This past Thursday was a frustrating one, and only now am I sorting through things to make positives out of it, to learn a little more about myself and also how to avoid mental mistakes and losing the emotional side of darts.

To start things off, I managed a win in doubles cricket and the team overall did very well.  Not much room for doom and gloom, wouldn’t you think?  Well in the cricket game I picked it up a little but overall I was shaky.  In my first singles game of the night it was all easy and I was putting up nice numbers. My opponent had over 200 left by the time I doubles out.  The next two legs (it’s a best of 3) she picked her game up while I decided that 26’s and 15’s would be nice things to build massive collections of, and proceeded to throw away a win, that had I thrown as I normally do I would likely have won.  Fact is though, that I didn't and anybody can beat anybody, which is maybe one of the great things about darts?

Still cant say I was happy though.  Not so much with losing (I am a good sport usually) but with losing because I played like crap and couldn't get myself sorted out.   To add to my troubles the space was crowded, the speaker for the music was right over my head and I was more than a little sore from practice earlier which made it difficult to fully raise my arm and keep my dart level and my arm straight during my throw.  These things weren't what did me in though, not really at least.  While all of these were distractions, where I really blew it was that I came into it with expectations of myself and that I should get X points per dart and so on, and well that just leads to ‘trying harder’ and believe me darts is a game that will punish you for ‘trying harder’.  The way that my mentor George Silberzahn puts it  

"Here's something to consider: Practicing alone is not really practice - it should be learning control over the flight path of your darts. Competing is not really practice - it is learning to put your practice (learning) to use.  
The one person you can never defeat is you. Set an expectation and reach it - you feel you should have done better. Set an expectation and not reach it - you feel you failed.
In either case - disappointing to some degree. Improve your practice(learning) to improve your competitive game"

It’s a tricky lesson to remember, but it is a true one.  The saying ‘don’t think. Throw’ comes to mind, but perhaps it might also be said that there is a ‘Tao of darts’? 

At the end of the day I am still incredibly new as a student of this game, and dealing with distractions, both internal and external is just something I will need to learn to do.

Before I am done here I should also mention that I have just nabbed myself a new set of 'Lightning Fighter 5' darts from Pure darts.  This is the second order I have placed with them (My Barney Titanium Hero's that my wife is using was the first order) and I must say their prices and service are hard to beat.  

I'll report back soon with how the new darts fly!  

Another Thursday had come and gone and I must say I suspect I could be accused of being a little too content for the amount of games I lost, as indeed lose I did. In droves, just as it has been with the previous couple of Thursdays.  I have had losses by the bucket full!

This time however is just a little bit different, in that I have perhaps found that tiny burning ember of hope called progress.  That little island of 'done right' in a sea of 'maybe next time'.

I'm other words I may have done more things bad than good, but now I know even more truly than I did before that with time my hard work and focus and time spent practicing will be, and in fact is being rewarded.

My first night of Thursday league I won nothing. The next well i managed to pull off a single leg. This week i won for legs in total and managed a 3-1 win against an A league player.  For a guy who has just a few months of C league experience, most of it as a spare...well I'm pretty happy with pulling that off. The added confidence can only do good things for me. I really can't stress enough how important proper practice is and how much it helps not just simply with how you throw the darts, but also how the added confidence and sense of being prepared will help you master your emotions.  

I am not in any way a natural talent at darts (natural addict is more like it) so I really cant imagine being not only doing as well as I find myself doing, and with such a distant horizon to walk into and discover and knowing that it is there for me to discover, that I think is there for me because I take the time get better, and with Flight School I have effective tools to get better.

I know I mention it a lot, but it deserves a mention.  It isn’t a quick fix, but it is a good one!  (The link is at the top of this page!)

Also speaking of natural talents, my sister came out to shoot a few darts and as you can see from today’s photo managed a pretty nice shot for herself!  Way to go Sis!!

Just a couple of days to the next Tuesday game.  I might also be working on a surprise or two!!   See you all next time!!

My new Tuesday night team had it's first game last night, and took it on the chin a little bit.  It wasn't horrible but we have room to improve.  Overall I felt happy with my own game other than simply not getting the job done.  On the upside I did get the one win our team had, and even managed to pop in a 140 score and a couple more in practice.  A lot of the players are new to darts so I know they will need a bit of time to find their stride (and their stroke) so I am just going to focus on being able to contribute and help the team from my end as best I can, throw up as many wins as I can and have a good time doing it.
I must say it is night and day between Tuesday and Thursday but that is also a nice and useful contrast.  I also think I had been hurting myself in my Thursday games by trying to 'make up' for the previous week.  I was psychologically starting myself 'in the hole' when in fact each game, and in fact each dart is a fresh new start.
My main goal now for Thursday is to master my emotions and my nerves and to not get quite so excited.  I will report back soon and let you all know!!  My best is yet to come, and with me about to make vast improvements to my set up at home for even better practice sessions I think I am well on my way. 

Wish me luck and thank you all for coming along for the ride!! 

My new set of (used) Unicorn Phil Taylor Phase 6 darts.  (The Wife has my Barney's) Stay tuned for a possible dart review!! 

Normally I would stay clear of the 'Marketing/Self-help' side of the blog world, as it generally rubs me the wrong way.
In this instance though I am making an exception for a long time online friend of my wife and I named Rachael Newport.
Rach is one of the most good hearted and down to earth people you can meet and she has a marketing blog and even her own book.  Don't worry I wont be getting too far from the darts.  I just figure a little variety never hurt, and that I could maybe do a bit to help a friends entrepreneurial spirit!!

Check out her site!

rachmarie.com

Well I have made some very small gains in my Thursday league, but still maybe a little disappointing having one only one leg between the two sessions.  A little frustrating, but what is done is done.  It is early in the season so I know I will settle in and master both my nerves and my form and make the shots I know I can make.  The competition is tough, so the play is at a higher standard than I am used to!
Oh and it is not all doom and gloom either.  My Tuesday night league starts tomorrow which I am very excited about, and this past week I won my first ever darts tournament!  It was a blind draw doubles, and not very big, but win it I did.  I even got a small bit of cash for my troubles. Very nice!
I still have a lot to learn in darts, but really feel I have come a long way from when I started.  This I attribute to something I do called 'Flight School' which is a free online course run by a professional American dart player named George Silberzahn.  Recently I was very lucky to have George agree to do a short Q@A interview with me.
Here are the results..

An Interview With American Darts Master and Mentor George Silberzahn


Enjoy the interview!!  George knows his stuff!!  

I'll post soon about the start of the Tuesday league!!  Thanks for reading!!