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 FCM presents Oliver's interview with veteran fooser Henry Long. Henry is no longer a competitive fooser, but he is still very much a fooser in his heart. He is currently the guest author for FCM.
FCM: Before the email interview starts, do give us a quick explanation of your old nickname "coach".
Henry Long: I don’t think that nick name sticks any more, it’s been awhile since I last played and the little knowledge I had back then is probably well surpassed now by the younger and current players….I HOPE?!
If you really want to know, It’s because in the old days when foosball was still very new, I could do a few nice shots. I’m not sure but when I first played the pull shot, i thought I had invented the shot…but later after going online to research about foosball…I realized that it was a common shot. Hahahaha, back when we were all noobs and everything was new to us.
Where were you born & raised?
Born and raised in Petaling Jaya.
How old were you when you first started foosing and where was the place?
First time I played foosball was in the USA during my Uni days in Oklahoma…back then I was playing pool and foosball was just one of those things we did to let off some steam. I think I was 20-21….a LONG time ago.
What was your first major tournament ever played?
Well, I wouldn’t call it a major tournament, because it was probably the first tournament in all of Malaysia. It was sponsored by Danish Light beer, and it held over a few months running across 12-16 pubs in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.
Finals were Ah Boy & Kenny versus Nicolas & me. We lost the game in a 5 set thriller. Let me try to provide a short summary of the game as I remember it. Probably the 2 tops pairs back then, every game was won by a 5-4 or a 4-5 score. I cannot remember when “Time Out” had so many people shouting all at one time, with people standing on chairs and table to catch game as we were huddled over the table. The one thing I still remember was the sweat dripping of my face with every time out I took, basically it was WAR!!! Hahahaha. Ah boy and Kenny won the the heavily contested match….thinking back about this game, I couldn’t have asked for a better finals opponent and atmosphere.
What was your first Major title ever won?
I don’t think I won any? Got into a couple of finals (small tournaments and mostly lost in the smies), won the forward shot in Penang (think it was the nationals), think I got to semis in goal wars (when Miqdad took me out). I really can’t remember. Sorry guys.
After reading Alex interview, I want to tumpang glamour also. I do consider the rookie title Alex and Noel won in Penang as a victory for all of us KL boys. Because Shaun P’ng was the favorites to win, and its was Alex’s first tournament. Alex was very nervous even though he may not agree with me here, and was losing the game I think it was 2-1 game score, and Shaun was leading in the fourth game 3-1. Then Alex did the right thing to break the rhythm, he called a time out and had a quick chat with ben tan, ah boy and myself.
He then went on to take control of the game and won it with style. Back then the rivalry between Penang and KL was crazy. Not too sure about now though.
What is your primary position?
I can play both positions pretty ok. Early on I’d play forward more, but later on I realized that my understanding of playing forward made me a good goalie. Hence, my last tournament I played goalie with Ben Tan playing forward. This is a common misunderstanding; all good forwards can be good goalie. If you’re a forward that can’t play goalie….he’s not a very good forward. Sorry but it’s the truth.
Which do you like better?
Wow, hard question. The truth is I like both positions. I’ll explain what I like about both positions.
As a forward probably the most rewarding aspect would be the thrill of controlling the opponent from the 5 bars to the 3 bar, and then followed by a thunder dead push snake. SLOW, it must be SLOW. That’s the thrill, when you have dominated the game with deliberate moves and technique. If there’s a slop, it doesn’t count…there’s no thrill in that.
As a goalie probably the ultimate bait, when you throw a pattern where the opposite forward can see the hole but cant take it…cause you know exactly where the hole is. Most baits fail because the goalie him/herself are not aware of which holes are truly open. It’s especially sweet when I keep giving him the hole, and he can’t take it. After a couple of attempts, they chicken out and stop looking for that same hole you’ve been giving him for the past 4 shots. LOL, that’s the best part of playing goalie.
What are your primary & secondary shot as a forward? As a goalie?
Primary shot would be Snake & secondary shot would be DEAD snake. LOL….ok right about now, most of you readers would be thinking “yea right?!” This is funny, but it’s true. I’ll show u guys one day. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.
Ok, I find this the perfect place to write a bit about the dead snake. Yes, it is possible to score against the 2 bar when the bumper is fully against the wall. Especially, if the man is tilted forward. In fact it is easier to shot around the 2 bar than the 1 bar. And sometimes even possible to shoot around the 1 bar dead man, cause the ball actually lifts off the table hence jumping over the fattest part of the man.
Ok, I better shut up now before people start thinking I’m talking cock.
As goalie, my favorite would be a square/brush back push shot to the near corner. It’s an amazing shot when its perfect. Completely and utterly amazing, most times your get the opposing goalie looking at the goal mouth wondering….”HUH?”
How about your passing series. What is your primary? Do you have more than one?
I read this in Felix’s interview, and I also prefer the simple and straight forward brush series on the 5 bar. Well, its simple…fake and pass…it’s that simple. If you can fake fast and pass fast, you’ve pretty much can do anything from there. Eg. Fake slow - pass fast, fake fast - pass fast, brush up – brush down. How many more passes does one need in a match? What’s 4 to the power of 4? That’s the amount of combination you have with the brush and fake series. That’s more than enough. Of course some are more practical than others.
What would you like to advice the future champions?
