Foosworld presents Susan's interview with "The Duke" of foosball, Todd Loffredo.
Todd is considered by many to be the greatest fooser of all time and he was
kind enough to share his time and insight with us:
Where were you born & raised?
I was born in Aurora Colorado Aug 17 1960. Most of my Childhood was spent in Denver
except for 5 years that I Lived in Madrid and Toledo Spain. My father was in the Military.
How old were you when you started playing?
The first time I touched a table was when I was 12 at the Aurora mall with my brother.
The first time I played a tournament was when I was 14 and I played against Tom Spear
for the finals, I Won, it was also his first tournament. The next tournament was a
singles tournament and he beat me for first and we went on like that for a few
tournaments and then started to play together. The first Tour Tournament I played
in was the 1976 World Championships on Tournament Soccer.
When did you win your first major title?
In 1977 at Worlds I won Open doubles with my best friend and Partner Gil Jackson..
We Played Jim Wiswell and Doug Fury for the Winner of the Winners bracket and
then Ken Allwell and Mark "smiley" Shuer, I also won the Draw with a middle aged
guy that really helped guide me through that weekend, I can't remember his name
but I do remember that he really helped my confidence that weekend.
Which players have you learned the most from?
The obvious ones are Mike Bowers, Tom Spear, Gus Trevino. But the real list is
of the not so obvious. Like a Colorado local guy that doesn't play anymore named
Bob Sciba. He was a lefty who really taught me a lot about the 5 man and had a
great 5 man. Russell Dyerly, another Colorado player was another guy who I used to
practice with that showed me how to come up with creative solutions when I am
stumped. He was the first guy to really use the one hand on two rods effectively
to where I thought it could be advantageous to learn it. We would practice all
sorts of ball control styles and we were constantly trying new ideas on every
rod against one another. It definitely helped me to have confidence in my
creativity on offense and defense. I have learned so many different things from
listening and paying attention to the game from all sorts of players, both
rookie and pro. I have borrowed/stolen and modified many trick shots, passes and
defenses through the years. Collaboration with your fellow players and partners
is huge in the learning experience. Two people that want answers can see the
truth much easier than one I feel. I have ask a lot of questions over the years
to all sorts of players and am relentless in finding answers to certain problems
I have faced in the game.. Sometimes your answers can come from a player that you
watch in a bar and sometimes from a match or a fellow player at a tournament
just shooting the breeze.
In what ways has foosball evolved since the 70’s?
The game itself has gotten smarter over the years from the natural evolution of
the game. The game defensively has gotten better and the offenses much more
structured. The game use to have much more variety but now with video people have
learned what works best and are learning those things. For example, you don't
see many people shooting kick shots from the three rod and that is because it is
harder to learn, harder to shoot and harder on your arm through a tournament
than a one man shot. That is why you don't see them anymore, they don't win
enough. If it wins, it stays.
In what ways has your game evolved since you started playing?
Well I really think I first won because I had a very good 5 man and knew how to
time men on the three man and didn't realize that my process was so unique until
I became a student of the game and asked a lot of question and really paid
attention to learning..My five man was much better then than now just because I
had superior passes than most others and had a very fast wall pass to keep the
guesses honest on dee. Not to mention that 5 defenses were much much worse back
25 years ago.. Now I am smarter. I have a much better middle than I used to on my
pull shot.. My five bar is decent on offense and much stronger on defense. I
understand defense now and usually know what to do in dire times where most get
panicky. I used to rely on my offensive game much more. You do have to realize
that because of the table changes and having to play on seven different tables
over the years with about 20 different balls that it has slowed the process of
evolving and I have had to revamp my game a few times because of table changes.
Some tables play slow and some fast and some have more control than others. It
is still coming along and the players of today would beat the players of
yesterday until the older players learned some of the new ways. . As the table
gets better, so do the players and you just simply cannot avoid it.
Do you feel that there is still something left for you to accomplish?
It is the same game for me as it is for you. No matter how much you win, you
still want to win. It may get harder to get motivated sometimes in the beginning
of a match or I may get a little more lazy but the wanting to win is still the
main goal and thing to accomplish. All the records of wins that I have are just
me trying to win every time I play. It has never been to accomplish anything but
to win the next coming tournament. I practice more for worlds because the money
is more and I take it more personally when I lose there because I have always
revered the World Championships as the moment of truth. But there is no title
that really drives me, nor some dream goal I have set. It's like most things we
do in life. We do it to feel good, And When we win it feels good. I guess if
there is one thing every person wants to accomplish in every sport, it is to
have a game that is so strong that it always win. But then the challenge would
die and so would your love for the game. It's a nice catch-22.
