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How to improve 5 bar pickup skills
Someone asked me the following:
"I consider loose ball pickups one of the major gaps in my game right now and I was wondering if you could pass on any advice on how to improve those skills. "
The question was mostly focused around the loose ball grabs when playing forward in doubles after your goalie has shot the ball, but I'll address it overall as well later.
When playing forward, what i do is focus on the middle of the table. i'm not looking AT the T of the tornado or anything i'm just gazing in that general direction, but my focus is on the ball, and on the opponents 5 bar. You have to close the door fast too, so as soon the your goalie shoots, you slam down that 5, and are focused there already, so its easier to pickup the ball if its coming off their 5. But general 5 bar loose ball pickup skills apply here, so what i had to do to improve that was practice the following:
I would raise all the other bars on the table, use my right hand and throw (or quickly toss) the ball at the backwall of my goal, and then attempt to pick it up with my five bar (and control it). Practice this both ways as well, but you can shoot if off your three off the opposing back wall and attempt to pick it up with your five bar. First contact is everything, where you're not attempting to pin it (yet), you're just attempting to have your 5 bar in the best position well enough that if the ball strikes one of your men, then it'll likely stay on the man (tilted back - and almost in an absorbing motion - like you would catch a pass on your three). During the time i practiced every night before a big major i would do this drill for 15 to 20 minutes to start off the practice session, and the benifits are quickly obvious.
For me also i have a bad habit of pinning the ball to control it, where the letting the ball hit your tilted back man is a much safer approach, and hey you can't miss time it (like you can when attempt to pin the ball) - and it works on any foosball table.
Another thing to think of is where your goalie is going to shoot it (and when helps too), so that you can slam your 5 down in that lane, try to anticipate where your goalie is going to shoot it, and then block the return hole as you come down. I won't work all the time, but every little bit helps.
overall loose ball skills:
It's been said before, but hey it works. play 2-ball rollerball. I'm not kidding.. in every aspect playing 2-ball rollerball helps your loose ball pickups so much - but don't just wack it as it goes by. You're still trying to play a controlled game, just lots of things to look after.
Also play single ball rollerball as well. We try to play that locally here at least once a week, and even in singles as well, really helps with the transition game.
Also if you don't have full control of the ball, or its coming too fast to be able to control it, then a quick movement back and forth to knock the ball down as it comes by works as well. It will either hit the wall or one of your men, slow down enough hopefully to then control it. Mitch Jang (from vancouver) was the master of this. and don't be scared to bang the table a bit. you're doing this when the ball is loose, so it's very hard for a ref to call it a jar. its kinda like b-ba-ba-bang
anyways hope that helps.
and if anyone else has questions, comments or whatever, don't hesitate to ask.. i'll just keep posting them to my blog so that everyone can see them.
"I consider loose ball pickups one of the major gaps in my game right now and I was wondering if you could pass on any advice on how to improve those skills. "
The question was mostly focused around the loose ball grabs when playing forward in doubles after your goalie has shot the ball, but I'll address it overall as well later.
When playing forward, what i do is focus on the middle of the table. i'm not looking AT the T of the tornado or anything i'm just gazing in that general direction, but my focus is on the ball, and on the opponents 5 bar. You have to close the door fast too, so as soon the your goalie shoots, you slam down that 5, and are focused there already, so its easier to pickup the ball if its coming off their 5. But general 5 bar loose ball pickup skills apply here, so what i had to do to improve that was practice the following:
I would raise all the other bars on the table, use my right hand and throw (or quickly toss) the ball at the backwall of my goal, and then attempt to pick it up with my five bar (and control it). Practice this both ways as well, but you can shoot if off your three off the opposing back wall and attempt to pick it up with your five bar. First contact is everything, where you're not attempting to pin it (yet), you're just attempting to have your 5 bar in the best position well enough that if the ball strikes one of your men, then it'll likely stay on the man (tilted back - and almost in an absorbing motion - like you would catch a pass on your three). During the time i practiced every night before a big major i would do this drill for 15 to 20 minutes to start off the practice session, and the benifits are quickly obvious.
For me also i have a bad habit of pinning the ball to control it, where the letting the ball hit your tilted back man is a much safer approach, and hey you can't miss time it (like you can when attempt to pin the ball) - and it works on any foosball table.
Another thing to think of is where your goalie is going to shoot it (and when helps too), so that you can slam your 5 down in that lane, try to anticipate where your goalie is going to shoot it, and then block the return hole as you come down. I won't work all the time, but every little bit helps.
overall loose ball skills:
It's been said before, but hey it works. play 2-ball rollerball. I'm not kidding.. in every aspect playing 2-ball rollerball helps your loose ball pickups so much - but don't just wack it as it goes by. You're still trying to play a controlled game, just lots of things to look after.
Also play single ball rollerball as well. We try to play that locally here at least once a week, and even in singles as well, really helps with the transition game.
Also if you don't have full control of the ball, or its coming too fast to be able to control it, then a quick movement back and forth to knock the ball down as it comes by works as well. It will either hit the wall or one of your men, slow down enough hopefully to then control it. Mitch Jang (from vancouver) was the master of this. and don't be scared to bang the table a bit. you're doing this when the ball is loose, so it's very hard for a ref to call it a jar. its kinda like b-ba-ba-bang
anyways hope that helps.
and if anyone else has questions, comments or whatever, don't hesitate to ask.. i'll just keep posting them to my blog so that everyone can see them.
Comment
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Comment by Eric Dunn on July 29, 2008 at 6:45pm - Yes all the way through vertical. I slam it down and spike it - so that if it comes back fast off the opponents 5 i'll stand a chance at spiking it toward their net, or my 3. Then immediately after that, then it's time to pick the ball up if its still around the 5.
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Comment by Eric Goodman on July 29, 2008 at 3:41pm - Eric, when you're slamming the 5-rod down, are you going all the way through vertical, or just to the tilted back position to pickup the rebound?
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