DON’T BE HUMBLE!!! Hahaha, every time you win…scream at the top of your lungs at your opponent….”YOU SUCK!” (eh please ah, this is only meant to further illustrate my frustration)
I mean what’s there to be humble about, with the way foosball is run in Malaysia how many times can a person win? Every time you win, you end up having split up and find a new partner. In fact, every time you come in top 3-4, you have split up and find new partners. Excuse me, there is nothing sporting about winning these sorts of tournaments. If it’s Open Class, for a lack of a better word…it’s INSULTING that tournament organizers actually think they are helping to build champions with these sorts of rules. What a joke! The only “champion” is the BANK account for these sorts of tournament organizers. WE HAVE NO CHAMPIONS…PERIOD!
*I wrote this part before finding out about KLTSA. The association is still pending approval, but it has been conveyed to me that this handicap system will be removed to conform to ITSA ruling because the Malaysian Open will be a world ranking event
Where do you see foosball heading to in 5 or 10 years time?
NO WHERE. Table operators are NOT building a sport; they are and have been building a business. For the most part, I can’t even blame them….because if one doesn’t understand the meaning of COMPETITION…How thel can they develop a sport?
Do you see Malaysia playing the football world cup? Why not? Because we just aren’t good enough, do we stop playing international football? Hell no, we keep trying….that’s the nature of a sports. Or wait, why doesn’t FIFA give all lousy ass countries a handicap instead? Maybe FIFA should give Malaysia 10 goals before a match against Brazil? Then maybe the sport will go even further?!
Or wait, maybe that was a bad example because the argument would be football is already developed. So, lets a pick a sport like SQUASH. I bet you there are more fossball players in the world than SQUASH players. Why is it international squash tournaments do not give out handicaps to players that are weak in it? After all it will help develop the sport right?
Let’s pick another sport; Darts….Why not give out handicaps to find more champions? After all it will help develop more players.
The answer is very simple, the handicap system is made for one thing only….to make more money, and not to develop the sport.
*I wrote this part before finding out about KLTSA. The association is still pending approval, but it has been conveyed to me that this handicap system will be removed to conform to ITSA ruling because the Malaysian Open will be a world ranking event
Why did you foos anyway? What was the reason?
I foosed because it was exciting and fun.
As a promoter/enthusiast yourself, what would your advise to FCM?
Hmmm, the truth is I’ve lost interest in foosball after the handicap system was put in place. So, my advice would be: foosball is a sport, and people put money into the machines to test themselves. If I can’t reach my full potential because the system doesn’t allow it, why even bother participating in tournaments. Open Class should NOT be handicapped. Tournaments that implement a Handicapped system should not be promoted because if you need a handicap to play/win, you’re not testing and pushing yourself to grow, and without the players growing how can the sport grow.
Advice would be to GET RID of the ALL HANDICAPPED TOURNAMENTS COMPLETELY! That’s the best way to develop the sport. There are classes where players can pick from.
*I wrote this part before finding out about KLTSA. The association is still pending approval, but it has been conveyed to me that this handicap system will be removed to conform to ITSA ruling because the Malaysian Open will be a world ranking event
How can we as a fooser, to assist the community to grow?
Say NO to handicapped tournaments. Do not allow operators to abuse you and the money you have put into the machines. That’s why I stopped playing. Play all events except handicapped events. They cause more harm than good
In your personal opinion, how can foosball reach higher growth?
We need more QUALITY table operators. From the growth perspective the more competition between table operators the better it is for the sport. Because with every business development plan they implement, the consideration to meet player needs become more valuable in the long term. And what is a business without paying customers right? People in Malaysia need to understand the economics that are the driving force of any business, business owners need you (players) to put money into the machine in order to profit. Hence, players need to make their voices heard.
I will take this opportunity to write about how a foosball player can grow. Practice your weakest skill. Here’s the best advice I have ever given anyone with regards to foosball….ALWAYS PLAY YOUR WEAKEST SHOT/SIDE FIRST. Think about it.
As a fooser/enthusiast, what have you contributed in the sport?
I won’t answer this, because in the old days the sport grew from a core group of players. I didn’t contribute anything more than any of these friends and players that use to play back then. Players from Wastelands and Time Out, the list is too long to name them all. You know who you are guys. I still remember one meeting we had at Ben Tan house….there were 20 over foosers at his house that night discussing how we were going to do to stop the handicap system. Well, some gave up and some continued.
It’s so sad to see that after 10 years of foosball in Malaysia, yes it has been 10 years, when I go out and see the younger generation of players play foosball, I see nothing new. The same mistakes over and over again, and the same players over and over again. Operators would say…we have grown so much and we have so many more players now…when in fact they means….my bank account has grown so much, and the player base(quantity) may have grown but the player skills haven’t grown at all. Also bear in mind, that when you have a good product, its expected that the player base will grow. You cannot attribute the current growth to the handicap system. There may be people who still think that the handicap system has worked well, and because of it the player base had grown. It’s very simple, if a system like this works why is it other sports do not implement similar system? I cannot think of one reason why people would think this system works, maybe except if the players were KIASU. Has anyone heard of the saying “the best publicity is the word of mouth”? Champions are the Ambassadors of the sport, without Champions, foosball is only a game, with champions it is a sport. So, think about it.
I hold nothing personally against these operators; in fact I would consider them my friends. But I do hold against them the LACK of growth they have caused the wonderful game of foosball. If the whole world implements a handicapped system for all sports…I wonder if we’d even watch any of them or want to play the sport at all?!
*I wrote this part before finding out about KLTSA. The association is still pending approval, but it has been conveyed to me that this handicap system will be removed to conform to ITSA ruling because the Malaysian Open will be a world ranking event
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