Jane Klavan (Estonia): “The improvement has already been massive”

Jane Klavan is a 36-year-old forward in team Estonia. Tomorrow, her WFC starts off with a game against Norway. We asked her some questions.

You play at Eesti Maaulikooli, how is the season going?

We have had a slow start to the season – we have only played three matches. This year we have a lot of new players in our team, which means we still have a lot of work ahead of us. Many of the players are young, which is good for the development, but it just takes time.

As a forward in both Eesti Maaulikooli and the national team: is there a difference in how you have to play?

I am indeed a forward in the club and in team Estonia. Sometimes I also play as a centre for the club. I used to be a centre, but the head coach of team Estonia has put me in forward position and I think it is working. At first, it took some time to get used to, because as a forward I feel you keep hold of the ball less compared to a centre position.

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You qualified in a group with the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, and Belgium. How were these games?

The match against Czech was absolutely awesome, we played so well for the first 50 minutes. But then the last 10 minutes we became a little bit tired and we lost a little bit of concentration and the final score reflects that. But the first two periods were absolutely wonderful. We were so disciplined in the defense.

Poland was a challenge because they were playing on home ground. Italy and Belgium were important because we had to score a lot of goals to make the goal difference big enough for us to qualify.

You’ve played at one WFC before, in 2009. What do you want to improve compared to the previous one?

The improvement has already been massive. The team is so much more professional. I am much more professional on a personal level too – I have been preparing a lot during the last three years. Training with a personal trainer and devoting a lot of time to floorball and sports in general.

In the group stage, you meet Norway, Japan, and Denmark. What are your thoughts towards these games, and what are your goals?

All three matches will be challenging. I haven’t played against any of the teams. I saw Norway and Denmark play during the qualification tournament in Poland and I think, if we are having a really good day, we can have a very good, competitive match against them.

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How is your preparation for the WFC?

Personally, I have prepared a lot. I have been training twice a week with a personal physical trainer, I went running a couple of days a week, tennis twice a week and then three times floorball trainings with the club.

We played in the Latvian league with Estonian national team candidates and this has been massively important for the preparation. We had two very good consecutive matches over the weekends and this has been extremely helpful to get in the routine of the tournament.

How is it to play in the same team as your sister, Diana Klavan?

That’s one of the best things about playing for team Estonia. She is my shoulder that I can lean on. We understand each other very well both on the field and off the field. She is an amazing sportsman and she always gives me very good advice.

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Daniël Nicolai Member since May 17, 2016

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COFOUNDER - Passionate about (playing and watching) floorball. Working on social media and match reports. Always looking for new ideas, improvements and creative ways to spread floorball. You'll read about it!