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.