It is a long distance to the moon. Many things could have gone wrong when our space program put men on the moon. That is why it was such a great thing when it happened. In the same way it takes much hard work on the part of a kid to be able to be a Marble Champion. A player has to shoot straight and also be good in school in order to get the help of parents and teachers. The champions playing in Huntington are well rounded kids. They can meet the challenge of school and marbles. A true MARBLE SHOT!!
When you whistle, ride a bicycle or hit a baseball, you do it without thinking about what you are doing. If you think about any of these things, you will know that they all took some time to get them right. You had to try many times before you were able to whistle. You know that even if you don't whistle once in a while you seem to know how to whistle. Marble shooting is the same way but you first have to practice to learn how.
If you want to be a marble shooting champion, you will have to work at it. You will have to make it a habit of practicing your shooting as often as possible. Some champions say that they had to practice daily.
The easiest way to practice shooting marbles is to make a line of target marbles. Then go down the line and shoot each target marble. Your first shot should be about two inches. After you get better you should make your shot longer, say three inches and then 4 inches.
There are many ways to decide which marble is the best shooter for you. Size and roundness are more important than color. Sometimes kids think a shooter is lucky for them. If a shooter is too big or too small for your hand, you will not be able to get the backspin you need to win. If you want to control your shooter, then size is more important than how "lucky" a shooter is.
Find a shooter that is the right size. If you have a small hand, you should use a marble that is closer to one half inch in diameter. Kids with bigger hands can use marbles as big as three-fourths of an inch. After you know the size your shooter should be then you can hunt for that pretty marble.
Once you find that pretty marble that is the right size, you have to practice shooting. Kids who practice daily know how to hit target marbles. They are able to win games. If you practice shooting enough, you won't have to have luck. You will win tournaments because you are a good shot. If you pick the right shooter and practice enough, you can be the American Marble Champ.
Today kids are practicing more and are shooting better. Because kids are getting better, many games end in ties. One of the rules in most tournaments today is the lag to win rule. After so many innings in a tied game, the winner is the person who wins the lag.
There are times when two players shoot and both have the skill to get a stick. (seven marbles out on the first turn) This means that whoever wins the lag has a chance to win the game before the other player can shoot.
Everyone wants to watch someone get a stick, but not when they are playing you. For this reason every good marble shooter practices his lag so that he can win a lag and shoot first.
There are several ways to lag. You will decide what is best for you. You can get down and shoot or roll the shooter. You can stand and toss your shooter. If you stand and toss your shooter, you will not have as much control. If you you get down and shoot, you must have enough backspin in order to keep the shooter from going off the ring. The best way to lag is to get down and roll your shooter as if you were playing shuffle board.
The bottom line is that which ever way you decide to use, you have to practice
lagging many times. If you can't win a few lags it will be hard to win a tournament.