Defense is probably one of the most important part of the game of foosball if not the most important part. Though it is not the most desirable part of the game, sooner or later you are going to have to play it. A good defended will usually have many kinds of defenses to defend against the many kinds of offensive weapons that are being used today.

Everyone has his or her own approach to playing defense. Some styles and methods are unique while others are used by most players to some degree. There are several types of defenses that can be use, however in order to be an effective defender, you must learn when to implement the right defense for the right offense. Not only that, the level of skill for which your opponent may possess offensively will greatly effect the type of defense you may wish to use.

For instance, if you are playing against beginners, then you will probably use a racing type of defense or perhaps a flex defense (I will talk more about type of defenses later). However, you would not want to use these types of defenses to block against John Smith, the 91 world's single Champ and his deadly pull shot. Instead, you might be better off using a "flex" or "sucker" type defense. They are not guarantee to stop a pull shot every time, but they are a lot better than racing to block the shot.

Psychological Defense
There are many kinds of physical methods to use to prevent the opposition from scoring, however, over the years, I have discovered that a good contribution to my defensive approach is a Psychological defense. The better the opponent, the more I am force to use psychology into my defensive scheme. The idea is to get the shooter to play into my defensive scheme rather than letting them do what they will. Getting the shooter to shoot into your choice of defense, is a lot better than having to guess where and when the shot is coming from. The way you do this is to play with the opponent's head. Show them different looks. Do things that normal goalies would not do like leaving the straight in open.

The various defenses I am about to manifest throughout this section are of little value when playing against a highly skilled player unless you use psychology. As I demonstrate the various types of defenses, I will also attempt to explain how and when to apply psychology.

Basic Defensive Formation
Now I will attempt to illustrate how these defenses are used and I hope they will be useful, but first, lets start out by talking about the simplest form of defense which I call the basic defensive formation. I highly recommend that you get a very good understanding of the importance of a basic defensive formation before continuing on to the following categories. Mainly, because the defensive strategies and concepts that I will be attempting to share with you will be using this type of basic defensive formation.

3-Man Defense
3-Man defense is where the goalie goes one on one against the opponent and his ability to use the front 3-man rod to score points offensively. Unfortunately for the goalie, in today's game, there are a variety of offensive weapons which a goalie has to contend with in order to protect the goal. Because of this, a certain defense may work better against one type of shot, but may not be as effective against another.

For example, you may wish to make it a standard practice to use a split defense against a pin shot or a rollover because of the various ways these shots can go. But against a pull or push shot where these shots traditionally go in one direction, you may be more inclined to use a flex or another type of defense.

A split defense

Another example would be a bank shot defense. A bank shot defense requires a completely different defensive formation. For a bank shot defense, you would use something like an angle shot defense with the men near the side of the wall where the ball will be coming from.

Most of the better goalie players learn to recognize what type of shot that potentially is about to come. This kind of logic helps to determine what type of defensive formation to incorporate at that time. Some goalie can determine which shot may potentially come just by the way the shooter is moving the ball around. This helps to incorporate an appropriate defensive formation in a timely manner. This kind of logic works well when the shooter is moving the ball around, especially when you have a shooter who likes to shoot while the ball is in motion.

In this section, I will attempt to explain how and when to incorporate the appropriate defense for the right situation when defending against the 3-man. I will also attempt to show how and when to recognize a potential scoring opportunity by the shooter before it happens.

Goalie Defense
This section covers the task of defending against shots being attempted by the opposing goalie. Whether or not you are playing singles or doubles, you should always use what I call a "zone" type defense to protect your goal when the opposing goalie is shooting. In most cases than not, a "zone" defense works very well at stopping shot attempts being done by the opposing goalie. Therefore, as I attempt to explain my defensive concepts used to stopping shot attempts done by the opposing goalie, I will be using a "zone" type of basic defensive formation.

Doubles
Playing goalie in a doubles match requires another element to using a zone defense. When using a zone defense while playing doubles, the goalie has to rely and depend on his or her partner to execute a zone defense to it's full potential. Chemistry between team members is essential when using a zone defense in a game of doubles because each player is depending on the other to do their part defensively. Usually, players who have been double partners for a long time with the same partners pretty much have their defensive game down.

But, what if you are in a situation where you have to play doubles with someone other than your usual partner? Then, finding out if that person either is familiar with or uses a zone defensive strategy before the game starts should be essential. This section covers this topic. if you are interested and require more information on how play doubles using a zone defense against an opposing goalie, then see the module on zone defense.

5-man Defense
This section covers the task of defending against shots being attempted by the opposing 5-man rod. Whether or not you are playing singles or doubles, you should always use what I call a "zone" type defense to protect your goal when the opposing forward opponent is shooting with the 5-man rod. Most U.S. players use their the 5-man mainly for passing rather than for scoring, especially at the pro level. Where as the europeans like to score from the 5-man rod more frequently than their U.S. counterparts.

U.S. players tend to slow the game down when using their 5-man rod primarily for passing purposes. Whereas, the europeans prefer the more quicker game which allow for more scoring opportunities with the 5-man rod. But regardless who you are playing against, you should always be aware that there is a potential scoring threat whenever the opposing 5-man rod has the ball. Whether the opposing player is passing or shooting from the 5-man, you should have both your forward and goalie men in a good defensive position before the ball is dropped. This section covers how to incorporate a zone defensive formation that guards against, not only shots being attempted with the 5-man rod, but also sloppy passes that tend to find their way into your goal.

The tips covered in this section, are designed to assist and help you as you improve and develop your defensive skills. Remember that no defensive plan is a 100% guarantee. So, don't get discourage if you are having a hard time at the goalie position. The more you play goalie, the better you will get, and these tips are here to assist you with the task of becoming a skillful player at the goalie position.