The Snake-Shooters Toolkit
By Foosball Fanatic
This FAQ can be distributed, emailed, faxed and printed by anyone,
anywhere. It will be posted occasionally in alt.sport.foosball. I do not
use a spell checker, and frequently do not make sense. These are my
theories on the art of foosball. I have no scientific studies or data to
back up these ideas but I think you'll find them logical and useful.
A Little Bit About The Shot
The biggest change in foosball for the last decade has got to be the
invention of the Snake/Roll-Over. This shot is steadily gaining in
popularity and acceptance. Terry Moore has got to be given credit for
making this shot as popular as it is today. I did some more statistics on
the 96 Worlds and if we look again at 9th or better in Open Doubles and
Open Singles then you will see that the shot selection is equal for Pull
vs. Roll-Over (it slants slighly in favor of "Pulls" if you consider Swan
a Pull Shooter).
How Many Ways Can You Shoot The Snake?
There's about 18 major ways to execute this shot...You can apply pressure
to the rod at 3 angles(Downward, Upward, Right to Left)...and the shot can
be fired from a dead stop, slow rocking, fast rocking...and you can use a
grip or a bare handle....3x3x2 equals 18 different ways to shoot the
Roll-Over! I think all the 18 ways can be successful if practised enough
but I believe 2 or 3 of the ways are superior and here is why...
Pressure on the rod: I say use downward. Why? 2 reasons...first, because
of our bodies we can press downward with our body weight stronger than
lifting upward with just the strength of the arm. Secondly, roll-over
shooters who like to pull up on the rod sometimes give away there timing
with the shoulder going upward as they start to shoot. Dead Stop Or
Rocking. I say rocking. The roll-over take-off is disguised in the
rocking. The rocking makes it difficult to tell if the player is rocking
or shooting. When your at a dead stop, you lose the disguise and are more
prone to bait-race.
Grip-Or No Grip...I say you decide. The grip definitely makes the shot
harder...But I find the grip causes your wrist to bleed sooner..Yes
Sooner! It acts like a lose running shoe rubbing on your arm. If you cut
yourself frequently shooting a roll-over with a grip, do a test and try a
month without one and I think you'll be suprised. But both ways work well,
pick the one that best suits your personality. You can also use a glove
with a roll-over, it takes a litle practice but works well in time.
How Can I Get Good At It?
Shoot a lot of shots. Try to do 300-500 at a time maybe 2-3 times a week.
Keep records of your practices and you will notice your improvement after
3-4 weeks. Just simple practice makes any shot good.
The Under-Practiced, Under-Utilized Middle
The problem many snake shooters have is they telegraph the middle. They
quick-set shoot it, or tap to get you off it. the middle is a big hole and
I think the key to it is practicing it while you are rocking and hitting
it while you are moving so it is not telegraphed. You can practise two
middles, the push middle and the pull middle on a reverse defense...The
reverse defense pull middle is a tougher shot since it is a blind hole.
The Greats
Check out Terry Moore and Louis Cartwright. I believe they possess the
best Roll-overs in the world today.
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