1. File work
A "normal" metal kicker with the classic round foot, as sold in shops, doesn't really satisfy the "TIPP-KICK pro". Clever shot techniques are difficult to apply. The successor model, the Top Kicker with the somewhat longer, flat foot, was an enhancement, but still left room for improvement. In order to produce an individually cutomized playing figure, real "TIPP-KICK pros" reach for the metal file.
In preparation for the filing work, the leg must first be removed from the kicker frame. This is carried out as follows:
- Remove the button on top of the kicker from the operating rod.
- Slightly expand the small opening (often concealed by paint) of the side rod entry to the side above the kicking leg and knock the rod out. If that doesn't work, the end must be filed free all around in order that the rod can be pulled out more easily.
- Now the kicking leg can be placed into a vice and worked with a metal file as desired.
answer. Basically, the "shin" is filed straight on all kickers, so that it offers the ball a level surface. With the foot, on the other hand, there are a great many possibilities. When it is filed very flat and isn't shortened, this favours the quality of high balls. However, the bounces are then usually too slow and imprecise. This is changed when the foot is shortened. As a rule: the shorter the foot, the more precise and straight the shot. In the case of kickers for hard, distance shots, make sure thatfoot and leg are not filed too thin. The force of the shot is otherwise reduced. "Short feet" are not so good for high balls.
Important: never file too short, as it will not be possible to beat the "two-length defence" of the opponent's defence. "Longer kicker feet" are also necessary for cutting the ball for corners or side shots. Which feet it has to be is a very individual choice. The simple formula is: try it out. The rules allow the use of up to four different kickers in a game. Thus it is possible to use kickers with "long" and "short feet" in a game.
The replacement of the kicking leg also provides many options for combining different kicking legs and kickers with one another, and thus for sending an ideal "team" onto the "TIPP-KICK green".
2. Operating button
The rod linking the operating button with the leg is made of a very soft metal, and it often happens that this rod bends after a series of "brutal shots", meaning that the kicker subsequently kicks poorer. This can be counteracted by replacing the rod with an appropriately modified hairpin. The material of a hairpin is so hard that it almost never bends. A little effort is involved in appropriately modifying the hairpin, but it's worth it.
3. Weight
The weight in the stand plate of the original kicker is usually adequate for "normal" demands on a playing figure. However, the TIPP-KICK rules allow for the glueing or screwing on of a slightly greater weight onto the kicker. Greater weight has the advantage that the kicker, positioned slightly offset to the side, provides a greater defensive surface against the attacking players and, due to the greater weight of the kicker, doesn't tip over so easily when it is pulled back quickly into a defensive position.
It is best to cut off a 1 cm high piece from a metal rod with a diameter of 15 mm. This is the maximum kicker weight. The weight can be glued on with epoxy glue or screwed tight with a screw thread. However, it must thereby be ensured that the weight doesn't project over the side of the stand plate.
4. Stop
This is the place at which the kicking leg meets the "kicker body" and where signs of wear appear in time. This can be avoided by filing the position so that the leg practically no longer touches the kicker. After filing this position, a hole can be bored and a metal pin inserted. This metal pin becomes a stop that never wears down.
5. Goalkeeper
It is certainly a fine thing that TIPP-KICK keepers are equipped with operating boxes and buttons, but these should be used very sparingly. It is of course fun to have the keeper dive into the corners, but even a slightly high shot or a bounce is enough to result in the ball sailing into the mesh over the goalkeeper lying on the ground. Especially TIPP-KICK beginners feel challenged to make a lot of use of the existing possibilities and thereby overlook the fact that, in many cases, it is better to hit away the ball with a standing keeper.
What applies for real football also applies on the TIPP-KICK green. Good positional play and fisting away is often better than a spectacular parry. Fast "diving" is also important, but only when the ball comes in low. Experts can already recognize the ball from the preparation of the opponent's shot and react appropriately.
The real "TIPP-KICK pros" have modified their keeper in such a way that only one stiff rod projects from the operating box, to which the keeper body remains attached. It is thus no longer possible to operate the keeper with the buttons. There are several possibilities for customizing the keeper, making it difficult to provide a definitive solution. Experienced tournament players can surely provide a tip or two for the modification of the goalkeeper.