ISBHF

Mojmir Hojer

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Mojmir Hojer - Defenceman, SVK

He was born on 9 March 1971 in Bratislava, Slovakia. He grew up in a family where his mother was (and still is) a fan of watching sports broadcasts, his father led him to mastering almost all sports disciplines from the earliest age, and his brother spent dozens of Saturday mornings practicing with Slovan Bratislava’s youth ice hockey team. It was probably because he eventually saw his brother playing competitively on the soccer pitch that he also at first joined a soccer club. He belonged to a generation of boys whose daily routine was to arrive home from school and spend the afternoon playing football in the summer months, and hockey in winter. There were no distractions from computers or movies back then. The “baby-boom” generation demanded that if he wanted to succeed and be included in the line-up of matches among city kids, he had to work hard and improve all the time. From his earliest years, he was noticeable among his peers thanks to his fighting spirit, a strong will and desire to succeed, and a sense of team play. Talent and skill were to become prominent later. A classmate from junior high-school introduced him to ball hockey in 1984. That was 2 years after ball hockey started to take an organized form in Bratislava. When he was 13, he started playing matches with boys who were 3 to 4 years older. Logically, his spot in the line-up at that time was in a supporting role and to gather experience. He achieved more pronounced success as a junior player during the last 2 years spent in that category, with the highlight being his final season (1988/1989) in this age bracket when, with the Slovan Bratislava club, he won the championship after significantly contributing to the winning campaign. He became the Bratislava Champion and couldn’t imagine that anyone could ever attain more in ball hockey. The final playoff series was also watched by some of his role models among older players. Since he was the best player of the final series, he could freely select from among various offers from adult teams. He chose ŠK Sibírska. Although this forced him to abandon his teammates from the junior championship club, he ironically joined a team that was geographically closer to him. It later became clear that this decision determined the fate of his later sports career. In a positive fashion: it was the best decision he had ever made. He found not only new teammates, but also friends – to last a lifetime. Vlado Mareš, Jano Pšenko, Jožko Iványi, Milan Olenočin, Roman Torok, Peťo Figura, Robo Važan, Pupo Németh, Marek Chorvatovič. Following the first regular season, during which he established himself in the Bratislava selection team, the boys decided to give 100% to their preferred sport. The fruits of their efforts were visible soon. In the very next season (1990/91), the Sibírska team won the premier installment of the Slovak National Ball Hockey League. Without having lost a match! Mojmír was selected for the historically first line-up of the Slovak national team which entered a gigantic tournament in May 1991 in Oshawa, Canada (5th place from among 16 teams). The next season (1991/92) was a virtual copy of the previous one. Another championship at home and another trip to Canada with the national team, this time rewarded with a medal (3rd place). The domestic title was made all the sweeter by defeating Severka Ústí nad Labem in a “federal” final play-off series. Despite 6 goals scored by the Czech ice hockey star Jan Čaloun (the 1998 Winter Olympic Games gold medalist from Nagano), it was the students from Bratislava who captured the title with the results of 4-8 and 6-1. Due to the breakup of Czechoslovakia, the Sibírska team remained the only ever federal winner of the ball hockey league. He could now only think back with a smile to the notion of the Champion of Bratislava being the highest achievement to be had in the sport.

In subsequent domestic league seasons, Sibírska was competing with its rival of many years, the LG Doprastav team, in collecting league titles. Until the 2001/2002 season, no other team managed to win the championship or become the runner-up. But let’s not get too far ahead. Many important events took place in Mojmír’s career in the meantime. Slovaks showed themselves to be pioneers in organizing international competitions. In 1995, the first European Ball Hockey Championships took place in Bratislava, with the participation of Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. The final match of the home team with the Czechs was attended by a crowd of 3,000 who saw Slovakia’s victory 4-2. Mojmír was given the honor of the player of the game, and was also named among the tournament’s All Stars. A year later, in June 1996, Slovakia’s capital again became the focus of ball hockey fans as the venue of the first ever World Ball Hockey Championships under the participation of 7 teams – Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Russia. Despite the home team’s 3rd place finish, the memories of this particular tournament became indelible for the now staple player on the Slovak national team. 5,000 spectators at the match with Canada, the opportunity to see his life-long role model – the Canadian defenseman George Gortsos – play live, and another selection for the tournament’s All Stars. Can there be more? Well, let’s not get too far ahead! Following that season, there came many other successful ones in the uniform of his favorite Sibírska, along with more friends and role models. To name one, Peťo Babák – walking charisma. Robo Koštál, Vilko Somolányi, Ferko Polák, René and Lacko Simons, Dušan Danko. Mojmír never played for any other team, nor did he wish to – only for his Sibírska (later Ružinov). The end result were 13 domestic league championships. In the course of Mojmír’s playing career, Sibírska never finished lower than in the runner-up spot. In addition, there were a number of achievements at the international club level – the European Cup victory, repeated several times, and a World Cup victory. And the national team? Judge for yourself. European Championships: Prague 1997 – gold, Most 2000 – silver; World Championships: Litoměřice 1998 – silver, Zvolen 1999 – gold, Toronto 2001 – bronze, Sierre 2003 – bronze, Pittsburgh 2005 – silver. He collected a medal at every World Championships (6 in total) and European Championships (3 in all) tournament. At his last 3 World Championships, he served as the captain of the Slovak national team. All of this produced many incredible experiences and an overwhelming feeling of pride of the successes and the opportunities to play with great teammates – Robo Kašša, Maroš Giba, Peter Tóth, Stano Petrík, Michal Hrivnák, but also with NHL stars Stümpel, Demitra and Zedník at the 1999 World Championships in Zvolen. Can more be achieved? No, it cannot. The successes are bonuses, but it’s mainly the friendships and experiences that no one will ever take away from him. The common training camps; thousands of hours spent in practice; the road trips to tournaments and away matches. You can’t buy any of that. A younger teammate of his summed it up. At one of the championship celebration parties, Mojmír asked him to speak up. The teammate’s answer was, “Mojo, I’ll only start talking after I’ve achieved the things you have.” Beginning with the 2001/02 season, he no longer played in every match. The reason was the birth of his beloved son Samuel to whom he devotes the bulk of his free time. Despite repeated comeback attempts, his final finished season will probably remain that of 2005/06. He spent most of the following ones as a coach, especially after he tore crucial ligaments in his right knee during a match played on his 37th birthday. Yet because he is incapable of separating himself from the world of ball hockey, you can still meet him in the stands at World Ball Hockey Championships of all age categories in the position of General Manager. In this way, at least, he can continue meeting his former opponents to whom he is bound by respect and many common memories.

