Topic: Where is your game at?

[bbtuna]

OM asked me about my game and he noted I didn't talk about it much...reason is I think foosers like to talk about their games and sometimes I feel talk too much (just my opinion, don't stop, it is not a judgement, just an observation and personal choice )...I question my humility in talking about it and don't want to come off as a bragger or as a delusional American Idol contestant

plus, few here really know me, no one really cares about my game, and further, it is just so much blah, blah, blah from an unproven player - especially an older player who people have a tendency to stereotype

this is the same reason I quote so many other known players when it comes to training and game stuff...I have no cache to back up my "theories"

even with that said, i decided to go ahead and give you, since you asked, a high-level evaluation of where my game is at and to ask everyone else to do the same

I mean, who doesn't love to talk about their game, think about how much mental and physical energy we put into our games and how much we all love it

so, the next post I will give you my assesment of my game and all comments, recommendations, and critisisms are welcome

you all post your game overview and we all can give feedback on that as well

foos on brothers of the struggle

[bbtuna]

here goes my American Idol evaluation of my own game

it is a mix of old and new, at least I think that is what others see...it sometimes makes people think older because of the backpin or even when i am shooting a pull because, well, I am old

however, my game actually plays young, new, even edgy at times

I definitely don't shoot like a older player, my shot still has enough pop, lateral speed, and more power than probably 95% of the people I see play regardless of age even though it isn't as fast laterally as it was in my teens and early twenties

my 5 bar has developed quite a lot over the last 2 years and I would say it is a unique mix of brush and stick pre-wall off the wall and when I am doing what I want the way I can it is very good...I am proud of what it has developed into and have at times eaten up really good 5 bars and I have had an increasing number of people pro-actively say something to me which I know means a lot because people don’t complement things often in foosball unless they are really good

my 2 bar is as good/effective as pretty much any I have seen at any level...it isn't as blinding as Billy's but whose is but I can shoot every hole from both sides using different sets and of course can crack off some strong backpins when the fit hits me

my 3 bar is in transition...when I was shooting my bp it was good enough to score on anyone as long as I made good decisions (lots behind this I won’t get into now)

however, my 5 bar defense is spotty, it is sometimes real strong and sometimes I wonder if my man is even in play but it is leaning more toward being effective more often and it is maturing…this means I can totally dominate weak 5s both sides of the ball and am getting to split defensively with the better ones up to and including the few pro and PM 5’s I have played

my goalie D is by far my weakest area but it is improving a little at a time and sometimes looks real good but it is still way too inconsistent

overall, my game is good enough to win, maybe even dominate, AM and Semi IF I can pull together the most important thing…there is a big gap but it is mainly one thing which would transform my game from where it is, to the top of the lower ranks

CONSISTENCY and the Mental game...

Mental Game
I am not A.D.D but I have a creative and analytical mind and it is constantly working and  process improving ... this creates some great ideas but is a hindrance when you are playing because when you play the mental approach needs to be focused on now and strategic decision making not creation and execution

this side of the mental game feeds back to consistency because this mental wandering creates inconsistency and I have enough issues with consistency physically with my age and make up without adding a variable as controllable as this one

this same wandering sometimes impacts my game at key pressure situations so that I don’t make the decisions I should which in turn creates physical execution issues (ahh, some call this choking but it really isn’t always that for me…no really )

CONSISTENCY
I already mentioned the impact of the mental game above to this but then I have an actual physical issue which is a by-product of age and personal make-up that impacts my ability to execute consistently

I know some people have a natural disposition physically to repeating strokes (all stroke sports will understand this) and I have never been one of these people but when I was young I was able to overcome this weakness through determination, repetition, and athletic ability but as I have learned the game again and matured over the last 4 years, this has been the last thing to come around…I expect it can improve still quite a bit as my mental game comes around but I feel certain now, after long protracted evaluation, it will never be what it was in foos life #1

[Old Meister]

Dang Bb! you can be long winded at times, LOL! But in reality I appreciate your post in that I parallel much of it. I initially wanted to know how you did at St Louis, description of the games and players and such. I do like to hear how people view their games as I try to learn from them, especially when much of our styles are the same, at least I gather that from your description. That backpin just keeps drawing me back to it even though I can go with the rollover effectively. I just love to tap/rock it into position for the long pull or back cut tweener pull or the long push which is on auto pilot, mix in some mini pin pulls or pushes and bump kicks and thing get to rocking.

[foozkillah]

No matter how good I've come to regard my game at different points in my life, I've been lucky or unlucky enough never to be satisfied with it.  Always always always, I will leave my "game" at some Denny's table or some filthy sink in some corner gas station's be-damned restroom with a portal to some ancient crypt and sewer, on the way back from a DYP or Bring.

Win or lose with it, I kiss it goodbye, knowing that it will always suck, mentally, physically, or socially, in comparison to someone else's.  Never worth keeping, and always better to be always searching for the better stuff.  I just keep the attitude to learn and experiment even more.

I think one of those Denny's is now a generic miniMart and a couple of those gas stations are ethnic variety stores where they sell cheap cigs and fancy lighters and phonecards to the 3rd world.  Maybe one or more of my "games" is hanging on a clearance hook or display somewhere in one of those places, along with the stale Chunky's and expired chips and failed curio items.