Topic: New member

[Bluenote]

Long time listener, first time caller. I am lucky enough to live in the berbs of St. Louis, MO and have a great talent base of foosers near me with two venues to find a game (stratford and playoffs). So no bitching here. But, like most who strive to become better, I spend most of my time at the table solo. I have an ok 5 but looking to improve. Mostly a stick pass near wall
series with a brush thrown in. My quest for the next level is stopped by the fact that I do not get enough top spin on my stick pass and all to often is executed great but  Hits my three and bounces back to the opponets five bar. Any tips?

Thanks for your time,
Joe

[Will17]

Practice often.

If the ball is a little bit behind the 5 rod, not as far back as a brush but still back there, when you stick the ball it will scrape the surface and the man and it will help to put some spin on the ball. This isn't the most important thing though. My guess is you are holding your 3 bar eihter in the wrong place or too tightly.

Make sure you have a relaxed grip on your right hand, not loose but relaxed for sure.
There are a few different ways people catch stick passes but one common one is to put the 3 bar man pointed pretty far forward and when the ball hits the man come back around and pinch it in a back pin if it doesn't stick right away.

Another way is to put the 3 bar back towards the 5 bar and react to catch the pass. It is harder to do for me but some guys do it with a lot of consistency.

Hope that helps. I'm sure other people will have other advice too and try everything and go with whatever works.

[Bluenote]

Will17,

Thanks. I mostly start with my three straight down and give forward to catch. At home I can catch 60 to 70 %, but as you can assume in a game that percent is much lower. I don't know if I hit the pass to hard or just don't have the timing down yet. Don't get me wrong when I'm on I'm on, but not as consistant as I would like. The players I play against are legit and not making a pass could mean the game. Just trying to get better and thanks for your reply.

Joe

[Will17]

I think you should play around with the location that you hit your stick from, under the bar, behind it, and in front of it. If you can develop a larger skill set it will benefit you for sure. The advice moya and mike gave you on the other board is also good, they are both pro master players and have a ton of experience. I know the players in st. louis are good, you are obviously a good foosball player based on the question you are asking and the locations you play at. You should be able to pass 99% at home though, and in games be able to catch everything that isn't blocked. I'm not saying that I catch 100 percent of my passes but strive for perfection.

I'm sure you will be beating the players that you call legit in no time if you practice with the right mentality. If you havn't already watched Eric Dunn's 5 Fundamentals of Foosball then go do that right now - it is a bunch of great lessons and really focuses on how to learn - not specific small parts of the game but foosball as a whole.

http://ericfoosin.blogspot.com/

[Bluenote]

Will17,

thank you for your reply. I have watched eric's videos and thank him for making them, any material like that is wonderful, and there is not enough IMO on the web.

I love the fact that these boards are here to bounce ideas off of others who share the same passion. I look forward to talking to you and everyone in the future.

[Will17]

You comin to worlds?

[Bluenote]

Wish I could. I am going on vacation with the girlfriend to Mexico in dec. and won't be able to travel until after the new year for Foos. I am however attending neil's Foos for your heart tourny on sept 12th and have a weekly game to keep me sane. 

Where are you from will? That is if you don't mind me asking.

[Will17]

Edmonton in Canada. You should come play the Canadina Nationals if you can - in October. You might not have any holidays left after your mexico trip but our nationals will be epic, your dollar goes a long way here too and you only need friday off to make it to the event.

[Bluenote]

Ahh. An oilers fan eh? Well we bleed blue here in the stl. I played some jr. B hockey in Winnipeg. I would love to come in oct. And would love to go back to Canada. I love you canucks. I went to southeast Missouri state and got into a bar fight trying to turn a blues game on the tv. What kind of world are we living in?

[Will17]

Wow thats cool, I played Midget AAA and and a bit of Junior B when I was 17 but then retired from hockey. I am an oilers fan - I also bleed blue - but your Blues are at least no sort of rival so I can respect you for that! This Heatly thing sort of killed our chances for this year before it even began, but the new coaching staff should be good. Still how can you recover from all the negatives of that missed trade. Three players that know we don't want them anymore that are stuck on the roster.

I should have figured you were a hockey guy based on your user name and city that you are from but I didn't clue in.

[Bluenote]

I feel your pain. With all of the injuries the notes had last year i was happy they made the playoffs. I got my tickets for the home opener against atl. The heatly deal sucks. As long as your not a blackhawks or wings fan I'll talk hockey all day. (hope both cities burn down, chi again) stl is a baseball city first and formost but is full of diehard hockeyfans. Hard to find in the Midwest.

[Bluenote]

Will, have you seen this

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Canadian Matt Frattin has been dismissed from the University of North Dakota hockey team for violating team rules.

Head coach Dave Hakstol said Frattin was arrested and charged with driving under the influence on Wednesday.

Frattin had another run-in with police last month. He was given a 10-day suspended sentence, fined US$225 and put on probation for a year in an incident in which he and a former UND player were accused of throwing dinnerware, a kitchen table and a lawnmower onto a street.

Hakstol says Frattin's status with the team might be revisited before the 2010-11 season.

Frattin is a native of Edmonton and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round in 2007.

[Will17]

Ya from what I have heard St. L is a good hockey town. Probably not the same as here in Edmonton, butwe don't even have any other legitimate pro teams.

Most people don't even know the rules to baseball, and they think football has 3 downs(CFL rules )

I have never heard of Frattin before, I'm 24 though so my draft year was a while back - I stopped watching hockey for a couple years and got really bitter after I got cut from a JR A team lol. Now I forgive the sport but don't play much, I watch almost every oilers game and follow hockey pretty closely again.

[Will17]

Tkachuk was in Edmonton a couple weekend ago by the way, I saw him at West Edmonton Mall i think - his son was here for a tournament.

[Bluenote]

Will,

if you dont mind, name me the greatest player to ever touch ice. And please don't say 99.

I would love to move to Canada just for the sat night hockey on tv.