Foozen

[Rios820]

I got this off of foosball.com. I think it really puts into perspective as to what role the defender plays in a match. Great advice by Ezekial Moore.
Enjoy!!!

"You are right, there are a ton of variables.

As the saying goes, in a tight match, a goalie only needs to block one shot which can be the deciding factor in winning that match. I have been in several games with power forwards where they were hitting on all cylinders and I just made one block and changed the momentum to win that game.

One of the craziest games that I have lost, I blocked the forward every single shot... yes every shot and still lost the game. The goalie scored 4, and then on a defensive switch on the five, the other forward finally scored a shot on my forward who was now in the goal. Simply nuts.

As far as percentages go, anything that approaches 30 or 40 percent is excellent, especially against a top pro master forward. The goal is just so damn big and it is really hard to stop these guys. I have never found it yet, but I had a dvd of me and Thor Donovan playing Todd and Rico in Championship Doubles in which I blocked Rico at a 66 percent clip. I had him so confused he would call timeout sometimes to bring Todd up for a big shot. Though we lost that match, I considered it a personal victory because I had the world's best forward scrambling to score. Anything that approaches 50 and beyond is simply brilliance. There is a reason these guys are the top forwards and if you can stop them 30 to 40 percent of the time, you are excelling in your duties.

A good goalie does not have to score. What a good goalie has to do is CLEAR. A good goalie that clears will eventually score. The best shooting goalies are also some of the best clearing goalies. Whenever a goalie scores it is GRAVY. The team of McMillen and Gummeson did not become a great team until Tracy acquired defensive goalie skills.

What I live by,
Three areas of concentration for me to be a good goalie in a match. Be good in two out of three and you can win.
Blocking, which includes slop.
Trapping, not letting the ball out of your area.
Clearing, advancing the ball to a favorable position which includes scoring.

Ex. even if you are not blocking, all you need do is not let balls leave your area, and clear the ball down the table. If your forward makes one block on the five, you can win.

If you are not trapping, but you are blocking and clearing the ball. Your turnovers are not hurting you as much because you are keeping the forward out of the goal, which buys your forward time.

However, but being bad in two out of the three is death. Even if you are clearing, if you are not blocking and also not trapping, you are giving the opposing forward extra opportunities to score.

I've got two Iceisms for you.
It's not how many you block, it's WHEN you block.
You're only as good as your NEXT block not your LAST.

Hope that helps."
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there is one saying that will always remain true: Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.

[tapper]

you are going to need a little more than this buddy to block me!
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I'll poop on your pancakes...