Topic: What is the optimal playing/practising duration?

[Malamir]

Last Thursday I have played foosball for 5 hours. Somewhere about the 3rd hour I was able to execute only euro-pin pull shot. I was not able to do euro-pin push - because it was too slow to score. On the next day I played foosball for about 1h but again - I was too slow. The next 3 days I played for about 30-60 minutes. My palms hurt from playing and I was not able to shoot at all... I played too much

What is the optimal playing/practising time? How many days a week do you play foosball? What is the best way to prepare for a tournament?

[Tyler Foos]

Malamir,

Good question. While there can be some down side risk to over-practicing, the better you do at a tournament and especially if you're in multiple events, the goal is to play a lot of foosball. Conditioning outside of table time is a good idea for improved stamina. Getting the muscle memory grooved for each shot can decrease fatigue. The only correct answer is what works best for you, and a large part is getting the most out of your practice time.

Pretty generic reply, I know, hopefully others will add more.

Take care................................Tyler

[IndyGunworks]

I play several hours a night a few nights a week.  the record at the moment was 14 hours straight.  I understand what you mean about negatively affecting your game, but i think thats more of a mental thing.  I would practice until you start to get sloppy, then take a break and come back later to practice for an equal duration... for me thats about 1.5 hours w/ a 30 min break then another 1.5 hours.   the push side euro pin is hard to learn, chances are you didnt stop hitting it because you slowed down, but rather the defense caught on that they could cheat to one side and race you to the push side.    All this means is you need to stop practicing the pull side even though its more fun to practice and ONLY practice the push side until both sides are equally as good.

[jagiar]

"It's like a finger pointing to the moon.  Concentrate on the finger and you'll miss all the heavenly glory"

Bruce Lee

i.e. don't think about the time required.  Just play, enjoy and focus on what you're doing right (and wrong) and not the clock.  It's not about how fast you get good, it's about how long you keep playing and your focus so that your game is not just good for the moment, but consistent, always.