Reprinted with permission from Inside Foos The newsletter of southern California foosball 1991
I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that the five-row is the most important row on the table, both offesively and defensively. Let's talks about offense first.
It doesn't really matter which side of the table you pass on, except I would strongly recommend using one side or the other. Some people do some razzle dazzle passes that go in the middle of the table, however, for a consistent pass you need to be able to utilize the wall to be truly effective.
What is the secret of the five man?
Well it's very simple.
All you need is two passes a wall and a lane. It doesn't matter how you chose to do these two passes, (stick, } chip ,or squeeze) except that the takeof for hoth passes must look the same and you need to be able to hit both passes with as much speed as possible.
If your uphill is slower than your wall, this gives your opponent something to key on. More on that next issue, when we discuss defense. The key to be able to hit your uphill as fast as your downhill is, guess what? PRACTICE PRACTICE and still more PRACTICE
I was at a tournament a few years ago and I was playing five man war with your friend and mine, Evan Stacheleck.
Evan kept missing his uphill, so I sat him down on the table and made him do 100 uphills in a row. Evan has since told me, that since that day, he has never missed an uphill pass. So if anybody, anywhere, sees Evan miss an uphill, please let me know so I can make him do another 100. Another key issue on the five man, is being able to get the opposing forward to commit defensively one way oranother before you actually pass the ball. The motion or hover before you actually pass the ball can make all the difference in the world. What I do is, to hover
over the ball in such a way that I can go either way (uphill or downhill) at any time during the motion of my pass. What I usually start doing is, to watch what the opposing forward does, when I hover over the ball paying particular attention to the wall. As I hover over the ball, my first look, is to see if he seems like he's going one way or another. Most people like to jump to the wall when they think you are going there. If someone tries to race you to the wall, I would suggest trying to beat him or her there, since you know when you're taking off and he doesn't.
The key to beating him is not only speed, but disguising your takeoff so he can't tell when you start the pass. If your takoff to the wall looks exactly like your uphill, then he won't be able to race you effectively. This is my favorite type of defense to pass against since I know before I start my pass, what he/she is going to do. This allows you to work your opponen. By this I mean, if you keep pounding the wall, you will be able to tell when they are going to move, so if you know that the opposing forward is jumping to the wall every time you pass, then you know that a perfectly executed uphill will work.
It is also important in working your opponent, to use that ten seconds to your advantage. Don't rush your pass. The more time you take to pass, the more fakes you can throw in, the better. I also recommend trying to get the ball to just about stop before you pass. This usually forces the opponet to commit one way or another.
As you know, in the current rules, the ball can be stoppod for up to 9/10ths of a second and it is still a legal pass. They are talking about changing the rule, but until then, I plan on taking advantage of it.
If your having trouble getting your passes to look the same, don't be afraid to ask someone better than you to help.
Some of my top five-rows in So. Cal would be: Evan Stachelek, Trace (Stork) Ehrig, Terry Moore, Jim Stevens or Terry Blanco. Any of these guys would be more than willing to help you if you'll just ask. Of course that goes for me too. By the way, notice how the people with the top five-rows are also the top players.
My best advice to you is to practice. You need to hit your uphill as often as your down. Don't get into the habit of liking one pass better then another. When someone comes up to me for the scoop on someone's five-row, I can usually tell them that they go to the wall more than up. Don't let me tell them that about you.
For practicet I like to play five man wars to ten points and I play that first one to win ten games is the winner. I play losers outs, but if you spike and catch their pass, then you get the point and the drop. Find someone that wants to improve their five-row and challenge them to this contest.
I guarantee that it won't be long before your five starts improving alot.
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