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 Slumps tend to hit the darters who play
on a frequent and consistent basis, such as those who play at least once or twice a week in a competitive context. Slumps are NOT dartitis or a hitch, but can
often cause them. A hitch is the condition of being unable to throw the dart, and the player needs to contort, leap, and bend in various European
ways in order to throw the dart. In these extreme cases, the mind seems to give up on the mortal frame, and often a slump will deteriorate into a hitch.
I tend to think that 60% of slumps are caused by the mind and lifestyle, while
the other 40% of the time, it’s from technique flaws. It’s very important to determine which of the two are causing your slump - just like any form of
therapy, the first step in solving a problem is identifying the problem. Identifying the cause of your slump might be very difficult and frustrating; it’s
often a mystery and might never be uncovered.
Technique Problems : Determine the Cause
Usually a slumping player will think that his/her playing style, technique, and
form are miscalibrated. It’s very hard to analyze your own dart stroke, since you can’t have an adequate view of how everything is functioning during the
throw. Practice with friends who played with you during better times. See if they notice anything different in your style since the days when the victories
came easily. Some serious players have set up a camera from the side and recorded a session or two. This is fine, but not always accurate. Many
players throw much better in a practice session, with no opponent, than in competition. Ideally, if you want to videotape your throwing form, try to do it
during a real game - after all, this is the environment where the slump thrives. Opponents might scoff at you, call you a geek or narcissist, or moon the
camera, but it’s ultimately worth it for the analysis and (in the mooning scenario) extortion payments.
Having a spotter, be it a playing partner, friend, or some highly skilled player,
is best for finding technique problems that may have induced the slump. You do not have to rely on a top-rated player to spot the flaws, although their input
can be most valuable. Any player who knows how good players throw is qualified to evaluate your style. Players don't have to necessarily shoot well
to be able to analyze someone's stroke. Don’t be stubborn or defensive with someone’s opinions! They’re trying to help, and having a closed mind is no
solution. A spotter should be able to grade your style on a few simple criteria:
The angle of your stance - facing too far sideways or too square toward the board?
The leaning angle - leaning more forward than in the past, or standing up too straight?
Arm motion - dropping the shoulder? Moving the arm too far outside?
Release location - throwing from lower than normal, higher than normal, farther left, farther right, etc.
Pulling back - not pulling the arm back enough?
Rhythm - playing slower than in the past, or faster? Is the arm’s
delivery rhythm uneven, too slow, too fast?
Dart speed - Is the dart being thrown weaker, or harder than in the past?
Follow through - is the wrist moving with fluidity? Is the arm coming throw all the way toward the board?
If technique flaws are evident, it’s important that the adjustments come
gradually. It’s not very effective to change three or four aspects of a dart stroke in an evening. The goal is to integrate an adjustment into the dart
stroke, and repeat it often enough that it becomes habit, like the other parts of the stroke. Think about the adjustment before the shot process begins.
As several have joked, “Playing darts is not for people who think.” This is often true - the physical side of the game should not intermingle with the
mental side, and throwing a dart has to be second nature. Let the brain handle strategy and let muscle memory do the rest.
The Mental/Environmental Slump
Slumps tend to manifest themselves in many ways - under a variety of conditions. Some slump-starters may be:
- A tough loss, ending a prior winning streak
- An embarrassing loss
- Arm pain
- Mind on other things/unable to focus/real world stress
- Bad drinking or sleep habits
- Ill-advised equipment changes
- A new girlfriend/boyfriend (often leading to items #3 and #5 from above)
The aspect of psychology in competition is complex enough to merit an
entire area of pseudo-science - Sports Psychology. As always, this area of sports is much tougher to explore, diagnose, and correct.
Psychologically, most problems and achievements are sourced in confidence
. Confidence in knowing that victory is attainable, confidence in knowing that the mechanics are in good enough shape to hit any given target on the board.
Players know when they have good days – the sense that they can hit anything they want, and invariably the confidence during that session feeds
itself into achieving great shots and great victories. Unfortunately, this type of scenario occurs less often with average players. Usually certain slump starters, as listed above, will be a factor in preventing such great moments
from emerging on a consistent basis.
Breaking the Uncertainty Cycle, Part 1
It isn’t obvious, but uncertainty, in all its variations, looms like a storm cloud
over a majority of amateur players. Golfers need to be sure that a putt will roll the way they intend – regardless of the outcome. Pitchers need to be
confident that they’ll strike the intended pitch location. With darters, no difference at all – by visualizing what they expect to be a triple 20, the
ensuing throw should be executed with no doubts at all. Most importantly, when missing the intended target, the mind must look forward, not back, in
executing the next shot. Players will often panic after seeing the result of a shot going awry. That mental habit must be modified to simply see the
changes and adjustments necessary to correct things for the next shot, be confident that the changes will be effective, and simply try again. When the
mind’s tendency to fear a slight failure or misfire, the body becomes far too preoccupied with the many thoughts and worries flittering about.
