Goalie profile - Ryan Alexandrakis, Team Australia U-19!

It is my pleasure to introduce yet another goalie! 

From the other side of the world -

Ryan Alexandrakis, Team Australia U19!

Ryan plays for several teams in Australia and his home team is the Pakenham Floorball club, also known as the Squishees. 

Australia vs. Canada.

Me and Ryan met during the U19 World Championships in Helsingborg where he represented Team Australia. Our teams faced off in the very last game for the both of us, after which I walked up to Ryan to praise him for his spirit in the net which I had seen evidence of early on when his team was playing Germany. Now, some time after the tournament we finally made, what to me is a long awaited interview. Here it is!

Have you always been a goalie, and what made you choose to be a goalie?

"I used to do many sports like soccer, tennis, swimming etc and for any games, I would be the goalie so I had a background in goalkeeping. My best mate had been playing floorball since he was about 7 and asked me one day if I could come play in goal for his floorball team because their goalie had quit and me being me, I just said no problem and I've been playing ever since and it's been 4 years now. I started as a goalie but lately I have ventured out and played on court for one of my 3 teams. I have found it has helped me being a goalie to play on field."

Cool picture of Ryan mid-throw in the game against Canada.

To you, what is the best thing about being a goalie?

"The best thing about being goalie for me is that it's always do or die if you make a mistake. It's nearly always going to be a goal, it keep you alert and on your toes and I like the fact that in the end it comes down to me, just me to help out the team."

What is the biggest sport in Australia and how does floorball compare?

"The biggest sport in Australia would be AFL, the Australian Football League. I would compare it to floorball in Sweden because from a young age kids play the AFL and grow up playing it. There are clubs in every town no matter how small the town is and as for floorball, in Australia we have roughly 1300 players for all of Australia which isn't many."

Who is your biggest inspiration in sports?

"I do not have any single person who I look up to, I have many. For example the skill, the discipline and confidence of Mohammad Ali or the goalie of the Montreal Canadians Carey Price as he is incredible. Just the thought process on how he explains each goal and his level head is amazing. Also in my own club there is Brad king, he has mentored me from when I first began playing floorball, he has given me tough love when I have needed it and the motivation and guidance I have needed to get where I am now and he continues to push me to go further."

What do you do outside of floorball?

"I do not have much time away from floorball but when I'm not at floorball I am at school completing year 12 and a certificate 3 in sport. Basically that means I can get a certificate 4 or a bachelor's in sports which means that I can teach sport, become a personal trainer or head down the road of coaching. Hopefully I will be getting my bachelor's next year so that I can go to university after that and get a degree in teaching to become a teacher in sports!"

"Outside of school and practice I help teach a U13 program which teaches kids basic stick skills. I also coach a U15 team by helping them with advice on positions, passing and shooting. When it comes to practice, I play for three teams; U19 men's, a social team and a men's elite team in which I am the goalie. With the other teams, I occasionally play the net and when I'm not in the net I'm running around with a stick on court, scoring goals, haha!"

"Other than that, I try to help out any goalie who asks me for assistance as well, for example I work a lot with Conor McKeown-Munn who is my teammate in the U19. I also help out both the female goalies and the younger goalies over here as well, but as I said I will help out any goalie who asks me for help. I'm also a referee and it can go from calling 1 game in a night to 3 games a night, depending on how many refs we have available."

Picture taken when the Pakenham Squishees visited another town in Australia to put on an exhibition to spread the good word of floorball.

How do you prepare for a big game?

"I prepare for a game by listening to music while I put my goalie gear on and generally keep to myself while doing this but once my gear is on, I start walking around talking to the team getting everyone ready and pumped up for the game. Usually that means listening to songs from Eminem, Hilltop Hoods and Rudimental. I also always put my right shoe on before my left and before every face off in the center as well as at the start of each period and after any goal, whether my team scores it or not, I back my self into the net center myself touch the right post the left while still holding the right post and slide straight out, so that I'm at the top of the house."

How would you describe your playing style?

"I would describe my playing style as semi aggressive. I like to come out at a player to cut down the angle and put them under pressure and make them work for the goal."

Have you ever had a goalie coach? 

"Umm, no I've never technically had a goalie coach. I've had people who are field players help me out with what they know and other goalies have given me some pointers. I have had a one hour session this year in Finland where the Finnish U19 goalie coach came and showed me a few things, but other than that no, I haven't had a real goalie coach. It would actually be very unlikely whether any other floorball goalie in Australia would have a dedicated goalie coach."

We met at the U19 worlds. Was that your first big tournament?

"No, this was not my first tournament. I played for Australia in the 2013 U19 WFC and again against New Zealand to qualify for the 2015 U19 WFC. I loved every moment in Sweden at the WFC, I learned so much as the level of floorball is much higher than we play at in Australia, so I watched as much as I could to learn as much as I could from the experience."

If you could give a piece of advice to other goalies, what would that be?

"My one word of advice for any goalie that is starting out or trying to improve them selves is to keep a level head during the game. To know when to be aggressive and know when to be calm also understand why a goal went in, accept it, learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen again. If you get angry at yourself you will just let more goals in. You have to accept that you are the minority on the court so sometimes teams or a player will score on you and it may not be because you did something wrong but simply because they did everything right."

Your grasp on the reality of goalkeeping is impressive and how you won't let it affect you, especially considering your age! Have you always had this ability to let goals go?

"Yeah, I suppose I have! It has been a great abiility to have, as it has sometimes been the deciding skill on why I've made it to a team." Says Ryan.

Team Australia U19.

Picture from the last game at the U19. Ryan and Canada's goalie Jeremy Peters in the front.

Thank you Ryan! It really has been inspirational to from such a driven person as yourself and to learn about the floorball culture in Australia! Hope to hear more from you soon!

Peace!