Zalesny: The Monster

He is the player, who you cannot miss in a team. He is the fighter as well as the querulant. With his emotions and enthusiasm, he can decide the important games, as well as provoke the opponents or the own teammates. He is one of the few floorball players who have played in all highest divisions in all Top-4 floorball countries. Yes, we are talking about the “forever young” Ales Zalesny (36), who is making his already 13th season abroad.

Most of the time, he had played in Switzerland. And as it seems now, Switzerland will become his home even after the playing career is over. But to quit playing, that’s not something Zalesny is planning to do any time soon. On the contrary, he gets inspired by one of the biggest Czech (worldwide) sports icons – Jaromir Jagr (44), who is still the NHL Superstar, well known for his hard practice routine.

„This guy totally fascinates me! And he motivates me as well. I am really proud that we come from the same country, “ says Zalesny about the ageless hockey player and adds on: “All those, who would like to achieve something in their life or in their sports career, should just follow his footsteps.”

Summer practice pays off
And that’s not just a cliché in case of Zalesny. As he says, he also does. With all his power and enthusiasm, he invests into a sports training and physical preparation, including matches in inline hockey, when the floorball season is over. Also summer practice with hockey players is on his menu. He is convinced of the effect such a tough training gives him, in combination with the variety of offers given by the sports center at his home place in Tenero, are the crucial reasons why he is always so well prepared before the floorball season starts. All this allows him to play floorball at the age of 36 on a very high level. Already for four years, all his effort and driving force is to be projected into the results of Verbano Gordola. This club, with Zalesny in his centre since his arrival in 2012/2013, managed to climb two leagues up and will play in NLB next season for the first time in the history of the club. “Sport is my life, my second love and passion. I couldn’t exist without sport. It´s really fulfilling and it gives me strength”, Zalesny says.

_{Sikora (cheering) and Zalesny (on the floor) have been crucial personalities for the Czech historical success at WFC 2004. (Photo Daniel Zannantonio)}

Sikora as Headhunter
His journey to floorball professionalism had started with a year in Finland, in the team of Kirkkonummi Rangers in the season 2003/2004, and it’s necessary to mention that he did well. He ended up as number 20 in the overall scoring stats, he was the second best in his team and with a total of 41 points in 29 games he showed his potential. Despite the obvious success, he had left the country of the thousand lakes already after just one year.

“My good friend and a teammate from the national team Radek Sikora (now coach Wiler-Ersigen), contacted me. He was at that time playing for UHC Grünnenmatt in 1. Liga and they had ambitions to get promoted to NLB. It suited me well, as it was easier for me to be with my family and at the same time the sport challenge was satisfyingly high. And we did it. A year after my arrival, we could celebrate the promotion!”, Zalesny remembers his “first steps” in Switzerland.

It didn’t take a lot of time and Zalesny became a scoring star of NLB. That was one of the reasons why in the middle of the season 2006/2007 Basel Magic contacted him with a clear request. He was supposed to help them in the playouts of NLA. Zalesny accepted the challenge and transferred for half a year to NLA (11 g + 17 a) and helped to achieve what Basel wanted. At the same time, his mates in Grünnenmatt made it to NLA as well and so after half a year in the different jersey, Zalesny continued in the highest division with his home club.  

_{Philippe Soutter played a key role in the career of Ales Zalesny. (Photo Erwin Keller)}

Soutter and the Monster
The most important decision in the floorball life of Ales Zalesny was to say yes to an offer coming from Tigers Langnau in 2008. He managed to win the Cup twice and once he made it to the playoff-final, which was lost against Wiler. “I really have just good memories connected to Tigers. They had a great team, supported in a fantastic way by its president Erich Kopf, whom I consider to be the best floorball club boss I have ever met.” But its not just about the sport successes, there was one more important meeting happening. Zalesny got to know the coach Philippe Soutter and it seems to have been love “at the first sight”.

They seem to click the right way. Soutter admires Zalesnys emotions and the will to win. He called him “Monster” and it was meant as a highest compliment. And only compliments are to be found by Zalesny as well: “Philippe Soutter is the best coach I have ever played for. He has an enormous respect, he knows how to communicate with players and he is not afraid to be tough and straight forward. That’s not something everyone can or dares to do. And I praise him for that.”

_{Ales Zalesny lead Verbano into NLB this season (Photo Damian Keller)}

Verbano instead of Warberg
And yes, it was actually Soutter, who defined the career of the sniper Zalesny for many years. After one year in Warberg in Sweden (season 10/11), which was the dream coming true as well as another lost final (Stovreta won 8:7 after penalty shots) and one more year in Tigers (11/12), Soutter approached him with quite a surprising offer: Let’s come to play for Verbano Gordola. It is three leagues lower than you are used to, but together we can do something big here. And Zalesny accepted, despite the fact that the offer came just half a year before the World Championships and it could have meant for him the end in the national team. So what was his motivation? “I wanted to help Philippe and the club. It was this type of a challenge that suits me, I love such situations. At the same time, the offer was financially not worse than those from the NLA teams, so why not?”, Zalesny says smiling.

During the four seasons that he so far has spent in Gordola, he became the icon of the club. With the captains armband, he is leading the performance of the team. This year he has collected twice as many points as the second best of his team, but as he himself mentions, he is proud of the collective. They managed together what had been Zalesnys goal since his arrival – to get among the best ones. Well, so far it is “just” NLB but that’s high enough so far. And Zalesny is quite clear about what the key points of the future success are.

“It will be very important to reach the playoffs already in the first season. I am sure, that we have the necessary quality for the 6th – 8th  place at the moment. It will be just up to us, how we deal with the new situation. The guys in the team will have to understand, that it’s necessary to practice more and better as a team as well as individually. That’s the basics.” His personal ambition is to make it all the way to NLA, but he knows that without the time investment of his teammates as well as financial support of the club, and maybe even an engagement of another foreign player, this might be a long shot. “Now it’s just up to them, if they want to play on the top or just the second violin”.

Not done yet
Ales Zalesny found his second home in the Italian part of Switzerland and he really enjoys living by the lake. “Me and my family have been enjoying ourselves very much here. Four years ago, when we moved here, it was a tough time for my daughter, who suddenly had to learn Italian. But she managed and now she wouldn’t like to live anywhere else. And me neither.” 

He is ready to participate at the potential successes of the club as long as it’s possible as a player, later on as a coach. “It is still my dream to play until 40 and I really believe that I can manage. After that, I would like to invest into the young ones and bring up some new players for the highest division. I have a lot of experience and I know a lot of tricks that I have collected through my long career. I am, with pleasure, ready to share it all.”

Interview with Ales Zalesny to be read here.