What is the one thing you have struggled with most in your career?
I was always creative but lacked discipline. Like to get on my table and shoot a
hundred shots a day or something like that.. I had to learn it and was lucky
enough to live with Tom Spear for a few years and saw how much discipline was
what made his game so great. He was a machine at practicing. And the way that he
practiced was so strict and structured. It almost hurt to watch..hehe But after
watching his game improve from it I knew it was foundation of reliability in the
game and especially if you want to change something in your game.
Typically, how do you prepare yourself for a major tournament?
For me Major means Worlds.. It is the only tournament I really train for. I practice
the things I want to use at the tournament often and start about 4 to 5 weeks
ahead of the tournament. I play as much as I can. And the formula I use
is simple. The more I play, and the more serious I practice = The better I play.
How do you maintain a championship level of play while only attending a few tournaments per year?
I don't really know..lol
Tell us about the pros and cons of the Brush, Stick, and Tic-Tac as a primary passing series.
With The brush pass it's easier to control the attack position.The moment that
the pass is struck. So What it boils down to is that with a brush you can fake
repeatedly to expose the defense and at the same time create pattern habits that
you can use to your advantage if you hide the moment of impact on the passes.
Mis-direction, with a good brush series is a key to having a good five man.
Stick passes are harder to catch and take a bit more guess work, but still can
be valuable to use at times. And they *** in the goal more often than most
passes. A Tic-tac with a fast rhythm is hard to block if the person doing it
can tic-tac and read the defense at the same time. It is hard to do but hard
also to read. Can be devastating when done well.
Is there a rule you would like to see added or changed in foosball?
Yes. I think that when the ball is shot from the three bar and then comes off of
the table that the goalie defending the shot should get the ball. A rule should
reward superior play and not give an unfair advantage.
What are your thoughts on the Rollover?
I feel that the hardest hurdle to overcome in foosball is the same as in boxing
or karate, even Tennis and many other one on one sports.. The art of striking or
a sudden attacking movement without giving away the point at which one strikes.
I see it time and time again from player to player. Players will give away the
intent of what they want to do often with their body language in response to
what they see in the defenses ahead of their movements on the table. Players
need to learn to hide those intentions until the moment of action. This is a
giant key to scoring consistently. Good defenses challenge the slowest and or
weakest part of a shot sooner or later and can make a shooter reveal their intentions
ahead of time. Bobby Diaz for example is a Goalie that knows how to make a player
question their speed to a baited hole. That pressure that he creates can easily make a
player reveal what they are intending on shooting or passing through little telegraphing
idiosyncrasies ahead of the action of their choice of shot that they are about
to take. Most players fail to hide their intentions when facing such
circ*mstances and that is why they get shut out. The best shooters in this game
have not only learned how to hide the intent of their choice but even reveal
intentions that are false to throw off the baiter. Tommy Adkinson is one of the
better players that is good at this deceptive art at times. The art of hiding
intent is the 1 quality that I see more people fear in a shot that any other.
And it is the art that takes the game to a new level when you can hide that
intent until the last moment. I feel that the roll over eliminates this art
because speed is easily achieved without the control and giveaway issues that
come from a pivoting shot. To have a pivot point, a shot must have a back swing.
There are two directions that the man has to travel to initiate impact. The rollover
has eliminated this move/pivot and there for the shots intent is hidden much
much easier. Its obvious to most people that there is not much race anticipation
in a decent roll over, so you cannot get a body read nor apply pressure to make
someone feel fear of the race to the baited hole. And that inner game of
learning to hide the take off on your shots is 1/2 of the art of mastering this
game we call foosball in my opinion.
What is your theory on the origin of the Rollover?
The Rollover was invented by (
Jet) He is a large German man that visits our
tournaments often. John Smith shot it as a trick shot and tried it a few times when
his wrist was wearing down from a weekend of pullshots because it is easy on the
wrist and a few people would see it every now and then. Terry Moore was the first
to practice it as a serious shot and after about a year started to make an impact
with it and the rest is history .
What is the key to overcoming pressure in a finals match?
The key is to embrace it as a normal part of fighting to win. Expect it, look forward to it.
And then understand that the fear is the reason you practice and play. And obviously
the fear is where the pressure comes from. So when you feel the most fear , you know
that you have arrived to the place where you can face it and do something about it..
Its a strange catch-22 I have always tried to have a good sense of humor when it comes
to pressure. I laugh when I am afraid. But I also laugh when I am having fun. I have
noticed that many top players use humor to communicate to thier partners at times
under pressure and I think it has a positive effect on your partners.
Thanks for your time Todd! And congratulations on your HoFC title!