Episode 2 - You win some, you lose some!

Posted: 04.09.12 in Throw Like A Pro Blog category

Aidan asks a question every dart player on the planet has-"perhaps a new set of darts will change my luck"?

I am going to be honest. I started out on the journey to become a darts pro, fully confident that in two, maybe three years I would be mixing it with the big boys! Yes, that is indeed the definition of naivety. It’s all well and good throwing a few darts at home thinking you’re the bee’s knees! But when you head out to the club, take on some seasoned throwers and try your hand in competition, it becomes a whole new test!

Aidan to throw first… GAME ON!!!

When I seen an advertisement for a singles competition taking place close to my home, I thought this was my chance to get some much needed tournament experience. I was keeping expectations low for this one, take a couple of legs here and there and that will be a good outing for me.

During the warm up, everything was going fine. Then the round robin draw was made and I faced a tough opponent up first; a youngster notoriously good at scoring, and ruthless on a double. And true to form he beat me 3-0. I had five shots at a double in the last leg, frustratingly missing them all.

I managed to win my second encounter, although doubles would let me down yet again. Having secured the opening leg quite comfortably, I opened up with two consecutive 100’s. Suddenly the nerves take their toll; I can feel my heart beating at the back of my throat. And I realise… I am not the underdog here, but the favourite. And then I leave 15 shots at a double behind me! I recoup, give myself a telling off and take the third leg to win the match.

Losing my third game left me little hope of making the quarter finals, and all I can say is a clear lack of concentration cost me the fourth. I then had a 1 hour break between this and my next game, with no free boards to practice on. What do I do? Watch others? Rue missed chances? Politely collect my coat and do a runner for my car to escape the inevitable loss once more?

Having convinced myself to hang around, I managed to win my final game 2-1. The pressure was off, losing meant little and winning meant even less in terms of the competition. But I walked away from the board thrilled with how I had thrown, and encouraged about what potentially lay ahead.

But look how shiny they are! Please???

We all have our pitfalls, things we just can’t escape from spending money on that we don’t have. But we convince ourselves that we do in fact need them, want them, and if we get them our lives will be so much better! For me… they are darts, stems, flights, boards, oche’s, you name it!

At the venue of the aforementioned darts competition, the organiser had a variety of sets on sale. Long ones, shorts ones, skinny ones, fat ones, heavy ones, light ones, new ones, old ones and everything in between. The temptation was killing me, and this is specifically linked with the unstable confidence I held with my current DPC set.

I have been throwing with the DPC darts for months now, and I have never thrown as well with anything else. But… what if this skinny set meant every first dart landed in the 60? What if this short set, coupled with a long stem and pear flight ensured at least one of the darts would land in the double? I might sound delusional, but what if???

Phil Taylor and I have quite a lot in common you know!

Having mustered enough courage to walk away from the dangerous salesman, I came home and got back to the practice board for a few days. Out of nowhere a thought struck me. The first set of darts I had ever thrown with, a nice set of Andy Fordham 23g, are my darts. MY DARTS! And I should go back to them. It was relentless.

Every time I stood up the oche, I was telling myself that I was throwing the wrong darts, and I should just use my old set.

Taylor may have changed his set recently for different reasons, but the results were the same. Having spent a couple of days working with the old set, it felt off, different, wrong! So I threw them out, and happily returned to the DPC dart. The grass isn’t always greener!

And I was proved right the other evening, when a friend came over to throw a few and we both managed to hit a 180 in the same leg. A 19 dart finish on the same night and my confidence is suddenly sky high in preparation of the new league campaign starting in September.

I have started on the long, troublesome, and often frustrating road towards consistency with no destination in sight. I know I won’t be mixing it with the big boys anytime soon, but I am happy with any sign of improvement. 

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We discussed the issue of changing darts with Aidan and offered this advice:

I don't think there is a problem "admiring" other kit. The problem comes with the player who is a serial changer blaming the darts, flights, stems or whatever else rather than taking a look at himself. The proverbial workman and his tools spring to mind.

I don't put you in that category Aidan and I would think that one day you are going to want your own signature darts made and unless you have tried a few set ups how are you going to know what is best? If you approach trying kit in an objective manner ie: what do I believe or what do the stats tell me this or that set up adds to my game, then why not? 

It is actually a good thing you are thinking so deeply about this Aidan, you are still at the beginning of mastering darts really so this is where your patience is needed to nail all these areas and then you will move forward again.

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