This is simply mental distraction, and distraction, regardless of whether it’s
mental or environmental, is destructive. To succeed, a player must focus and tune out the external noises and movements and tune out any distractive
thoughts. Be bullheaded, be headstrong, have bravado. Throw as you think you should throw, and forget about negative results from a prior shot or match
. Constantly reviewing a previous turn leads to another form of analysis paralysis – the king of internal distraction.
“But I Threw So Well In Practice!”
Some will say “don’t be afraid of losing,” or “don’t fear a miss.” While I
always had agreed with that type of positive thinking, I eventually changed my attitude on this. Thinking at all about missing or losing? Not good. More
distractions that simply burden the mind with more distracting thoughts. The only thing to think about in a match is strategy and the next turn or throw.
Think about what steps are necessary for the next turn to win. Tune out the chatter, the music, the environment. If necessary, tune out the opposing
player’s throw. Things like this lead to mental overload, and are surprisingly caustic to keeping focus in a match.
Playing alone, just warming up, the shot process is at its purest – does it
make sense why people seem to always say they were throwing so well on their own, in practice? The mind is unburdened from all the fears and
uncertainties that normally accompany a game situation. To be an achiever, the mind needs to be just as confident and focused as possible, just like it
might be during a normal practice session.
Breaking the Uncertainty Cycle, Part 2
Mechanically, your game is sound. You’ve had spotters watch for flaws, but
the shots aren’t happening. Time to get specific and attack the problem. If necessary, write down the flaws – be general, be specific, it isn’t doesn’t
matter. There are far too many potential weak spots to list, but they can be things such as hitting bullseyes, finishing games, hitting particular numbers
or particular places on the board. Most players, regardless of experience, are capable enough to categorize their performance flaws into an area or set
of areas. From there, it’s obvious that practice sessions should be devoted to a bit of repetition – shift focus only toward these weak spots for a few
workouts and note the results.
Many dart pundits will say that dry, repetitive practice is not as valuable as
practicing with game situations. For most players, I’d agree heartily; for players trying to simply improve their overall game, they should formulate
games or scenarios which will also stimulate the thought process, rather than just going through the motions of sharpening muscle memory. But for those
who lack confidence in a particular component of the game, repetition is very valuable during the first stages of correcting the deficiencies. It’s the
foundation for of a pyramid of shot-making that can gradually bring a player toward a higher level of success and enjoyment.
For quite a while, I had a slump where hitting 20s, let alone triple 20s, was a
brutal joke – shots would spray left and right, too high and too low, with no real sense of where to be visualizing the stroke and resulting flight path of the
dart. While ‘stranded’ for work in a dank Seattle office (I already had put up a dartboard there, of course), I decided to take some time to attack the
weaknesses. Turn after turn, with what many assumed to be invaluable, mindless, practice, gradually forged my ‘twenty stroke’ into a firm, natural
stroke, with no need to reserve doubts in my mind, or harbor distraction with petty mental guidelines such as ‘don’t throw too high’ or ‘keep the arm
tucked in more.’ Once this sort of purity took shape, it was easier to tune the focus point from just the 20 section down to a narrow point in the middle of the area.
More repetition, and more turns, with intentions of putting all three arrows
inside an imaginary, small target inside the 20 bed. From there, it was time to begin issuing challenges to myself. One the most gruesome is to allow
the practice session to end, as soon I hit the twenty bed 20 consecutive times. To pull it off, it requires great focus, a lot of confidence in the shot
style, and a good amount of coolness under pressure, once the finish line is in sight. Similarly, don’t set the goals too high; trying to hit 30 in a row can
become a bit consternating when hitting a single 1 after 28 in a row. Nevertheless, hitting 20s reliably is one of the most important aspects of
developing a solid overall game, and carrying confidence in this department is a great foundation for extending that confidence toward reliably hitting other
targets, such as bullseyes, doubles, and other cricket numbers.
Passing the Torch
Finding sufficient confidence, on its own level, is a victory. Inevitably, there
will be others who fall into similar problems, negative tendencies, and the like. Since darts has the components of mental and physical prowess, it’s
important to give back any knowledge gained, and help those who might’ve been where you wallowed in the past. Never deny a person the insight of
lessons learned, as that’s a selfish and hollow maneuver. As with any culture, this game is meant to engender positive relationships, improve
people’s sense of self, and showcase moments when a personal victory is achieved. This game is entirely about achievement and interaction with new
friends - but people tend to disappear when they realize their abilities are valueless to a team or the sport of darts itself. We should all be good
Samaritans and help our fellow players in any way possible.
I, personally, have gained far more gratification and redemption from helping
players develop their dart skills, than living in past achievements. When a player acknowledges my mentoring as valuable to their increasing success, I
not only realize that I’ve helped a person further their enjoyment of the game, but also know that those who’ve learned from my advice will likely pass the
information down to others, and my efforts are prone to blossom exponentially. Detractors tend to belittle the importance of winning and
succeeding in the game of darts, saying it’s a silly game, or it’s merely a pasttime surrounded by drinking. But for all those who’ve enjoyed a weekly
dart night, come to work the next day glowing about the big shot they hit the night before, I salute them, as it’s the seemingly unimportant activities that
keep us all feeling a bit more confident in all walks of life. Darts is all about achievement, friendships, and relaxation. Let’s all strive for these ends.
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