I Built a Better Way to Train in Rocket League

Summary

Calvin Gasall introduces Next Touch, a Rocket League training tool accessed through BakkesMod. To use it, players launch Rocket League in offline mode, enter Free Play, and open the Next Touch dashboard with F6 or the controller’s D-pad. He recommends customizing the training controls first.

Training Modes and Highlights

• Training sessions and labs: Combine exercises into sessions with difficulty and time options. Individual exercises can also be selected and practiced separately.
• Shooting and defense: Basic drills offer repeatable shots and saves. Some shooting exercises use targets, including blue areas the ball must avoid. The pro-save collection contains more than 190 shots drawn from pro play.
• Mechanics: Practice flicks, air-dribble setups, flip resets, wall touches, and other mechanics. Some setups change over time, encouraging players to spot openings and react. Other activities include:
  • Horse: Players attempt increasingly difficult shots and receive a letter when they reset or fail.
  • Pinch bowling: Players try to knock down pins with different kinds of pinches.
  • Build Your Combo: Adds mechanics to a successful shot—for example, progressing from an air dribble to an air dribble plus a double touch.
• Movement and car control: Ring courses, timed movement challenges, and the Glade obstacle course test control, boost use, jumps, and wall movement. The Glade starts simply but becomes more difficult, with a time limit.
• First touches and pressure: First-touch exercises let players choose how to handle a ball, such as keeping it close or going for a double touch. A pressure version adds two bots to make decisions feel more like an in-game situation.
• Speed Lab: Adds targets and objectives to Free Play, giving players specific tasks instead of practicing without direction.
• Replay review and Replay Revenge: A coach reviews saved matches and points out possible improvements. Players can pause a moment, take control, and retry the situation. Replay Revenge highlights smaller mistakes and lets players practice them.
• Defense, bumps, and 50s: “Beat the bump” challenges players to dodge a bump and make a save; a shooting version focuses on beating the bump while attacking. Players can also practice 50s against bots or recreations of pro challenges.
• Races and coaching: Half-flip, wave-dash, zap-dash, and wall-dash races use the player’s best run as a ghost to race against. Speed-flip coaching reviews attempts and explains issues such as the car’s nose dipping too steeply.
• Quick Play: Players can choose which exercises to include in a personalized warm-up.

Tips and Practical Notes

• Customize controls to suit your preferences.
• Use sessions for a varied routine, or select individual drills to focus on a specific skill.
• Save replays to review mistakes and practice situations that may be difficult to reproduce in a training pack.
• Use objectives, pressure, and changing setups to stay attentive and practice decision-making rather than repeating mechanics mindlessly.

At the time of the video, the creator says Next Touch is expected to launch soon, with 14 days free after release, followed by a price of $5 per month or $50 per year. He also says the website will provide player stats.

Gamers and Sources Featured

Calvin Gasall and unnamed professional Rocket League players whose saves and 50s are used in the training exercises.