Topic: Tournament virgin

[Guseddie]

Scenario.
Dyp tourney
Never been in a tournament

How upset do u feel or would u feel if u were paired with a newbie.??

I know I'd be in for a beating, but I'm pretty sure i wouldn't be the worst player there but could be wrong.  I have A pretty good pull, straight, short, mid, n long. Push n pull snake shot. 5 man nothing to brag about tho.  Decent goalie skills. 

What u think?

[papafoos]

The majority of the better players, especially tour players, understand how important it is to bring new players in the game.  Houston, Dallas and Denver are mostly newbie friendly.  I'm sure there are plenty of other areas that are also.  Don't be intimidated if you draw one of the jerks who may make you feel uncomfortable.

When you go, expect to play goalie unless you draw another newbie.  Learn to play your forward's zone and concentrate on clearing the ball and rebounds.  Don't feel bad about getting smashed by a good shooting forward.  Even the best goalies get hammered occasionally.  Listen to as many tips as you can get.  Watch and see what works for other players.

Let us know where you play so we can rag on any of the players we know if they turn out to be jerks.  Have fun and enlarge your circle of foos friends.

[alaskan thunder]

You will not be playing forward at your first tournament. Do a bunch of 2 bar practice and you will be fine. Be sure to show up early so you can meet a few folks and get in some pick up games.

[DaveFoos7]

I am also a Tournament virgin, I'm in Tucson, Az. I am planning to go to my first Tournament this Saturday night here in Tucson. Probably just watch the first time, but am looking forward to entering and playing soon.  Hope everyone is cool there :-)

~ Dave

[crazy8]

Here is my take.
Of course you might find yourself playing forward. It is common for a dominant forward to occasionally switch so that he can make a criti al block, clear the ball, etc.
This is more likely if the other team call timeout on their 3-bar.

Also. If you cannot clear the ball in a key situation don't be shy about calling a timeout yourself. If its good for the team it's the right thing to do.

In cases where you've switched he/she may want you to. All another timeout as soon as you gain possession in the forward zone.

Most important things as a newbie goalie:
Take your time
Keep the ball from leaving your zone - stop all rebounds and try to keep control of the balls you've blocked.
From goal - clear the opposing three bar.
Ultimately the above list is more important than blocking of scoring.

Good luck and have fun.
Already back?  How about giving a report?

Paul

[DaveFoos7]

I went to my first tournament this Saturday night in Tucson, AZ. It started earlier than I thought so the actuall Tournament play was pretty much finished by the time I got there, however, all the "Heavy Hitters"(experienced tour players) were still there and playing doubles. I watched for a while in amazement on how good these guys were. After a little bit, I was invited to play and joined in as goalie. I did pretty good and held my own better than I expected. I think I earned a little respect. It was a blast for sure, and I feel like I learned a few things and got alot of good tips.
They were a pretty tight group and all seemed to know each other well pretty well. Some guys were kinda stand-offish to me but, a couple of the guys were really cool to me, they introduced themselves and invited me in. I played one on one with a guy from England named Stewart, he gave me a several pointers and helped me alot with my game.
The other guy that was cool, was named Zeek, he was the one who first invited me to play goalie in the doubles games that I played. He was awsome too and invited me back next week. Also told me about the forum they chat foosball with each other. Overall, it was a great experience and I cant wait to go back again, and maybe even play in the next tournament.

[DaveFoos7]

LOL- The guy I was referring to named Zeek is actually; Zeke Cervantes ~ 2008 World Semi-Pro Singles Champion. didnt' know it at the time, but found out later. Really cool guy.

[alaskan thunder]

Yeah Zeke is a nice guy. Check out his youtube videos for some good instruction.

[come back trail]

Do a youtube search for unreal foos videos. Zeke has a ton of really good videos ranging in content from trick shots, five bar techniques, snake shots, pull shots etc.