Coaching Clinic 34

Posted: 19.05.14 in Coaching Clinic Blog category

Welcome to our darts coaching blog - This month we look at how you can sock it to your opponent!

The Camera Never Lies

It has been a very interesting few months at the Darts Performance Centre. We have now set up our own coaching room where we intend to hold darts training days/nights and carry out our video analysis service at our shop and office in New Milton, Hampshire.

This will be a great help when it comes to writing the monthly darts coaching article that you are reading now. This is because we also learn so much about dart players' technique when we sit down and study a video of a player throwing.

This month for example a player emailed us a video of himself throwing. It was easier than calling in, without giving too much away he lived 26,000 miles away! When we watched the video for the first time there was an athletic looking player with a straight back and side on to the oche. At first glance you would think the guy was a role model for an excellent darts technique.

Then we watched the video! Our player was in the habit of clenching his stomach muscles before every throw. He found the tensing his muscles gave him the feeling of stability on the oche. The problem was that the amount of tension he used to hold his muscles in place varied and this had an effect on how straight he was standing and therefore his height. Go on try it, stand up, then tighten your tummy muscles and you grow a bit!

It was only a few centimetres each throw (he filmed three) and in each set of throws the darts were released from different heights. But this is more than enough variance to send your darts awry! He has two options, to develop a technique of clenching his muscles he can repeat exactly every throw or not do it all. He is going to experiment.

On top of that our player practised in his socks. We have advised him as we do all players to practise in the kit you play in and especially your shoes. In this case it was even more important once you added the height of his shoes and the increase in his stature each throw.

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 If you want to hit the heights on the oche then you need to ensure that you are doing exactly the same thing during your practice throws as your match throws.

A Darting Education

Sport has always been used as a powerful force for good. All sorts of issues, such as racism for example have been tackled using sport as the central point to drive change. More recently college courses have sprung up offering a nationally recognised qualification with the “carrot” of football coaching and training for example as part of the curriculum. This has proved to be successful in tempting young people into trying out further education who may otherwise slip through the net.

Why am I telling you this? Because darts is next on the further education list. Who would have thought a few years ago that there would be a darts college?We have teamed up with Gemeg (an established provider of courses), to offer a BTEC Diploma In Sport along with darts coaching each day as part of the course for 16-18 year olds.

Students will learn about the many different areas in sport such as psychology, nutrition, physiology and then have a darts coaching session each day too. To learn more contact info@gemegsport.com or visit their website here!

Makes you wish you were 16 again!

Sock Image courtesy of Suat Eman / freedigitalphotos.net

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The Darts 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!