foosball.com :

INSIDE FOOS Newsletter
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PRO FOOSBALL TOUR NO. 18 APRIL 2005

Published By Inside Foos Productions Huntington Beach, California http://www.insidefoos.com
DO NOT REPLY: PLEASE SEND ALL EMAIL RESPONSES TO: newsletter@insidefoos.com

CONTENTS:
2005 International Championship Report
International Championship Results
International Championship DVD Listings
Inside the Pro Tour
Toro's Corner
Tom's Tips
Inside Foos Special Offers
Upcoming Events
Foosball Sites

COLLIGNON, MOORE & MARES LEAD VEGAS CHAMPIONSHIP CHARGE

The foosball world once again turned its collective attention to the city of Las Vegas and the opening event of the 2005 major tour season, the newly-renamed USTSA International Championships. For the eighth year in a row the Riviera Hotel and Casino was the host for this major table soccer event which saw players from across North America and around the world traveling to this gaming and entertainment capital, hoping to earn their share of the more than $60,000 in prize money available to the weekend�s top performers.

Fomerly called the Hall of Fame Classic, the 2005 International Championships would end up providing foosball players and fans with some of the more entertaining and action-packed competition of recent foosball seasons. This season-opening event also featured an all new format with the �Championship� events in Las Vegas open to rated professional players only (note: beginning at the Nationals in Chicago, qualifiers will also earn spots in the bracket). Among other things, this pro-only format meant that nearly every match, from the very first round on, would be a tough, hard-fought battle.

In the extremely competitive Championship Doubles event two of the sport�s top all-around performers returned to the pro tour winner�s circle as Terry Moore and Rob Mares held off a late charge from defending champions Frederic Collignon and Todd Loffredo to claim their first major title together.

After a narrow quarterfinal round loss to Tony Spredeman and Bob Diaz (5-3, 1-5, 2-5, 5-4, 5-4) in the winner�s bracket, Todd and �Rico� worked their way back into the Championship Doubles mix. They defeated Thor Donovan and Ezekiel Moore, Gregg Perrie and David Radack, and then reeled-off consecutive fifth game, match-ball victories over fifth-place finishers Adrian Zamora and Brandon Moreland, and then Billy Pappas and his new partner Trevor Park.

The match against Pappas and Park was truly a classic with both forwards playing spectacular offensive foosball. Incredibly, the ultra-talented Billy Pappas didn't miss a shot from his 3-row until the fourth game of the match. He scored on his first eleven shot attempts, leading his team to a 2 games to 1 lead, and ended-up shooting an amazing 18 of 21 for the match. However, the great Fredric Collignon made 9 of his last 11 �euro-pins� to secure the last two games, 5-3, and 5-4, and steal the match away from the hot-shooting Pappas and Park, who finished fourth. Collignon and Loffredo then defeated Tom Yore and Louis Cartwright in the loser�s bracket final to reach the Championship match in Las Vegas for the third time in the last five years.

Meanwhile, on the winner�s side of the bracket, Terry Moore and Rob Mares� march to the doubles final included wins over Schlaefer and Scherkenbach, Perrie and Radack, and a four game triumph over a red-hot Tony Spredeman and Bob Diaz, who were fresh off their rousing victory over Collignon and Loffredo. Moore and Mares then faced Yore and Cartwright in the winner�s bracket final and subdued them in four games (5-4, 5-4, 2-5, 5-3) to reach their first major final as a team.

Chicago�s Terry Moore is certainly no stranger when it comes to Las Vegas foosball success. Since the pro tour first began coming to this rapidly-growing metropolis back in 1998, Terry has won seven individual titles, including three in four years with Bob Diaz from 1999-2002. Terry also earned doubles honors in 2003 when he paired with Rick Macias to win the Vegas title. Moore�s newly recruited partner Rob Mares had also found success at the Riviera Hotel, claiming Open Singles titles at both the 1998 and 2000 season-opening events.

In one of the sport�s truly amazing statistics, six-time World Champions Collignon and Loffredo entered the 2005 opener having never lost in a major USTSA final. They had appeared in ten finals as a team since first pairing-up back in 1998, and had come out on top in every one of them, including last year�s Hall of Fame Classic when they defeated Dave Gummeson and Tracy McMillin to earn the championship trophies.

However, Moore and Mares, not wanting to go to a second set, came out aggressively in the Championship Doubles final. After losing a very well played opening game 5-3 to Frederico and Todd, Moore and Mares came back to win the next two by scores of 5-4, and 5-3 to move ahead in the match, and move within a game of the 2005 International title. Rico and Todd answered with a 5-2 victory in game four, but could not stop the aggressive offensive charge of Moore and Mares, who surged ahead 4-2 in game five, before winning the game, and the match, 5-4 on a clutch Terry Moore far-side snake shot, handing the defending champs their first loss ever in a major championship final.

