Chattanooga Subbuteo League
Tips from the pro's
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Tips from the pro's

From gameplay tips, to mental preparations of playing Subbuteo, it's here.

Gregg Deinhart is one of the premier players of he ASA, and table soccer in general. He is a seven time ASA Champion.
 
The following is an excerpt taken from Gregg on shooting:
 
"As far as shooting practice goes; If you play 300 or so matches per
year (like we used to) you don't need to practice as much. Shooting
is a tough thing to do well over and over so you need to make
shooting well second nature. Once you have developed the basics of
the game and can flick accurately, then you should concentrate on
making shooting a priority.

You need to discover the technique that gives you the best possible
chance to make the most shots hit your target. Then you have to shoot
and shoot and shoot and shoot. You need to shoot from all angles and
all distances. Once shooting begins to get easier, you need to
practice a two-touch progression; getting the ball over the line on
one touch and the finishing with the other. Next you can add
progressions with two figures. Next you can try moving passes with
shots, etc. Each time up the progression, you will improve skill and
confidence. The idea is to make your practice harder than the match
will be most of the time.

One personal note about shooting practice: I almost NEVER practiced
shooting with a keeper standing up or sitting on clay, etc. I like to
see how the ball flies through the air and how it enters the goal. I
think having a keeper in there is a distraction. It's harder to tell
what your shots really look like unless you see them exactly as they
are. If you want to see how accurate you are, take a bread tie and
wrap it around the post or crossbar leaving a bit over part of the
goal you are trying to hit. If you hit the tie, you will know it
because it will bend backwards.

Once shooting become a bit more second nature, then practice can be
more fun. Since about 1997, when practice for me became a thing of
the past for the most part, there are still some times I will
practice a few things. I sometimes flick while talking on the phone.
It allowed my to shoot about 50 shots here and there over long phone
calls and helped me sharpen things up around tournament time. I also
used to have a table out in my condo at al times. Taking two, five,
ten, or fifteen minutes a day to shoot helps a lot in the long run."