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Simon Laubscher, floorball player, at Ricola
SIMON LAUBSCHER, FLOORBALL PLAYER
Between the workplace at Ricola and the sports hall
05 / 2024
Simon Laubscher is a top athlete – in all respects. Not only does the man from Solothurn play floorball at the highest level for SV Wiler-Ersigen, he also demonstrates top sporting qualities outside the hall with his studies and part-time job at Ricola.
Why do you take on this triple challenge of sport – study – job?
«It has always been important to me to find an education that I enjoy alongside floorball. I like juggling with numbers, so studying economics in the Master’s programme was an obvious choice. As a result, I looked for a suitable part-time job to complement my studies so that I could gain my first work experience at the same time.
On the one hand, it was important to me that the employer understood the double sporting workload. I knew that this was the case with the partner companies of the Athletes Network. Another criterion was and will always be that the job fits in with my studies. Everything was right at Ricola. So I can accept that the commute to the idyllic little town of Laufen now takes a little longer than with other jobs that were advertised.
It’s important to combine everything well and make good use of the time. Thanks to the flexibility granted to me by my line manager Tatiana, among others, I can split my workload. Until recently, the focus was on the Superfinal; now it’s calmer again and I can spend more time working and studying.
I particularly like the fact that I have very varied tasks and am given responsibility at the same time. My area of responsibility is not set in stone. As an “Excel expert” in the marketing team, I am a highly valued employee who enjoys the tasks that require my Excel skills.
As long as my body allows it, I want to continue doing the double or triple duty. I love playing floorball and being on the pitch with my friends and team-mates. I also see top-class sport as a school for life, so I have no worries if I don’t gain as much work experience during my top-class sporting career as my peers. Besides, I will still be able to work enough.»
Wie bist du in der Halle – wie im Office?
I am a very ambitious player. When I’m on the pitch, I want to win. Nevertheless, I can say that I have a good mix of seriousness and relaxation. It’s important to always enjoy what you’re doing in order to be able to perform well. Be it in sport or at work.
I’m also a very loyal player. I grew up 5 minutes away from this club and made the leap into the national team here. So it was natural for me to want to return to my home club after a brief detour to GC floorball in Zurich, not least because of my team-mates, who have become friends.
So I’ve been with Wiler-Ersigen a little longer and I’m one of the more experienced players, so you can and must expect me to speak up when something isn’t right, but I also get the youngsters involved when I realise they need support. I have a good instinct for that and I enjoy pushing the youngsters.
«I am happy to take on a leadership role.»
I am also not averse to leading a team in a later career. I am very communicative and will be able to take a lot from my time in floorball, which I can also benefit from in later teams.
Here at Ricola, I really enjoy working in a team. I really enjoy getting involved and appreciate the fact that they approach me proactively. But I’m certainly still lacking experience, so I don’t have the same role here as I do in my floorball team. But that’s quite normal.
Full of words of praise, Tatiana G., Director Global Product Management, adds: «You can tell that Simon brings the mindset from sport and is used to completing a large programme and organising himself. That also brings a good drive to the team. We were also actively looking for someone who tackles things and is forward-looking.»