The Championship Singles competition at the 2005 kickoff event was equally as exciting. Spectators in the comfortable Theater-style seating witnessed one great match after another on the four main pit-tables, with 36 of the world�s top foosball players going head to head for International honors.

When it comes to playing singles foosball nobody does it quite like Belgian foosball legend Frederic Collignon. His ability to play intelligent rod-to-rod, ball control-style foosball is unmatched, perhaps in the history of the sport. Frederico again proved that he has no peer when it comes to playing one-on-one foosball as he captured the Las Vegas singles title for the second year in a row. In the final, Collignon defeated Texas pull-shooter Tracy McMillin, who played superb foosball throughout the event before coming up short against the talented Belgian in three straight games.

In claiming the winner�s side of the Championship Singles bracket, Frederico defeated Sergie Aragones, Louis Cartwright and Rob Mares to reach the semifinals. He then beat 2004 finalist Billy Pappas (5-2, 5-3, 3-5, 5-2) in an impressive four game performance, and proceeded to narrowly defeat the red-hot McMillin in five tough games to advance to the singles final.

In that winner�s side final, both players played exeptional foosball with McMillin playing solid defense, and shooting well from both his 2- and 3-rows, while Collignon showcased his usual high-quality singles technique in a match that would be remembered as one of the weekend�s best.

Coming off two big wins against Tony Spredeman and Adrian Zamora to reach the winner�s final, McMillin used his brilliant shot-selection and consistently-scoring 2-rod to win game one 5-3 and take the early-match lead. Collignon captured a very tight second game 5-4, and followed that up with a 5-3 win to take the lead in the match two games to one. But McMillin, who continued to play about as well as he ever has, scored a short pull shot from goal to win game four, 5-3, and take the match down to one final game.

There is no better clutch player in the sport of foosball than the great Collignon and he proved it once again in game five, as he held off the hot-shooting McMillin by a score of 5-3 to win the match and advance to his second straight Las Vegas singles final.

On the loser�s side McMillin worked his way back to the finals by defeating third place finisher Billy Pappas in a surprisingly one-sided three game match 5-4, 5-2, and 5-2, to advance to the final and a rematch with Frederic Collignon.
In the Championship Singles final, Frederico proved once again why he is the most dominating table-soccer force on the planet as he bested Tracy in three straight games to win his second consecutive Vegas singles title. Adrian Zamora, who also played outstanding foosball during this season-opening tour stop, finished fourth, while Rob Mares and Minnesota's Steve Mohs, who knocked both Todd Loffredo and Tony Spredeman out of the event, tied for fifth.

In the Open Mixed Doubles competition 2003 National champions ninth seeds Adrian Zamora and Christina Fuchs outlasted a field of more than 70 teams to earn their second career major title as a team. Zamora, whose pull-shot was seemingly unstoppable throughout the International event, and Fuchs, who played her usual solid defense and ball-clearing style, defeated Dave Gummeson and Lotus Chesborough in the final 3-5, 5-4, and 5-2 to earn the 2005 title.

All-time great Cindy Head added two more titles to her legendary resume at the 2005 opener by coming back from the loser�s side to defeat Tiffany Moore in the Women�s Singles final, and overcoming a tough challenge from Stayce Fowler and Shelly Langley in the championship match of Women�s Doubles to win the title with new partner Dawn Duquette, a talented semi pro player from Colorado.

In the all new Pro events in Las Vegas, England�s Rob Atha bettered Utah pro player Marty Lopez to earn singles honors while another talented young player, Adam Gilson, teamed with fellow Californian Mark Torres to defeat Atha and partner Laszlo Teke of Austria take home the Pro Doubles trophies.

The 2005 International Championships also featured a first-ever double-flight format in both the Amateur and Semi Pro events. Under this format the top four finishers in each of the flights (A & B) were placed in a double elimination playoff, with the survivors being crowned the overall champions.

In the Amateur events rising star Ryan Moore of Kentucky won both the singles and doubles titles, defeating British Columbia�s Tuan Phan in singles and pairing with New Yorker Joel Wooldridge to overcome the efforts of second place finishers Dustan Barker and Brian Steadman of Utah.

