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Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland

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Hey everyone!

Just picked up my first foosball table off of Craigslist and going to give it a shot.  I've played a few times but not on a regular basis.  I'm  looking for some leagues to possibly play in the Cleveland area preferably Westside.  I also would like to know is it possible to play this game by yourself to improve your skills.

Thanks

Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2014, 12:01:35 AM »
Awesome, welcome to the club!!!  What table did you go with?

I would twist your question to give this answer:  playing foosball  by yourself is not necessary but very important if your hoping to enter competitive play or just have a leg up on your friends. 

In my quest I came across the unreal foosball tutorials.  They cover a great variety of solo drills and are well organized on you tube.  I pick one at a time and work on it for a whole night... bring it out with my friends on foosball night to perfect it live..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF39Zpeuac4&list=PL32C2818A77DC5F60I

Also watch the masters play and note their hands, figures, and defensive positioning... its not all about fancy shots... watch the same match over and over from different perspectives...  this will help you avoid forming bad habits then having to unlearn them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2L2W2b6b4Y
 
I am not from your area at all, but you should google foosball and your city in different ways... go check the tables out and see if they are good enough / maintained, ask the staff about their usage...  if you need to find opponents.. start a "meetup" group... meetup.com to set some nights up!   social networking seems to be the new thing... but expect a wide variety of attendees.

In my past, the best situation has been to organize friends one night every week or two and play all night... try not to smoke the new players... do your best to give them a sense competition to hook them in... rather than turning them off with hopeless shutouts...

go foos!!!
« Last Edit: October 15, 2014, 12:10:47 AM by johnwallan »

Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2014, 07:56:28 AM »
Thank for the reply and the tips.

I ended up getting  a Carrom in great shape for only $45. Lubed it up and looks brand new very solid and I think I made out with a steal at that price. All that was missing were the scoring counters. Good starter table for my kids and I. I know it's not the best but it will work for now until  I see how much use I can get out of it before I upgrade.

Funny story.  I originally went and looked at a table some kid was selling . Looked good I noticed it had no bearings and I just figured I could  upgrade that.  So I gave the kid a 120 for it and went to load it up. The Damn thing breaks so of course I say I need my money back. Lol. Then 5 min from the house I found the Carrom and couldn't be happier.

Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2014, 02:00:58 AM »
I'm sure your table will work out well for someone getting started, it just not a commercial / pro type... the important thing is to play as often as possible... every day if you can.  The foos table rod motions are pretty awkward at first but that's part of the fun as a beginner.  I got lots of mileage out of the push shot, pull kick, and dink shot... 5 bar passing and blocking is pretty important too...

It's funny... I just retrofit a table at a local bar... it was poorly marked but super close to a Carrom Aegean. It bothered me so much seeing it in a popular bar sitting broken in the corner, I asked and put on old tornado wood handles, chucked in a new set of bushings, new ground urethane $1 ebay balls, and was able to persuade warrior 5/8" figures onto the bars...   seemed to workout quite well for a $50 upgrade.  Now the thing is tuned for pub house war and tempting folks to play...  we'll see how the warrior figures last in a commercial drinking environment.  I am all about finding out what works well...


Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2014, 01:35:50 PM »
I hear ya John it's definitely not a pro table but it will work for now.  I couldn't find the model of this table but I think it is the next one up from the Aegean.  I'm already ready for an upgrade. Lol. I was just looking at a Warrior.  Are those any good?

Good job on upgrading that table for the local bar. I have not seen one table in my area in years.  I better open up shop and bring foosball back to the area.

Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2014, 05:35:22 PM »
Hey John I just found a Tornado Whirlwind for 275 one owner. Still been interested in that warrior though since it's a little slower play I could learn better.

Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2014, 10:34:40 PM »
Well CJ,
I'm not the best guy to ask about warrior play.  I can say heavily biased opinions indicate the table is mid range feel, and likely not robust enough for commercial use, but great for home use. I suspect it is quite good and what people say is more a case of criticism from a comfort zone.  It is the warrior balls that slow the feel and give that sense of deliberate control...

There is likely a number of compromises made to hit their price point.  For instance, it is not a 5/8" or 16 mm rod design meaning your choices are mechanically limited in upgrading rod, handles, and figures unless the bushings are altered / bored out.  The handles are a hard plastic and need to be wrapped or they feel icky. The quick change mechanism keeps the table from being secure in public locations.  Warrior has a track record of dramatic design changes over time meaning parts could become scarce at some point.  But for the price of the table and/or parts all of these are forgiven...   

What is awesome is that they sponsor tournaments, bring a good yet affordable table to market that plays well, the removable bars are well suited to apartment dwellers/transport, they have great support / fast shipping, provide cheap 5/8" parts for retrofit projects or repair, and on and on... the figures are very modern in shape and have excellent control and can really soup up an old table to play well when combined with new bearings and nice handles.

I'm not sure a whirlwind is worth chasing...  I think you'll get non-counterbalanced figures impeding your defensive zone shots; they are expensive to upgrade.  You're better to fish your local craigslist(s) for a tornado coin or cyclone II.  Being in the north east I've read brown marbles can be found for under $500, but ya gotta wait a few months for one to pop up and you need to inspect it closely.  Since you have a table already,  bookmark a craigslist search "tornado foosball" >$300 and check it every day.


Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2014, 07:26:32 AM »
CJ,
i live on the SW side of Cleveland & am always looking to play. Only place I know of that has a table is Manja in Lakewood. He has a nice Tornado 3000 but his hours are weird. He used to have tourneys on mon & friday.

I have a table at home & always looking for players.

Also here's a link to an affordable Tornado table.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/tag/4719653480.html

Re: Hello! New to the game looking for players in Greater Cleveland
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2014, 09:23:21 PM »
DJ! Hey thanks for the info.  I live 10 min from Lakewood so maybe sometime we could hook up and play.  I'm also looking at getting a Warrior table.  I know this is not the talk of the forum /town but I like the fact that they concentrate on one table it is also very affordable for me.