Topic: My step kid keeps beating me at foosball, how do I get better?

[clefthegraduate]

I recently got married to a remarkable woman who has kids from a previous marriage. Her daughter is the sweetest thing alive; a 10-year-old angel whom I’ve grown to love more than her mom. However, the 16-year-old boy is the devil incarnate; he didn’t take the separation well and the last thing he wants is another guy replacing his dad.

I’ve tried being understanding and talking to him about it; we’ve even taken him to see a professional, but he just won’t budge. I want to build a relationship with him because I get how he’s feeling, but also because it’s just as important to his mom. Anyway, a friend from college who’s a psychology major mentioned that sometimes boys tend to interpret their mom remarrying as a situation where they need to establish dominance over their mom’s affection. I’m paraphrasing because it’s some Freudian mumbo jumbo I didn’t quite get.

Long story short, the same friend recommended I read this article to get an idea of some activities us boys might try as a means of toning down his hostility https://studybreaks.com/thoughts/free-entertainment-for-students-in-2020/. Although it’s not in there, the article did give me an idea of how the two of us could “settle” the whole dominance thing: foosball.

I remember playing while I was in college and I thought I was pretty good. But the darn kid is a wonderboy or something! I can’t win a single game and now, instead of us connecting over it, he’s wiping the floor with me and bragging about it to all of his friends and his mom and sister. I need help! How do I get better, other than the obvious “practice, practice, practice?” Is there a strategy or tactic I can use? I’m feeling embarrassed and I want to get better so the two of us can finally talk about something other than what a “loser” I am!

[ShopTeacher]

Unfortunately, practice is the answer. Learn a few shots. Pull shot and pull kick are good beginner shots, there a ton of videos out there to execute those shots.

5 Bar practice and passing to the 3 bar is huge. Start with the stick series and just learn wall and lane passes for now.

Move your defense together as a unit, dont stay stationary while he sets up his shot. Dont be too predicable with your patterns. Never stack your goalie and 2 bar guy in "I formation", always cover 2 holes.

[bolt115]

If you do figure out how to get better without practicing I think we would all like to know that secret!   anyway....there are plenty of youtube videos to help people improve at foosball but all ultimately require practice to get better and that is only if you have a quality table...if it is a "walmart" table you pretty much have to learn the quirks on that specific table you have. If you really like the game maybe search for tournament in your area that you and your son can go to.