The highly-competitive Semi Pro events featured tournament-winning performances from the talented Dillon Anderson of Minnesota and the steady Texan Tom Goff, who defeated Chris Hagerman and Ray Sipes to claim the doubles title, and Kevin Walker of New York, who demonstrated tremendous game in securing the singles title with a win over Canadian Mario Ariganello.

In other results, Iris Mora of Costa Rica earned Amateur Women�s Singles honors by defeating Julie Hall of Mississippi in the final. Iris also finished second with Hall in the Amateur Women�s Doubles event to Michelle Atkins and Rochelle Mandin of Washington. Dawn Duquette won her second title of the weekend in the Women�s Semi Pro/Amateur Doubles event, teaming with fellow Coloradoan Sarah Dalesandry to defeat Vanessa Camp of Texas and Missouri�s Andrea Mullins in the final match.

Other 2005 International Championship winners included Gregg Perrie and Kevin Gates in 35 and Over, Jake Durtschi and Lee McClure in the 3500 Limited event, and Ron Olson in Forward Shootout.The Goalie War event was won by longtime Washington state star Rich Fosner, with Frederic Collignon and Laszlo teke combining to make it a European sweep in the Pro/Pro Master DYP. Rob Atha won his second title of the weekend, teaming with Pete Burnham to claim the Wednesday DYP title, while Ezekiel Cervantes and Jamie Simeon came out on top in the High/Low Draw your partner.

The 2005 professional foosball tour now makes its way to �The Windy City�, Chicago, Illinois for the next stop, The 2005 National Championships. If the competition is anything like what we saw in Las Vegas this past March 2-6, it should also be a great one.

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DVDS. Because of the tremendous number of great foosball matches in Las Vegas this year, I have decided to expand the 2005 International Championship DVD set to eight hours instead of six. If you order the Vegas event at http://www.insidefoos.com, or if you've already placed your order, you will now receive four two-hour DVDs instead of three. For those of you who have ordered, editing on the season-opener is now finished and shipping will begin early next week. For those interested in purchasing the 2005 8-hour Vegas event, we've provided complete match listings below (see:INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DVD LISTINGS below).

2005 FULL SEASON PACKAGE. Enjoy the entire 2005 season on DVD for one low price. Save $55 by ordering the 2005 Full Season Package, which includes the 8-hour Internationals, the upcoming Texas State Championships, the Nationals and 10-hour World Championships, all for $155 including shipping, at http://www.insidefoos.com.

THE INSIDE FOOS COMPLETE COLLECTION 1994-2004. We are now offering the Complete Inside Foos Collection on DVD. This 121 Disc, 240-hour-long compilation begins with the 1994 Kickoff Classic in San Francisco and extends all the way through the 2004 World Championships in Dallas. This collection includes tournament-winning performances from names like Spear, Horton, Adkisson, Dube & Srock, Cartwright, Gummeson, Mares and Spredeman. This extensive collection also features all six of Collignon and Loffredo's World wins, along with more than fifty finals wins for big Terry Moore. You'll also see Don Swan's "14 Minute Masterpiece" and the incredible 2001 World Doubles final. See the "Special Offers" section below for ordering information.

THE 2005 NATIONALS. Chicago, Illinois will be the host city for the 2005 National Championships this July 1-4. Some of the changes that have been made for this second major tour stop of the season include Championship event qualifiers for every ratings division. Under this format the top two finishers in Friday's Amateur, Semi Pro, Women's, and Pro qualifying events will play in the weekend's big Championship events. Other changes include the winner's of each of the flights (A & B) playing off for the overall title and bonus money, with each flight now offering complete prize money breakdowns for the top finishers. For the complete schedule and breakdown check out the Nationals flyer at http://www.vifa.com/pdf/Nationals%20Poster%202005.pdf.
or see the "Upcoming Events" section below for more information.

TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS ONLY 8 WEEKS AWAY. The sport's biggest regional event, THE $25,000 Texas State Championships will again take place over Memorial Day weekend in Irving, Texas. This event always feature some of the year's most competitive action. Billy Pappas tripled at last year's event, and will again pair-up with Tony Spredeman hoping to defend their 2004 title. As usual Inside Foos will be on the scene to cover all of the action.

Check out the other events on the spring foosball tour, including the exciting $20,000 Utah State Championships April 22-24 in Salt Lake City, in the "Upcoming Events" section below. If you have questions or feedback, please DO NOT REPLY to this email. You can reach me at jim@insidefoos.com or call toll free 877.833.3603 (or 714-842-9161 outside the USA) with any questions about the pro tour and up[coming events.

Thanks and we'll seeya foosin'...

