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Robert Kassa

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Robert Kassa - Forward, SVK

He was born 22nd June 1975 in well-known family of Žilina with strong ice-hockey tradition. His father Róbert senior scored 55 goals in season 1974/1975 which has been an unbietable record of the First Slovak Hockey League until now. It is likely that Rober Junior was given hockey talent of his father. Soon after making his first steps, Robert started playing with hockey stick and he spent whole days on hockey stadiums and hockeyball playgrounds. His parents can still remember Robert and his friends playing their very first games against older boys from the neighbourhood. In the beginning, Robert used to be a goalkeeper or an offensive player who always marked some points. As a child, he often introduced himself as: Bobo Kašša, the hockey player.

Robert´s first big hockeyball moment came into being when hockeyball league in Žilina was first estabilished and local trainers and team managers started to look for new potential players. He was chosen by HBC Relax and he played in his first real matches as a goalkeeper. However, his team needed strikers and that was the reason why he changed his position. Ice hockey was still a sport number one for him, but after some time he showed his interest in hockeyball. When he was 16 years old, he had already been one of the most redoubtable players of the local league and he was sold for record-breaking 1000 crowns to a very ambitious SC North Stars team. Due to this, he passed out his premiere in the national senior competition. By this time he was only 17 years old.

In 1994 Slovak republic estabilish its very first junior representation team and Robert took part in it. Young Slovak hockeyball players played two matches against Czech republic and scored amusingly 6:2, 5:5. Kašša scored 2 goals in both matches and due to that he was selected as one of the members of Senior representation team, which was training hard to get ready for European championship 1995. He decided to give up his representation carrier after some dishonesty and dirty tricks made by management of the Slovak hockeyball union. He didn´t want to change his opinion until changing of the management leaders of the team.

He returned to ice hockey and still played few hockeyball matches for his favourite local team HBC 07 Žilina. His dream of getting to the senior representation team again came through in 1998. He also participated to his first world champioship in this year. When the national team went to Litomeřice in Czech republic, where world championship was held, Robert was only invited as a pinch-hitter. He worked hard and did his best to become one of the key players and his 4 goals made him being the best shooter of the Slovak national team, which managed to win silver medals.

In 1999 when World championship was held in Zvolen (Slovakia), he played together with NHL-stars Jozef Stumpel and Pavol Demitra who pushed Slovak representation to winning their first appresement of the World champions. In the next season Robert not only played his first European championship, but except winning the second place he was also named as a part of All-stars team. He was given an award for the best player of EUROCUP 2000, where he participated as a member of local team HBC 07 Žilina. His team won the second place again. After this succes, he obtained a prize for the Best hockeyball player of the Slovak republic 2000. When he went to world championship which was held in Toronto in the next season (2001), he had already been considered as the key player of the national team. Except that Slovak team won the 3rd place, Robert was given a personal award for the Most Valuable Forward of the whole championship and MVP Player Team Slovakia. Due to playing his very best matches in championship, the manager of the Montreal´s Black Knights Tony Iannitto made him an offer to play hockeyball semi-profesionally for his team in the prestigious Montreal Competition P.T.M. Ball Hockey League.

He suffered serious car accident in 2001 but his will to play as a first European player in Canada was stronger. He flew to Montreal together with another Slovak ball hockey player Vladimír Žák in the beginning of 2002, and they both assisted to the victory of their team in the autumn-winter part of the competition. Later in the season he flew back home, where he managed to help his mother club to win the 2nd place. After local succes he came back to Montreal again. His Canadian club Black Knights gained the 2nd place and after all these succesful results Robert was given an award for the best ball hockey player of Slovak republic (2002), for the second time.

In the season 2003, he took part in the Slovak representation team again and obtained the 3rd place in the worlds championship in Switzerland. Later in the season he played for Black Knighs again. His team participated to the Canadien championship. This championship was very special for Robert because he passed through one of the most memorable moments of his carrier when his team managed to win the quarter finals against strong opponent Montreal All Blacks leaded by NHL tough guy George Laraque. Kašša scored 3 of 4 goals, marking the important draw goal and finally by scoring the winning goal in over time, he pushed his team to semi-finals. Laraque commented his play as „terrific“ and after winning semi-finals Black Knights obtained the second place at the championship.

He estabilished the first specialized ball hockey class in the world in autumn 2003, which consisted of both – boys and girls. He participated to his last match as a member of representation team in 2007, when Slovaks took part in the World championship in Germany. Due to this, he obtained his last bronze medal. He also took part in the preparation for the world championship in 2009, but he left and dind´t participate to the competition because of the personal and working difficulties.

However, he regularly plays in the local league together with other „retired“ hockey and hockeyball players. You can still see him playing for the STUMPEL team where he often plays together with NHL players – Jozef Stumpel, Tomáš Malec, Miroslav Zálešák, Rostislav Olesz, Branislav Mezei, Lukáš Krajíček, etc.

„It is likely that you will hear about Kašša in the hockeyball future again,“ joking Kašša senior. His son Róbert Daniel (born 2003) is following his father´s steps and maybe also him will be a famous hockeyball player one day.fortunately, 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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