Mother of three to make floorball debut for S’pore

SINGAPORE — When the Singapore national women’s floorball team take on South Korea today in their opening women’s World Floorball Championships (WFC) qualifier in Wellington, New Zealand, it will mean the world to one particular player.

At 29, juggling between her full-time job and being a mother to three boys, Angela Danielle Model could be forgiven for giving up on her dreams of donning Singapore colours one day.

But after several years of consistent good form with local club Albatross FC, and after she finally received her Singapore citizenship in 2015, the Hong Kong-born player of Swiss-Singaporean parentage is now all set to make her maiden appearance on the international stage.

“I’ve been playing floorball for a long time,” said Model, who left Singapore to live in Switzerland for six years when she was 10.

“(In the past), I will look on with envy at the (other) players joining the national team, and I am just sat at home.”

It was in the Swiss city of Davos that the 10-year-old Model picked up the game of floorball, before rising up the ranks swiftly. At 14, she earned a call-up to the Swiss Under-19 team, but injury saw her miss out on getting her first cap.

Model moved back to Singapore at 16 and continued playing at club level. But she could not don national colours as she was not a Singapore citizen. That changed in 2015, and she has now been rewarded with her first national call-up.

Described by national head coach Jill Quek as a “swift and graceful” player, Model said it is a “dream come true” to don Singapore colours.

But she admitted the journey has been tough for a career woman who has to juggle her job as an analyst programmer, her family, as well as thrice-weekly floorball training.

Indeed, twice during this interview at her home, Model had to tend to her boys — Danial, 6, Azariah, 4 and Mikhail, 2.

Tough it may be, but it is worth it, she said.

“It’s just fun! I love to play high-level floorball; the more advanced it gets, you learn more, see more ‘wow’ moments — I don’t quite know how to explain (the feeling),” said Model, who is the only parent in the 20-strong Singapore women’s team.

“My dad encourages me to work and fulfil my dreams, my mother volunteers to take care of the kids and my husband is also supportive; the love of my family is really what lets me do all these (things).”

Even her costs of travelling to Wellington for the WFC qualifier were partly borne by her aunt.

According to coach Quek, each member of the team has to pay around S$3,000 for airfare, lodging and food for this week’s trip to Wellington.

The Singapore Floorball Association (SFA) paid the tournament registration fee of 2,000 Swiss francs (S$2,858) and also provides “administration back end support and technical advice”, according to general manager Todd Vladich.

The financial situation came about after the SFA were hit by money woes last May, with then-president Sani Mohamed Salim alleged to have misappropriated association funds. The association also failed to submit audited accounts and owed the International Floorball Federation (IFF) 23,000 Swiss francs (S$32,856).

The debt to IFF has since been repaid, and Vladich believes the SFA, which is currently “self-funding”, is back on track. Financial statements and reports are also being finalised for submission to the relevant authorities to achieve charity status within the “next two to three months” for the resumption of funding from local sports governing body Sport Singapore.

Three sponsors — Z-Athletica, Distinct Professional Group and Goldbell Engineering — have also come on board since last November.

“The sport has picked itself up since last May, and has been growing from strength to strength,” Vladich told TODAY. “The teams and all the individual members in the fraternity have continued to support us through this period.

“The total number of teams participating in the ActiveSG-SFA National Floorball League is at an all-time high of 95 teams … we (will) look to continue to work closely with ActiveSG to grow this number even further.”

The sport’s profile will be further boosted if the team qualify for their second straight WFC. At the 2015 WFC at Tampere, Finland, Singapore finished third in the group and missed out on the knockout stage on goal difference. In the subsequent placement rounds, the team finished 16th.

This week at Wellington, the two group winners qualify directly for a spot for the finals in Slovakia; the runners-up play the other group’s third-placed side, with two winners taking the last two spots for Asia-Oceania. Singapore, world-ranked 18th, will compete with Malaysia (30), Korea (21) and Japan (13) in Group B.

Quek, in charge of the team for the first time, is pleased with how players have gelled over the past four months. Model is one of four debutants in a side that blends experience with youth.

“It’s been quite fun,” Quek, 39, said of the experience. “I have a really good team of coaches and officials and their leadership really helps to bring the team together.

“The previous SEA Games and WFC teams were made of mostly of younger players, but now we’ve mixed it up a bit… I am very proud of the girls because they are sacrificing their time and the Chinese New Year (period) to come together; everybody knew what they were in for and the commitment really showed.”

Model also hailed the team spirit, revealing that players who did not make the final 20-member squad still joined them on the Wellington trip in a show of support.

She said with a bright smile, “Some of the players are even talking about Slovakia already; I hope we can make it.”

SINGAPORE WOMEN’S FLOORBALL SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS: Fariza Begum (Age: 28), Priscila Tan (29)

DEFENDERS: Wynne Tang (27), Felicia Lim (25), Sharifah Badriyah (23), Karen Loo (36), Yeo Xuan (20), Denise Khoo (30), Sri Syafizah (27)

CENTRES: Priscilla Chia (33), Jill Quek (39), Laura Tan (26), Mindy Lim (21)

FORWARDS: Angela Danielle Model (29), Ong Hui Hui (29), Natalia Clare (23), Wilna Tan (35), Shannon Yeo (23), Amanda Yeap (23), Suhaidah Yusof (29)

STAFF: Martha Lee, Louise Khng (both coaches), Steve Lee (fitness coach), Tan Meng Huay (team manager), Melissa Chan (physio)

FIXTURES: vs South Korea (today), vs Japan (Wednesday), vs Malaysia (Thursday)

* More info at http://www.floorball.org/pages/EN/Rankings and http://www.facebook.com/sgwomensfloorball