Jim Stevens
Inside Foos Productions
http://www.insidefoos.com

________________________________________________________

AVAILABLE NOW AT http://www.insidefoos.com

2005 INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS $50 (Now 4 DVDs, 8 Hours!)
2005 FULL SEASON PACKAGE (Int. Champ., TX State, Nats, 10 hour World Championships) $150 (SAVE $55)
2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS     6-Hour Version ( 3 DVDs) ... $50     10-Hour (5 DVDs) ... $60
2004 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS $50
2004 TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS   $35
2004 HALL OF FAME CLASSIC $50
2004 FULL SEASON PACKAGE $150 (SAVE $55)

NOW ON SALE!
THE INSIDE FOOS COMPLETE COLLECTION 1994-2004

11 Full Tour Seasons
49 Total Events
121 Individual DVDs
240 Hours of Championship Foosball Action

In an Attractive Faux Leather DVD Binder.....$595.00
Also Available... The 1994-2002 Edition...$495.00

________________________________________________________

2005 USTSA INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Championship Singles

1st FREDERICO COLLIGNON
2nd TRACY MCMILLIN
3rd BILLY PAPPAS
4th ADRIAN ZAMORA
5/6th ROBERT MARES
STEVE MOHS

Championship Doubles

1st TERRY MOORE & ROBERT MARES
2nd TODD LOFFREDO & FREDERICO COLLIGNON
3rd TOM YORE & LOUIS CARTWRIGHT
4th TREVOR PARK & BILLY PAPPAS
5/6th ADRIAN ZAMORA & BRANDON MORELAND
BOB DIAZ & TONY SPREDEMAN

Open Mixed Doubles

1st CHRISTINA FUCHS & ADRIAN ZAMORA
2nd LOTUS CHESBROUGH & DAVID GUMMESON
3rd ROBERT ATHA & VANESSA CAMP
4th BECKY CHERRY & TONY SPREDEMAN
5/6th STEVE MOHS & TIFFANY MOORE
HOLLY RICHARDSON & DAVID RADACK

Women's Singles

1st CINDY HEAD
2nd TIFFANY MOORE
3rd DEBRA PFLIPSEN

Women's Doubles

1st CINDY HEAD & DAWN DUQUETTE
2nd SHELLY LANGLEY & STAYCE FOWLER
3rd MOYA TIELENS & BECKY CHERRY
Pro Singles
1st ROBERT ATHA
2nd MARTY LOPEZ
3rd LASZLO TEKE

Pro Doubles

1st ADAM GILSON & MARK TORRES
2nd ROBERT ATHA & LASZLO TEKE
3rd BRIAN TAKAMOTO & BRUCE VAN BUSKIRK

Semi Pro Singles Flight A MARIO ARIGANELLO
Semi Pro Singles Flight B KEVIN WALKER
Semi Pro Singles Final KEVIN WALKER
Semi Pro Doubles Flight A DILLON ANDERSON & TOM GOFF
Semi Pro Doubles Flight B STEPHEN STEIGHNER & DARRYL PAPINEAU
Semi Pro Doubles Final DILLON ANDERSON & TOM GOFF
Amateur Singles Flight A DUSTAN BARKER
Amateur Singles Flight B TUAN PHAN
Amateur Singles Final RYAN MOORE
Amateur Doubles Flight A CHRIS MCSWEYN & WILLIAM HABERMAN
Amateur Doubles Flight B CLINT KNOCHEL & KYLE PETER
Amateur Doubles Final RYAN MOORE & JOEL WOOLDRIDGE
Womens Amateur Singles IRIS MORA
Womens Amateur Doubles MICHELLE ATKINS & ROCHELLE MANDIN
Womens Semi Pro/Amateur Doubles DAWN DUQUETTE & SARAH DALESANDRY
Pro Master/Pro DYP LASZLO TEKE & FREDERICO COLLIGNON
No Pro DYP MARIO ARIGANELLO & GREG RUSHING
Hi-Lo DYP EZEQUIEL CERVANTES & JAMIE SIMEON
Wednesday DYP PETE BURNHAM & ROBERT ATHA
3500 Limited Doubles LEE MCCLURE & JAKE DURTSCHI
35 & Over Doubles GREGG PERRIE & KEVIN GATES
Goalie War RICH FOSNER
Forward Shootout RON OLSON

________________________________________________________

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DVD LISTINGS

For your ordering covenience we have listed the matches on the 2005 International Championship 8-hour DVD set...

