The Darts Experiment - Night 5 (The detailed version)

Posted: 29.03.11 in Darts Experiment Blog category

The Darts Experiment marches on accompanied by music and Team Kasbah are also "checked over" with a full MOT, will they pass or are they off to the dart players scrapyard?

Rhythm is a Dart Player

We kicked off The Darts Experiment this week with an idea we have been toying with for ages. However, we are not going to tell you exactly what we did as the idea is still in the development stages. We will give you a clue, it is music related. Team Kasbah donned their headphones and remained “open minded”, if somewhat bemused at our idea. One player has asked to keep the headphones and CD to try it this week and he will report back. This is work in progress!

Team Meeting

One feature of The Darts Experiment which we discussed last night was the benefit of team meetings. I mentioned to Team Kasbah how I felt that a team gathering is absolutely vital. The opportunity to reflect on the previous match, any internal team issues or the direction of the practice sessions can be discussed and resolved. It can also add to the process of building team cohesion. There are two key issues, however, you need one person to “chair” the discussion and each team member must respect their role and allow open discussion to flow. Each team member must also remember they are part of a team and the group is the most important thing! The team spirit of Team Kasbah has shone through from day one and this will win them points in their league games that teams without a similar spirit will not get.

Team Kasbah – The Future

We also discussed the legacy of The Darts Experiment and it was suggested that the concept of team practice sessions and having different practice games to play was probably going to be the enduring feature of The Darts Experiment. Two team members surpassed their own expectations in a recent tournament; they are through to the semi finals of a local pairs competition. They discussed how they used several areas of what they have learnt during the experiment, in particular from the psychology section and the video analysis. Maybe they are telling me what I want to hear? However, the overriding feeling I got from their account is that not only do they really believe they have become savvier dart players over the past few weeks, they quite genuinely have and they are enjoying the rewards of that!

My MOT is Due

We are keen for Team Kasbah to keep practising our coaching ideas but also that they do not forget what they have learnt in the first few weeks, our successful pairs team alluded to the potential value of retaining as much knowledge as possible. Our first session (other than the music experiment) of the night involved an MOT of each player’s throw. We drew up an inspection sheet of around seventeen different parts of darts throws. Seventeen! It`s no wonder things can go wrong with your technique (we will upload the MOT document to the Darts Performance Centre website).

One team member was concerned that one of his team mates would fail on the emissions test, he made a very good point as it happens. I can confirm from experience that there is an ill wind that most definitely blows on occasions from somewhere in the Kasbah Club. On a serious note each player was also encouraged to add to their list any coaching points we raised when they had their throw analysed in our video analysis zone. This service is now available online by the way. The players split into pairs and effectively ticked off each technique area as a pass if it was up to standard.

Once again this was a good team bonding exercise and on a more practical level allows Team Kasbah to “keep an eye” on each other during matches, the most likely time your technique will start to break down. A quiet word between legs may make all the difference! We ended the night with a lively discussion about the benefits of throwing first in a leg (The Power skewing this argument with his insistence on systematically giving the throw away) and a “Bull Hitter” session followed by a 8 player simultaneous pairs tournament (with a small twist but more of that later).

Next Time

Last week next week! What a shame! We will be running some more practice sessions and we will give Team Kasbah the chance to tell us exactly what they have made of The Darts Experiment.

All the session plans, ideas, tips from The Darts Experiment and much much more are all available at The Darts Performance Centre. Membership is £25 per annum