FoozKillah, I want to summarize my understanding of your Central Zone D to see if it's correct (along with some questions):
1. Defending forward's 3-bar defends against passes and shots between either wall and edge of big box using the side men.
-> I claim to have decent speed against other players here where I can often catch them with my 3-bar middle man. So right now, I tend to defend a lot more using my middle guy. If the opposing two-bar has the ball at the near side ready for a push, do I stay with him with my far man only until the big box and switch to my middle man after that? The assumption here is that if he shoots while I'm switching, my goalie will stop the ball.
Yes, your disciplined decision to cover outside the big box near or far side and then switching to your middle 3bar is exactly what I try to teach our rookies and beginners in Central ZoneD. Some gifted superfast forwards can stay still, without having to move laterally, and accelerate to race a 2bar push or pull, but most normal forwards, including all beginners and a lot of rookies (with much better ball control) get tired or distracted or intoxicated as more games are played. Most barhacks try to race or shake side-to-side blindly, and most opposing goalkeepers trying to shoot a pull or push can simply wait till the 3bar slows down or even stops: then they have initiative and can easily pull/push around the nearest 3bar figure or just pump fake and shoot OR PASS behind the nearest one.
A forward learning the habit of laterally moving the 3bar defensively against the 2bar, like "treading water" in a swimming pool or the ocean, forces that forward to be ready for a shot released towards the goal, AND a straight or downward lane pass, brushing "away" from the goal. In addition, it cuts the available angles for a bank shot or bank clear. Remember, ONLY THE FORWARD can do anything about the opposing goalkeeper's alternatives when not shooting on goal: making a straight or "away" pass to the forward partner, or even just clearing the ball. You might actually shut down all central shots, but that won't really help you, with you doing your goalkeeper's job, while the opposing goalkeeper has close to 100% passing and clears against your team. That would be extra free passes to the opposing forwards, and more chances to get slopped out of the game!
The motion for moving the 3bar laterally while defending should be end to end, BUT NOT CONSTANT, and with no rhythm at all. I recommend staying near the far end, pausng , then the near end, pausing, then changing the sequence, adding a quick motion back to the other end every so often, so the shooter/passer cannot time you. Also, years of observation indicates a high majority of quicksets from a good natural goalkeeper shows their 5 natural release points: the pull or push sprays from near either wall, the area around the big dot or center, and the two "posts" in the area near the first two outer dots (in front of either goal corner). The lateral end-to-end motion covers these areas. It is recommended, when pausing, to keep the 3bar figures shaking or circling around whichever of the 5 quickset release points they are at, always in motion. I've actually demonstrated this lateral motion with my 5bar near the center, pointing towards the opposing goal, while an opposing beginner or rookie goalkeeper tries to shoot, all the while with me looking away and talking to spectators instead of at the ball. The opponent may clear, but keeping count of how many times the shot is deflected or not able to be put on goal can often be ridiculous, and you have to be careful to make sure the shooting goalkeeper understands you're not trying to embarass him/her, just "treading water".
The Central ZoneD will always be good against quickset shots from any level opponent, but obviously won't be as effective against better players, who have practiced shots and passes to release points of THEIR CHOOSING. But it will be much harder to overrun & even overslop you with several points or passes from the goal area. And against advanced shooting and passing, you'll have turned it into what it's supposed to be, a GAME. How well can you react to and adjust against a timed or extremely smooth release, how well can you remember these ploys and strategies as the game goes along and what fakes and wrongsteps can you trade back and forth to get the upper hand? Foosball, with the cheap or cheesy shots and passes minimized.
One way to drill down your 3bar lateral motion is to play the opponents side with the ball, MEANING YOU PLAY GOALKEEPER, with the opposing 3bar set: shoot several dozen quicksets from a moving 2bar (or at least just after a split second as you stop the ball). Remember the release points areas and make slight adjustments to exactly where you stop to pause the 3bar to block these release points. Then observe and try to remember which goalies favor which areas to release (the most natural) their shots and passes. In fact, once you "profile" a goalkeeper, it's like magic sometimes, I swear! The more practiced the goalkeeper (or forwards too), the more consistent and reliable their release points! Remember that you must not do the 3bar lateral too fast, but more so in a smooth, relaxed but ever-moving motion. Hard, fast, virtually shaking 3bar lateral motion prevents you from reacting in time to practiced set shots or passes from the goalkeeper. The faster and harder you do ANY lateral motion, the more your natural rhythm will take over, making it easier for the opponent to time you. Plus it wears you down.