DISC ONE

COLLIGNON VS. ARAGONES
PAPPAS VS LOFFREDO
MCMILLIN VS. SPREDEMAN
COLLIGNON VS. PAPPAS
ZAMORA VS. MCMILLIN

DISC TWO

MARES VS. ZAMORA
MCMILLIN VS. COLLIGNON
PAPPAS VS. ZAMORA
MCMILLIN VS. PAPPAS
COLLIGNON/LOFFREDO VS. SPREDEMAN/DIAZ

DISC THREE

YORE/CARTWRIGHT VS. ZAMORA/MORELAND
SPREDE/DIAZ VS. MOORE/MARES
MCMILLIN/GUMMESON VS. RHODES/MARR
YORE/CARTWRIGHT VS. MOORE/MARES
ZAMORA/MORELAND VS. COLLIGNON/LOFFREDO

DISC FOUR

COLLIGNON/LOFFREDO VS. PAPPAS/PARK
COLLIGNON/LOFFREDO VS. YORE/CARTWRIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES FINAL MOORE/MARES VS. COLLIGNON/LOFFREDO
CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES FINAL COLLIGNON VS. MCMILLIN

Order the 2005 International Championship 8-Hour DVD Set at http://www.insidefoos.com

________________________________________________________

INSIDE THE PRO TOUR...

Clearing out the Vegas foos file...

Congratulations to Todd Loffredo on his induction into the Foosball Hall of Fame...

Todd's extraordinary career made the honor a "no-brainer", and the rule change allowing active players with more than 15 years of pro tour experience to be eligible for induction made it possible...

During the course of his long and productive career, Loffredo has earned a record 19 World titles, 3 Masters Singles championships and more than 70 major titles overall...

Remarkably Todd has won 10 of the last 15 world doubles titles, including back-to-back wins with Scotty Wydman (1994-95), and 6 of the last 7 with Collignon...

Cindy Head, who finished second in the 2005 Foosball Hall of Fame voting, continued her amazing run in Las Vegas, winning both of the main women's events...

Since the pro tour first came to Vegas in 1998 Cindy has won at least one title at all but one of the season-opening events...

Two future hall of famers, Terry Moore and Rob Mares, played awesome team foosball to earn their first title as a team...

If they stay together, the team of Moore and Mares, will be a serious challenger to the dominance of Collignon and Loffredo at this year's worlds...

Other first time pairings in Vegas who really played well included Pappas and Park, Zamora and Moreland, Rhodes and Marr, and Yore and Cartwright...

Former 17 and Under champion Joe Rhodes had his best all-around tournament ever, finishing seventh in all three Championship events...

TRIVIA TIME:Who has won the most National titles since 1991?

Moya Tielens finished out of the running in Vegas, the first time she hadn't won at least one title at a tour major in more than three years...

Young Players to Keep an Eye on: Amateur Ryan Moore of Kentucky, Semi Pros Dillon Anderson of Minnesota and Kevin Walker of New York , and Pro players Rob Atha of the U.K. and Adam Gilson of California...

Atha had a great weekend, winning Pro Singles and the Wednesday DYP, while also finishing second in Pro Doubles with Laszlo Teke, and third in Open Mixed with Vanessa Camp...

Another former phenom, Billy Pappas, played some extraordinary foosball in Vegas, finishing third in Singles and fourth in Doubles with Trevor Park...

Billy's 18 for 21 shooting performance against Collignon and Loffredo was one of the great offensive displays of recent years...

Tracy McMillin played brilliant singles at the International, but nobody is on the same level as the great Collignon when it comes to one-on-one foosball...

Fredrico may already be the greatest singles player to ever play the game...

Inside Foos personnel experienced their share of International Championship success at the season-opener, with Director Christina Fuchs teaming with Adrian Zamora to win Mixed Doubles, Commentator Mark Torres winning Pro Doubles with Adam Gilson, and Tom Yore and Brandon Moreland, also Inside Foos analysts, finishing in the top 5 of Championship Doubles...

Photographer Pete Burnham also won the Wednesday DYP with Robert Atha...

TRIVIA ANSWER: Terry Moore with 10. Terry's hometown of Chicago will be the host city for this year's Nationals July 1-4...

Inside Foos will once again be covering the Texas State Championships this May 27-29 at the newly-renamed Clarion Airport South in Irving...

Billy Pappas tripled at last year's event and will be one of the favorites for 2005 honors...

We'll seeya in the Lone Star State...
________________________________________________________

TORO'S CORNER by mark torres
Wolves and Sheep = Winners and Losers

Is that harsh? Fine, we are all winners. If you love your family, if you take care of the people close to you, if you wish well for your fellow mankind, you are a winner. Feel better? Now let's talk about foosball. Let's talk about WINNING a tournament. Let's talk about what separates the wolves from the herd.