Interview

1. How did you find ball hockey or hockey balle?

I was a child of the baby-boom generation, and for imitating the hockey greats, only outdoor playing areas, rather than ice rinks, were available for me. I was there almost from the beginnings of organized ball hockey in Slovakia in 1982.

2. You were a great goal scorer, or ball handler, or goaltender (where applicable). How can young players improve on these skills?

Talent and hard work accompany all athletes throughout their careers. Their proportion is different for everyone. Through extra work (also outside the scope of my team’s practices), I did everything to improve the necessary attributes of a ball hockey player, so as to make up for any lack of talent. The impression that I had been talented from my earliest years was reinforced by experience .

3. What was the greatest World Championship game you played in, one that made a lasting memory on you?

Every game at the 1999 World Championships in Zvolen. On the one hand, it’s because of the gold medal, and on the other hand, because of my teammates. It’s not every day that you get to play with the likes of Demitra, Zedník, or Stümpel. And then, every medal game at World Championships. I’m someone who’s capable of remembering such occasions second by second. League games, cup games, World or European Championships games.

4. What was your favourite WC as far as location and atmosphere?

I played in 6 World Championships. I definitely remember the first of them, in Bratislava 1996, and of course the 1999 WC in Zvolen where we won gold. As a player, I cherish my participation at the 2005 WC in Pittsburgh, where I said farewell to my national team; I was team captain at age 36. I gave a good performance and we won silver medals.

5. Who are the best players you remember you had to play against?

Ooooooooh. Can I name at least 50 of them? Gortsos, Kourousis, James Mentis, Musto, Marchese, Burrows, Gilbert, Kormunda, Pavlík, Kejmar.

6. What were your feelings playing against your arch rivals like Czech Republic and Canada? How did you feel before these games?

I was excited, tense, nervous, but also looking forward to those games. I kept pushing the clock on with my eyes whenever our team was leading, and tried to slow the clock down whenever the score was reversed. These were games where I tried to excel so as to motivate the whole team to give a better performance.

7. What did the game of ball hockey do for you in your life as a person?

It affected my life in an absolutely positive manner. I have found many friends to last a lifetime. The successes also brought me lots of great and unforgettable experiences from all the WCs, tournaments, and training camps. Thanks to ball hockey, I was given the opportunity to travel around the world.

8. What would you tell a young player about trying to represent his country at ISBHF WC?

Humility, respect, discipline. Leave your heart on the playing field, all of your strength, and pay attention. To yourself, to your teammates as well as opponents. Learn so that you can later pass it on to younger players.

9. What do you think the future of Hockey balle or Ball Hockey is?

Unfortunately, I fear that those who “created” ball hockey never got the chance to perform at the international stage. Either not at all, or only for a short time. From year to year, the number of creative players, or “showmen”, is going down. Physically strong players with deficits in skills or tactical thinking are becoming more prominent. That’s how I see the future. My wish for ball hockey is therefore to expand its players’ base, so that new stars are born that kids will want to imitate and whose play it will be a joy to watch.

President's note

George Gortsos
ISBHF president

This past weekend I had the honour of becoming the third President of the ISBHF. I believe that as a player and coach I have always strived to play ball hockey in a skilled and team way. Now I have a chance to work with all the great leaders of our sport throughout the World who love the game like we all do. I met some great people in Paris. And I would like to thank the representatives of all our member nations who voted me in on behalf of ball hockey players around the World. This is an honour I will handle with the honesty and hard work that made me a successful player and coach. I want to share the main keys that I will strive to work with my fellow board members to make this game better around the World.
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