Coaching Clinic 31

Posted: 20.02.14 in Coaching Clinic Blog category

This month we look at fine tuning your darts play!

This month I hand our coaching article over to my colleague Andy. He has put together this piece on getting into the correct throwing rhythm. We advise dart players that the key to consistency is repeatability of the darts throw. A big part of getting the repeatability players crave is to have a few indicators that let you know if you are doing everything the same as the last dart you threw. Here is one idea that mixes a music track with your darting rhythm that may help you find the same tempo every time.

One, three, four, two! As you all know that is the firing order of a four cylinder engine. What happens when you put your HT leads on the wrong plugs? Well either the car runs like a bag of nails or it doesn’t run at all!

Have you ever had perfect days when all the darts feel so relaxed and all go in? Like it is the easiest game on the planet? Well the firing order of the muscles is much the same as the firing order of your engine. You will have a perfect order in which the muscles work to find your perfect throw. Many players call it their own rhythm. If that order breaks down, which it does under pressure, then as with an engine the technique will break down.

Tension is the killer. Many players will feel this in the shoulder first. This tension then creeps all the way down the arm into the triceps, forearm and hand. The grip tightens and before you know it you are snatching the darts. Your muscles have to stay relaxed. I know this sounds obvious but it is the one thing that many players forget in a pressure situation. The tightness builds and they then start to rush the shots, causing the muscles to fire out of sequence. Perhaps the shoulder will fire first, or the triceps causing the darts to feel pushed or snatched.

The key during practice is to find your natural firing order. Tweaking the throw is not always the way here. Sometimes there is nothing wrong with what you are doing, just how you are doing it. It can be beneficial to practise whilst listening to music. Pick a track where the beat suits the rhythm of your throw. If you are a slow player it’s no good picking a high beat tune or vice versa, if you are a fast player then do not pick something slow.

The track must mirror the pace at which you play. The great thing about this is that you can play the track over in your head whilst playing your actual matches, this can alleviate a bit of the pressure from the game, helping you to relax and get the firing order correct.

So summing up, next time you are snatching your darts, just think about the smooth running of a car engine and the order in which your muscles need to fire to have that lovely relaxed throw that we all crave. 

Stan's Practice game

This practice game was sent to me and I like it. It is a small twist on the round the clock doubles and perhaps of interest to double in players.

This game is for both doubling in and doubling out practice.

Each player gets 3 darts each at each double 1 to 20. If you hit the double with your first or second dart you use your spare dart(s) to go for as many points as possible. So if you hit double one with your first dart you would then have 2 shots at treble 20 for example. Note down how many points you score every time in this part of the game.

After your opponent has thrown you then go for double 2 and go through the same routine. If you hit your double with your third dart it is your opponent’s throw and you go for the next double in the sequence on your next throw.

You only move on to the next double once you have hit it. Set the amount of throws you are going to have and the winner is the player that gets the furthest around the board. If it’s a tie the player that has scored the most points is the winner!

Image courtesy of domdeen / FreeDigitalPhotos.net".

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TheDarts Performance Centre is a resource to assist dart players of all standards play better darts. The site is arranged as an online coaching manual. There is advice on technique, nerves, psychology, goal setting, practice games, an area to log your statistics and an interactive area where your darting questions are answered by two sports scientists, one with 30 years dart playing experience. You also get an invite to our free but exclusive members only events and acess to our members only darts coaching app! Membership is £25 per year!