Topic: Table or Me

[yessir]

Keep playing my friend and losing. It's not a tornado table, it's a really shoddy table that seems to be very uneven.

I have just started to play and can see I am gaining skills, as I play and getting better, but I keep getting beaten. It's very frustrating, as I'm practising and have been watching the Youtube videos I can find on the push shot and the snake shot etc. but...

The annoying thing is that the when I get it up to my striker bar and bounce the ball off of the wall or try and set up a shot the ball just just goes off in any direction, it rolls away from my strikers so it takes forever to set-up the shot but I cannot take it, the ball rolls in the direction of the table and people with just smashing the ball skills seem to be winning.

I am doubting my skills and I keep getting beaten, the people that beat me just whack it from the front strikers bar and always seem to get it in regardless. I cannot see any skill being learned, yet I keep losing.

Is it unlucky, is it the table? Help?

[papafoos]

Practice your ball control.  Start by seeing how many times you can bounce the ball between all the men on any the three bar.  You may only be able to bounce it a couple of times before losing it, but you'll soon get to 5 or 6 times, then 7 or 8, then eventually many more.  Once you get your consistency on that bar, move to the five bar.  The trick, especially starting out, is to let the ball bounce off the men without adding much extra power.  This will improve your smoothness and enable you to more easily set up the ball for your shots.  It also teaches hand/eye coordination which will help in all phases of the game.  If you control the ball, you can control the game, even against someone with a superior shot.  Ball control is also the one of the skills that translates from one table to the next best.

Try to find competition that is just slightly better than you.  Eventually, you'll surpass them, then move on up to stronger competition.  If you play against people a lot better than you, don't get frustrated.  Keep in mind that in a 16 team tournament, there is 1 winner and 15 losers.  Nobody wins them all, not even Spredeman.  Just enjoy the game and strive to get better.  The enjoyment you get out of the occasional win is the icing.  The friends you make is the cake.

[jagiar]

Agree with Papafoos.  Ball Control is paramount in this game.  If you control of the ball better than your opponent you will win more of the games against them.

With ball control it is aslo important to try and pin the ball with the toe of the man against the playing field.  This will help with setting up for the snake or pin shot should you choose to shoot them.

Also try to keep in mind why your opponent is beating you.  Is it because he has more ball control than you and thus possesses the ball more often?  When he scores, does he score more often from the front three stirikers, the 5 middle men or from the defense bar?  Doe he shoot from his near side of the table or the far side?  Knowing these things will allow you to make small adjustments to your game and you may just stop one or two of his goals from going in the net.  Sometimes all it takes is a goal or two saved to turn the game around.  Also, these small adjustments can be compounded until he can no longer use what he is use to using to beat you and he will be forced to use other things he is not comfortable with.  Also watch your opponent keenly when he is playing other people.  Watch how he reacts to other's shots and passes.  Does he anticipate the shot or does he react?  This will help you to determine how to set up your shots/passes in order to beat him.

In the meantime, keep honing your skills until you are too dominant to be beaten.  And remember, the hardest thing to acheive in foosball is consistency.  Don't get down if he beats you often.  Just keep practising.  If he stops practising and you don't stop, eventually he will lose his skill while yours improves.

[PatRyan]

Hello Yessir,

What Papafoos and jagiar have said are correct.  But if I also read your post right, you are not getting a chance to exhibit the skills you are developing due to table/ball conditions.

Maybe try a different ball.  Even on a cheap table, a good ball can make A LOT of difference.  Most "shoddy" tables come with slick, white, hard, smooth surface, lightweight balls.  I would suggest a ball or 3 from foosball.com.  Specifically the Fireball ball, the Warrior ball, and the latest Tornado ball.  All of them will be better than what you are currently using.  And they will offer varying degrees of (more) control than what you are using now. 

Another way to get better is to have a touring player show you some various defenses.  That way, you might get scored on less, and give yourself more opportunity to hone your skills offensively against your buddies.

Pat

[crazy8]

Yessir,
It helps if you and other new players post your location - just in case there are players near you.