The wolves are the top 1% of players out there that finish their bracket on top. I don't care what skill level we are talking about, on that weekend on that day; they were the best of the best. It's no small achievement to begin with. If you take a look at the Pro/Master level of foosball, it is very tough to win an Open Major. Yet, only a handful of guys have dominated the tour for the last 15 years. Think about that. There used to be 5 Major Events. Do the math; even at the end of the bracket when the skill levels flatten out, some guys are simply better than others. And, they proved it over and over and over You know who those players are. And you also know the 200 other Pros and Masters that get flattened by them at the end of every tournament.

The wolves are predators, and that makes us a herd of sheep. We get to graze for a little while on the lower portion of the bracket before getting ambushed by something nasty. How do you like that analogy? BAAAAaaaAAaAA!

So what is it? Practice? Being a student of the game? Do you have to jointhe Fooser Fraternal Brotherhood of Knowledge to be taught by the half dozen or so guys that win? Probably. I am going to hand over a recipe that I think it takes to win. I haven't myself taken the time to cook it up, but I certainly believe that if I ever did, it would taste pretty damn good.

Let's start off simple. You have to practice until you have a decent game. You have to be proficient with your game and all of its components. You will have strengths and weaknesses, but like Todd Loffredo told me one time, you practice your weaknesses until they are your strengths, and the weaknesses you must keep, you either hide or you compensate with other your strengths.

You have to be a student of the game. You should be watching your pending opposition between matches. Have you ever seen Todd watching you play and then be surprised to find out you have him the next round? Todd is looking for a single weakness in your game. A weakness in your zone that he is going to exploit for a pass, the way you pass so he knows how to keep your slop out, your Ace five-bar shot that you are never going to score on him. That's the greatest player ever watching some random sloppy fooser play his/her match. Be careful if he only watches you for thirty seconds, that means you,
are history. The Inside Foos DVDs (not a shameless plug) are HUGE for this. Watch what these players at the top do. Then, internalize why. And when you get a chance, ask them. You will be surprised how willing any of these guys are to help you be a better player.

And the cherry on top: you have to learn to be fearless. This in my opinion is the most important aspect of pulling together all of the above. I mentioned it earlier and I am going to say it again, there are a bunch of guys that win and a bunch of guys that don't. The guys that win are figuring it out. They have a riddle in front of them, a defense they need to take apart, an offense they need to shut down, a tactic they need to employ, and they have the sensibilities and composure to understand it critically and figure it out. The fear of losing, the fear of winning, the fear of how they appear in the social context of the game with a few hundred people watching, the fear of the skills of the opposition, the fear of making a mistake, the fear of not being able to channel that fear into something positive and powerful. All of these things are mental handcuffs that restrict the ability to survive in the moment and figure it out.

The top 1% of players out there still win even when something is missing. Those players find a way. If their push side front toe is not executing, they find a way to avoid shooting it, they hide it, they use an Ace, they make an adjustment in the clutch when the chips are down and they are vulnerable. Champions find a way. Sometimes guys get into the finals and it's all clicking, breeze through. Sometimes they get to the final and then they hit a wall. Champions climb over, no matter how high the wall. Champions are wolves and the rest are the herd. Which are you?

________________________________________________________

TOM'S TIPS by tom yore
The Pull Shot

Many up-and-coming players inquire about the right way to shoot a pull shot. Some of the questions I often hear are "What is the best way to grip the handle?" or "What is the correct stance?" or finally, "How do I develop more speed?". I do not believe that there is a particular "right" way to shoot the shot but for those of you who are still in the early stages of mastering the pull shot stroke I will present a few ideas to consider.

The short answer to the first and second questions is simple; be comfortable, balanced and relaxed. Sometimes I am more comfortable when I use a wrap and other times without. I may have a better feel if I grip the handle towards the top, or at another time I may shoot better gripping toward the end of the handle. Again, the important thing is to just be comfortable. The answer to the third question is not as simple because there is a bit more involved in developing the speed, accuracy and consistency needed to have an effective shot. I am not exactly known for having one of the faster longs in the game but as I work toward speeding up my shot, I will briefly discuss a couple things I focus on when practicing.

I have a natural tendency to set my grip and then shoot within a certain time frame, which leads to a reverse timing of sorts. The goalie takes note of the time between the setting of my grip and my takeoff which allows him, with proper bait, to get to the hole just a fraction before me. To combat this unwanted tendency, I first try to make my takeoff as smooth and motion-free as possible. Secondly, to increase the speed of my shot, I start off shooting longs at medium-speed and then gradually try to make each successive shot a little faster than the previous one. I also like to remain perfectly still for no less than five seconds prior to "exploding" to the hole, or as close to exploding as I can get.

