The rollover "snake" shot is truly one of foosball's most terrifying and intimating scoring maneuver. A well-experience rollover fooser can literally tear apart a defense. Most goalies, including myself may struggle when it comes to defending against the rollover shot. But with a little bit of a understanding about the shot. And, if one can over come the initial fear of having to stop a rollover shot, and with lots of practice and experience, then stopping the rollover may not be as difficult as it may seem.

The rollover is very similar to its cousin the pin shot. Like the pin shot, the initial ball position of the rollover shot is being pinned by the shooter (usually in the toe position). And like the pin shot, the rollover shot can be maneuver to where the shot can go one direction or go straight in if desired.

Another aspect about the rollover, is the way the ball is hit by the foosball man just before it heads towards the hole. Unlike the pin shot, the ball is maneuvered into position by slightly sliding it to a desired location. Then, in one complete motion, the man is spun one revolution around the rod's axis before the man's feet hit the ball.

Another thing that makes the rollover shot so uniquely different from the pin shot, is the way the shooter controls the 3-man rod while the shot is being attempted. Instead of using his hand, the shooter controls the ball with his wrist on the rod handle. All the while, the ball is being controlled by the pressure of the man's feet on the ball, which is being applied by the pressure of the shooter's wrist on the rod.

I believe that because of the mechanics that are involved in doing a rollover shot, a consistent accurate rollover shot is a harder shot to control than say some of the other shots like the pull shot or the pin shot. This especially hold true for a rollover shooter who has not yet mastered the shot. Therefore, a good planned defense should survive against the rollover shot. Still the talent level of the shooter must be taken into account.

I have discovered that a good approach to stopping the rollover is to use psychology. If you attempted to race or second guess where the shot is going to go, then more often than not, you will not block the shot. My approach to stopping the rollover is to make the shooter shoot into a defense or area that I want him or she to shoot at. In my experience, I have noticed that a rollover shooter will seek out the most available shot that is presented. I believe this because of the lack of control that most rollover shooters have. Thus as a result, the shooter will shoot at the most appealing opportunity and ideal location.

Like with most other shots, the rollover shooter will most always go for the biggest hole in a defense. So, rather than concentrating on defending one area of the goal thus leaving a large hole exposed elsewhere in the defense, the goalie should apply a defense that has several small holes, In my opinion, it's a lot better to present several small holes in a defense that are less easier to hit than to have one big hole that is much easier to hit. Thus, because of the poor accuracy of the rollover shot, in my opinion, it makes more sense to apply this type of defensive approach when attempting to stop the rollover shot.

In my experience, I have noticed that most of the time a rollover shooter will start out setting the shot up in the middle area in front of the goal. If you think about it, it makes sense for the shooter to take this approach. By setting the shot up in the middle, the shooter gives himself the opportunity to score several ways. By doing this, the shooter has the option to shoot the ball straight-in, shoot towards the far corner, or shoot towards the near corner of the goal. As one might imagine, this presents quite a task of defending the goal.

setting the ball up in the middle leads to more scoring opportunity

So you ask, what is a goalie to do? A goalie cannot cover every possible shot. True, not even the best well-experience goalie can cover the whole goal at any given time. This is where psychology comes into play. Make the shooter shoot into your defense. Flex your defense. First show the shooter different defensive looks by giving the shooter an open hole to aim for. Show the shooter the middle then one of the corners. This is also commonly know in the foosball world as baiting.

one of the side lane is left open in order to bait the shooter into shooting at a specific location

In the illustration above, an area is intentionally left unprotected in order to get the shooter to commit to shooting the ball into that area. Again, the idea behind this is to avoid having to guess where the shooter is going to go with the shot. Which, I believe is half the battle. Once you believe the shooter has taken the bate, then slowly and hopefully unnoticeably move or shift a man to the unprotected area. You can shift either the front man or the back, Use which ever man you are most comfortable with, or which will better serve you at that instance.

shift the front man to cover the unprotected area

shift the back man to cover the unprotected area

Timing is everything in this situation. Because, when you go to shift your men to cover the unprotected area, the once protected area is now unprotected. If you shift your defense too soon, then the shooter may realize the situation and adjust or change his/her's attack scheme accordingly. Again, you ask, "how will I know when to shift the defense?" Unfortunately, you may never really know when every time. But, there are a few things to always remember that will help you to determine when to time your defensive shift at the right time:

• practice, practice, and more practice
• quickly learn the shooting methods and habits of the shooter
• be aggressive with your defensive schemes
• conceal your movements and flexing as much as possible
• show poise in your body language, and do not let off that you are nervous

If the shooter scores on you when using this type of defensive approach, do not get discourage. Keep in mind that a good rollover shooter usually has a high scoring percentage. Remember that the rollover is a very high percentage shot to do, and that even the best goalie will struggle to stop it. Remember that, it is one of the most popular shots used in all levels of tournament play.

Use a lot of psychology in your defensive scheme. For instance, if you block a shot at one of the corner, then most likely the shooter will aim for the opposite corner the next time around, especially if that corner was left open on the previous shot. Remember, to control the shooter's game. Make the shooter shoot into an area that you want her to shoot at. That way you are better prepared for the shot. Show the shooter different defensive looks. Try not to let him figure out your defensive scheme.

A good way to gain control over the shooter is to fooling him into gaining confidence by letting them score easily at first. This makes it easy to get him to shoot into your defense the next time around. Once, you start blocking all his shot attempts, then the shooter will start to get discourage and lose confidence which is what you want him to do.

Remember, to use several small holes in your defense rather than one big hole. It may not be harder to score against, but it will appear like it is. Make the shooter work and sweat for every score.