hat off to everyone who is able to combine working life and elite sports.”
After graduation, Astala plans to focus entirely on sähli – as she talks about her sport.
Aaro Astala plays with a 106 centimeter long racket with a special permit.
Well-paid jobs would certainly be available for a master’s degree in business analytics. However, Astala plans to turn over every stone in floorball before moving on to civilian work, so that there is no need to ruminate on the matter later in a rocking chair.
“It’s worth giving everything to the sport if it’s possible. I myself have made the decision that I will play floorball to the fullest as long as my body and head keep up. This is a unique opportunity in life.”
Astala urges young players to throw themselves in and seize the moment. He set the example himself by jumping from Westend Indians, which has its headquarters in Otaniemi, to Tapiola Oilers for this season, because he wanted new stimuli and challenges.
Astala had time to play in the Indians league for five seasons, so it was a big decision.
“I have good friends at the Indians, and it blew my mind how they reacted. Do they feel like I’m turning my back and are we friends anymore? That’s what I was excited about and afraid of.”
Well, how did it go?
“Everyone has cheered and accepted it well. Are great friends, they are able to put aside such trivial matters. Great guys.”
This is how Aaro Astala evaluates Finland’s main opponents at the World Championships:
Defending world champion Sweden: A team with good ball skills, whose passes click on the shoulder and which every player can challenge with the ball. Anything can come from it. The most skillful team with the ball, and every player can shoot.
Czech Republic, bronze medalist of the last Games: The team has been reformed, and it has young and ball-savvy players. A hungry group that dares to challenge and play.
The Swiss Four of the last Games: Switzerland is a hardworking and physical team. They are able to wrestle all 60 minutes to the fullest, but there are still shortcomings in their sports skills and game skills.
Finland will face Slovakia in the opening match of the World Cup on Saturday at 4 p.m. Yle TV2 will broadcast the match live.
Read more: A floorball star’s advice to young people: Go to school and go to work
Read more: According to Kyösti Lampinen, floorball players have developed athletically quickly in recent years, but training needs to be increased and the quality improved
Aaro Astala tested the strength of the Swiss defense in September 2021 in a saved match at Vantaa’s Energia-arena.
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