There are mainly two styles of long pull shots to consider. One is the "spray" shot that is a single action stroke with a release point somewhere around the middle dot and ends up in the long hole. This type of stroke has a whipping motion that has very little backswing, if any, and gets to the goal the fastest. The other long pull shot style is the "dead-man" stroke which has more of a double action motion and has a higher backswing that tends to cut back into the long hole with more of a follow-through. Each shot has its share of advantages and disadvantages. The main drawback to the double-action long pull shot, as I have learned through experience, is that it is more raceable than the single action spray shot although it seems to work better against a reverse defense.

Of course, shooting a fast long pull shot is only part of the equation. You must also work towards developing a good straight, middle and various split options, to increase your scoring percentage. Once you have gained the ability to consistently execute some of the pull shot options the rest comes down to reading defenses and being able to beat your opponent to the hole. You do not necessarily need to master every option to be successful. I have seen some players do very well with simply a deadly fast long mixed in with a deceptive off-speed straight. I have also seen others who have been successful shooting mostly longs and three-quarter middles.

In today's game, competing against the likes of Collignon, Pappas, Loffredo, and Mares, smart players with extremely fast hands, a slow pull shot will not be a very effective weapon in your arsenal. Unless the strength of your pull shot is in picking straights and tight middles, it is essential that your long be fast enough to at least have a chance to beat the race defense.

For follow-up questions, email Tom Yore at sales@acemedical.com.
________________________________________________________

INSIDE FOOS SPECIAL OFFERS...

Inside Foos has been the official video production company of the Tornado Professional Foosball Tour for more than 10 years. Our videos and DVDs are digitally recorded using a multi-camera set-up and feature the play-by-play of "The World's Only Fooscaster" Jim Stevens, with expert commentary from pro-fooser Mark Torres and four-time tour champion Tom Yore.

NEW ---> The All-New 8-Hour 2005 International Championship DVD Set----Now on Sale for $50. You can now get the upgraded 8-hour version of this season's opening event at the 6-hour price. Just go to the http://www.insidefoos.com homepage to place your order.

WOW ! ---> THE INSIDE FOOS COMPLETE COLLECTION 1994-2004. 11 Full Tour Seasons , 49 Total Events , 121 Individual DVDs , 240 Hours of Championship Foosball Action! Catch all of the excitement from the past decade on the Tornado Pro Tour packaged In an attractive faux leather DVD binder for only $595.00. That's less than $60 per season! Also Available... The 1994-2002 Edition...$495.00 Go to the homepage at http://www.insidefoos.com to order.

SAVE $55 ---> Pre-order your 200 5 DVD Package, Receive a Free Texas State DVD Set, and Pay Only $5.00 for Shipping. Stay up-to-date on all the pro tour happenings by ordering the full 2005 USTSA season on DVD. You'll receive the 6-hour Hall of Fame Classsic, National Championships, and Texas State DVDs all for one low sale price. And you'll also pay only $5 shipping for an entire season's worth of DVDs. By ordering the full season package you'll save $70 off regular single event pricing and shipping. DVDs will be shipped 4-6 weeks after each event. TO ORDER: go to http://www.insidefoos.com and scroll down the homepage to the 2005 Packages pay point. We ship in the order received so place your order now!

SAVE $10 ---> Order the 2004 World Championship DVDs and Save $10. You can order the exciting 10-hour, 5-Disc set of 2003 Worlds DVDs at a $10 savings by going to http://www.insidefoos.com and ordering the 8-Hour version for $60. You will automatically be upgraded to the full 10-hour version. These exciting DVD sets include performances from Frederic Collignon, Tony Spredeman, Tommy Adkisson, Rob Mares, Billy Pappas, Terry Moore, Bob Diaz, Moya Tielens,

SAVE $20 ---> An Inside Foos Classic: The 10-Hour 2001 World Championships. Only $50 at insidefoos.com. This 5 DVD set features one of the greatest matches of recent years as Trevor Park and Louis Cartwright faced-off against Frederic Collignon and Todd Loffredo in a two set final that went right down to the last ball. Johnny Horton's World Singles victory is also featured on this exciting 10 hour DVD set. To order go to http://www.insidefoos.com and scroll down the homepage to the 2001 World Championship pay point.
________________________________________________________

UPCOMING EVENTS...

