Grand Slam Night 5

Posted: 17.11.11 in Tournament Analysis Blog category

We have rising star James Hubbard and ask you a question about checking out, it's a "no-brainer" though isn't it?

The Cupboard is Bare

Hyperbole! It’s a great word. Exaggeration for effect is another way of describing it. One of Sid’s favourites is “a mile away” when a dart misses the target by a centimetre or two. It is an obvious and intentional exaggeration.  It could be argued the praise surrounding young James Hubbard that on occasions this week bordered on patronising the rising star was also hyperbole.

I have heard it first hand from one of James` peers on the PDC Youth Tour what a fine player he is and also, according to my source, a popular guy too (oh dear, I am at it now). But surely it is too early to start spouting about how it is almost a foregone conclusion he will be a World Champion one day and will be scooping  up the honours in the PDC in a few years time? His main rival and the best player for James to use as a benchmark for his progress is Van Gerwen . They looked poles apart to me!

“Managing expectations” is a key part of man management and developing talent. Why do you think Premier League clubs lend out their rising stars to Championships clubs and below? One of the main reasons is to make the player aware of what is involved in being a professional footballer.  It also allows his club to watch his progress through monitoring his performance, attitude and desire so they can assess when he is ready to break into their first team.

There is no system in place to “loan” James to say an “under 25 tour”, perhaps with a promotion system to act as a gateway through to the main tour. He now has a two year tour card and will be in with the “big boys” from January. He has it appears a strong team behind him who will no doubt tell him to forget all about the wild predictions made about his future and focus on becoming an even better dart player.  We wish James a successful 2012!

He’s on a Finish

Darts doesn’t really do change, well not quickly anyway. Our darts video coaching is a good example of change in darts taking time to be accepted. We still get abuse and ridicule from some for suggesting how a more efficient technique or a correction of fundamental errors would help a player improve. I have given up arguing now, to me it is like arguing black is white!

Do you remember the time it was a heinous crime to go for double, double? If you were playing a real numbskull you could be threatened with violence for such an outshot. The fact that it is exactly the same principle as hitting a treble and then a double cannot be computed by some. Commentators described it as “showboating” but now it is becoming the norm.

I am reminded of this when a player leaves a 170 checkout. Several players did it last night. Let me give you an example. Let’s imagine a player hits a twenty, then treble twenty and is on 188. What now? Let us also imagine the leg is a close contest if that helps you envisage the point we are going to make.

Two arguments here: The first is to switch to the 18. This way if you miss the treble 18 and hit single 18 you are on a finish, a 170 finish. This is what nearly every player does. “It puts pressure on the opponent” apparently.

If you go for option 2-the treble 20 and hit the single 20 you are on 168, a bogey number and you can’t finish! But your darts are grouped and there is one already in the treble 20!

I tell you what I will conduct a small survey on what most players would do. Please email me with your favoured option – paul@dartsperformancecentre.com or take the survey on our facebook page and we will continue this discussion tomorrow.

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