2. My goalkeeper defends either 54-53 or 52-53 lane at a time.
With this defense, it seems like a lot more balls will get through to the goalie, but the goalie should be in position to stop them; rather than stopping most of the balls in the central area at the forward 3-bar.
The more you play HERO, trying to shut down the middle, the less concentration and readiness you have to stop off-goal or off-center passes and banks. This may be effective against beginners and rookies who probably don't even have consistent passes or banks or simple clears, but any advanced goalkeeper player won't stay stupid if you do the classic 3bar "fork" with your 5bar. They will do their job and pass or clear the ball off-center, and your goal keeper will be helpless. This is even a greater problem in singles where your middle 3bar has to start covering a tic-tac'ing or back n forth series to include the farther middle (52-53 or 54-53) central lane. Especially if you can't control your goal & 2bar rods simultaneously with your left hand to switch central lanes, as you've obviously seen many pros and pro-masters do. Leaving the off-center release points makes you so vulnerable to passing, bankshots, and slop, worst of all.
REMINDER: In doing the 3bar lateral motion, NEVER pause in the middle where only the middel 3bar figure is covering one natural release point or area, the big dot. This is the STUPIDEST position, which we call Ice Cream Cone, to be caught in, since you should always be able to jump from either side to the big dot with the 3bar without hesitation. In the Ice Cream Cone position, you're actually making two large funnels on either side of the big dot to "Welcome" the opposing goalkeeper's shot or clear!! Many good goalkeepers will consciously try to freeze you in this position! In fact, pausing near either end makes it simple, if the shot or pass doesn't go near where your 3bar figures are guarding, you can't get frozen or wrongstepped by a good savvy tic tac'ing goalkeeper with a shake, a pump fake or continuous back & forth lateral setting. In other words: if you are on the near end or the far end of your lateral, and the shot is obviously not a quickset but a practiced motion, you don't have to worry about pushing or pulling - at the far end, pull the 3bar to race the ball; at the near end, push the 3bar to get there. It Keeps It Stupidly Simple.
If the opposing 2-bar is tick-tacking, I assume I still defend the best I can with my 3-bar middle man and let the my goalie handle the 54-53 and 53-52 lanes (moving roughly 1 inch at a time, and keeping one man behind the big dot).
Does that sound about right?
Thanks a lot for the detailed article -- I'm sure it'll be helping in coordinating our front and back D.
The Central ZoneD discipline is to protect against off-center shots, passes, and clears with your outer 3bar player closest to the opposing goalkeeper's release point. The middle 3bar must cover the area just past the central lanes, especially if the opponent tictac's or switches from their near side to their far side, waiting for the zone to break down. In doubles your 3bar should be concentrating on the edges outside either central lane, and your goalkeeper only has to concentrate on moving between the two center holes.
In singles, if you cannot, as yet, control the 2bar & goalplayer with your left hand while leaving your 5bar centered or adjusted against an opponent's natural lanes, and move your 3bar laterally end-to-end: You have to leave the goal & 2bar rods alone to shut down the nearest central lane, and you have to adjust your 3bar to cover past the first central lane - more work, but that's singles. You won't be able to shut down the 90% or more goalkeeper shots through both central lanes, having a narrower "safe zone" and you have to cover more lateral outside area with your 3bar.
Special Note 1: Remember that Central Zone D only has to have the goalkeeper close the two central lanes, smoothly JUMPING 1 to 1 1/2 inches TO EITHER HOLE, not sliding, while waiting to stop all slow banks and clears if they get deflected off your own 3bar and 5bar figures. And every central lane ball your goalkeeper captures IS A LOSS of POSSESSION, as they say, 9-tenths of the law! You put your goalkeeper in a very simplified, more relaxed zone, while covering the outside areas which only you, the forward, can.
Special Note 2: Experienced zone-breaking opponents can and will try to shoot through the central lane ANYWAY, especially if you have a really horrible beginner or sleepy rookie goalkeeper, who allows many suicidal rebounds to the opposing forward. You must emphasize that your goalkeeper be alert and really concentrate on not giving up any rebounds to the opposing forward. And if that doesn't work, then you have to be a HERO and start blocking the whole lateral area, but you'll probably get assassinated by more advanced opponents anyway, if your goalkeeper is that bad. If it works and the opposing goalkeeper has to make either careful set shots (much harder physically and taking more concentration, of course) or rely mostly on passing or clearing, you've won half the battle!
Remember: the idea is not to give up the natural quicksets, easy set shots, and uncontested passes or clears. The opponents may still execute them, depending on how experienced and talented they are, but you will have turned it into a GAME, A COMPETITION: Foosball.
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