APRIL 22-24th
$20,000 Utah State Championships
Hilton Airport
Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.utahfoos.com
Lee McClure
leemcclure337@yahoo.com
801-450-7855

APRIL 22-24th
$8000 Upper Midwest Championships
Best Western
Mankato, MN
Loyd Mandel
lmandell@hur.midco.net
605-352-5827

APRIL 22-24th
$10,000 Michigan State Championship
TNT's Bar & Grill
Clinton Township, MI
http://www.elevatecreative.net/stuff/Michigan_State_05.pdf
Eric Trombley
etrombley@comcast.net
586-634-2407

APRIL 29-May 1st
$30,000 Multi-Table Canadian National Championships
The Forum
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Denis Karastamatis
forever_existence@hotmail.com
450-443-1423

MAY 27-29th
$25,000 Texas State Championships
Clarion Airport South Hotel
Irving, TX
http://home.swbell.net/dradack/TSFlyer-2005.pdf
David Radack
DRadack@swbell.net
**An Inside Foos Event**

JUNE 30- JULY 4th
U.S.T.S.A. National Championships
Sheraton Chicago Northwest
Arlington Heights, IL
http://www.vifa.com/
info@vifa.com
877-833-3603
**An Inside Foos Event**

Foosball Sites...

http://www.vifa.com    For info on the major pro tour and VIFA leagues. The Official Site of the U.S.T.S.A., V.I.F.A. and Table Talk Magazine.
http://www.natsa.org   For complete schedules, results, and Table Sports Radio.
http://www.foosball.com   For anything and everything pertaining to foosball.
http://ocfoosball.com Orange County, California foosball site.
http://foosballworld.com/ifp.html   Independent Foosball Promotions.
http://foosworld.com/site/default.aspx FoosWorld.com events, results, interviews
http://home.swbell.net/dradack Dallas/Fort Worth foosball
http://www.dfwfoosball.com     More Dallas/Fort Worth foos
http://pub86.ezboard.com/bfoosball6358   Foosball EZ Board newsgroup.
http://www.sdfoos.com   San Diego, California Foosball site.
http://www.nwfoosball.com   Northwest Foosball site.
http://www.ottawafoos.com   Ottawa, Canada site.
http://www.britfoos.com   U.K. foosball site
http://www.atlantafoosball.com
http://www.tulsafoosball.com
http://www.foosballohio.com
http://members.shaw.ca/vancouverfoosball
http://www.newenglandfoosball.com
http://www.tischfussball.at   Austrian Fussball site
http://NYMetroFoosball.i8.com   New York City foos
http://www.csfoosball.com    Colorado Springs foos site
http://www.cnyfoosball.com   Central New York site
http://www.FoosBars.com    global, online foosball locations directory
http://www.FoosManchu.com Foosball site featuring a foosball animation short titled "The Adventures of FoosManchu"
http://www.bonziniusa.com   Bonzini Table Soccer U.S.A
http://www.warriortablesoccer.com
http://www.MinnesotaFoosball.com
http://www.torontofoos.ca
http://www.ontariotablesoccer.com
http://www.canadafoos.com
http://www.tafelvoetbal.nl    Awesome Netherlands foos site
http://www.foozen.com     Iowa's Foosball website
http://www.flatheadfoos.com Montana Foosball site
http://www.foosballhk.com Hong Kong Foosball site
http://www.swfoosball.com Southwest U.S. Foosball: Serving Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and neighboring states
http://www.vafoosball.com Northern Virginia Foosball events, players, playing locations and more.
http://www.geocities.com/jabberwockarms84    Toronto Area Fabi site
http://www.utahfoos.com
http://www.nycfoosball.com
http://www.foosmovie.com   FOOS-Be the Greatest, a Robert Ismert Documentary
http://www.tischfussball-online.com
http://www.classen-kicker.de
http://www.a-better-tablefootball.be

-----> To have your site listed, send an email to newsletter@insidefoos.com

INSIDE FOOS PRODUCTIONS
http://www.insidefoos.com

Inside Foos Newsletter:

Jim Stevens
Christina Fuchs
LaVonne Stevens

Production Crew:

Jim Stevens
Christina Fuchs
Ezekiel "Iceman" Moore
Richard Hall
Pete Burnham
Serge Aragones

Commentators

Jim Stevens
Mark Torres
Tom Yore
Brandon Moreland

INSIDE FOOS PRODUCTIONS
Toll Free in the U.S.A. 877-833-3603
or 714-842-9161

To unsubscribe send an email with "remove me" written
in the subject window to newsletter@insidefoos.com

Insidefoos Newsletter Home