Reprinted with permission from Inside Foos The newsletter of southern California foosball 1991
|One of the most difficult facets of the game of foosball is knowing
which shot to shoot and when to shoot it. Obviously there is no definite
set rule when to shoot your straight, middle or long. It depends on a variety
of factors, the most important, of course being what the goalie is doing.
I have a fairly basic philosophy about shooting f rom the three-row
that I would like to share with you. As a forward, I believe it is vitally
important that you "set the goalie up" as opposed to the goalie setting
you. You the forward must take charge and set the ground rules. For example:
. f the defender is giving a race defense, it is imperative that you find
out if you can beat him to the long. If you can do so.
Let's say you've shot six longs in row and made four of them. The goalie
must be focused on getting to your long. You have now set him/her
up for the inside shot. If you are stroking your long and the goalie is
able to race you to the hole, rest assured that as long as your take off
looks the same, an inside shot will have to be open
A major key in deciding which inside shot to shoot, is to observe what
happens to the goalies men as they race you out to the long hole. Are the
men Slitting up to any noticeable degree? If they are, that would indicate
that they are trying to cover the long and the short hole and it would
be time to think middle.
Another big key to scoring is timing. Most goalies, with few exceptions,
end up moving their men in zooms sort of pattern while defending the shot.
They float in and out of the various holes and a definite pattern can usually
be spotted. Timing your shot is simply "feeling" when your opponent is
going to be the farthest away from the hole you have decided to shoot.
I like to try and start my shot just as the goalie is about to vacate my
hole of choice. What that means is that they must Complete their defensive
pattern in order to bet back to the hole they have vacated. For example:
lets say that the goalie is camping on your long and at the same time is
circling madly on the straight and middle. I have decided to shoot a straight.
I sit and use the clock in order to get the feel of their men. As the goalie
man moves out and back, out and back, I wait for that precise moment that
his man starts to move towards the middle hole and I bang the straight.
The goalie in this instance must move out to the middle and then back to
the straight in order to block me.
As the great foosball master Obi Wan Kanobi once said "feel the force",
become one with the defense and you will automatically know what to shoot.
Aside from deciding which hole to shoot from your three row, there
are a number of other factors to considered when thinking about your shot
The most important aspect to any shot, is the takeoff. I have touched on
this subject before, it is so important, that we are going to discuss it
again.
The initial thrust, the beginning of your stroke, has ago the same
motion, for each and every shot you do. If you dip your shoulder before
you shoot you better make darn sure that your shoulder also dipped for
your straight and your middle!
Let's talk about stance for a minute Everybody has there own
theory of how you should stand to shoot the ball. Mine is a simple one.
Make sure that it is comfortable for you. you must be able to freely pull
or push the rod without your body getting in the way. You should find the
stance which you can shoot your best long and then learn how to shoot all
4 insides from that stance.
Remember, a good goalie is looking for any type of giveaway when you
start your shot. If he, can spot something, they are way on you, being
able to get a jump on your takeoff. That translates into the goalie being
able to block you, better than they should.
Another critical area for you foosers to work on, is your lateral speed.
Your pull or your push, needs to be as fast as you can possibly make it.
The faster your lateral speed is, the better the shot is. A trick that
sometimes works to improve your lateral speed is to put the ball on the
table, where your long stroke goes, then using a pull shot as an example,
set up like you were going to do a normal pull, and see how fast you can
get your man over to that ball that is just waiting for you to smash it
into the long hole.
Another tip for shooting is to always make sure you have the ball set
up where you want it. If you are having trouble setting up the ball and
you are running out of time, use your time outs. That is what they are
there for. You never know how many shots you are going to get in a game,
make every one count.
Where to look as you are shooting your shot. This is a personal thing
and I am not sure it matters a whole lot if you are doing everything else
right. I can only tell you what works for me, and that is watching the
hole while I’m timing the goalie. To me it only makes sense to watch the
hole, because if the goalie changes what he/she is doing and you are looking
at the ball when you shoot, you might miss that change, and that might
cause you to switch your shot selection.
Lat but not least is of course, execution, which comes from practice,
practice, practice. Every shot has to be on goal. Don’t make the mistake
of trying extra hard on an important point. This will cause you to miss.
I like to pretend it is just another practice shot. Visualize the shot
in your mind going in where you decide to shoot it.
Remember, if you are doing everything else correctly, there is always
a hole open. If you are being "bricked" by someone, it means you are doing
something wrong. Ask the person who is blocking you to help you. Chances
are that they will.
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