Developing your strengths

Hi Guys

I am going to start my first session on Hints and Tips on my practice and why I do what I do.

I practice on the days that I do not play competition. Due to work and other commitments, I am occasionally time-poor; however, I manage to always find time to do what I love: Play Darts.

I have my set routines that I like to do during my practice but they do vary from session to session. In saying that they all revolve around the same section of my game. I believe you need to have an outcome-focused goal in order for your practice to be effective. So when practicing give yourself something to practice for, whether it be a national tournament, local championships or competition grand final.

I am a believer of making your strengths stronger, meaning find the part of your game that you are the strongest in and develop that further. In my instance I am a heavy scorer so my main focus during practice is developing or maintaining my big scoring ability and cover shots. This is how my practice routines are designed. Although the old saying "scoring for show, Doubles for Dough" always comes into play. The game of darts has changed; you can learn this by watching the big-time players on TV. Scoring is a massive part of today's game. You can be the best doubles hitter in the world but if you can't get to one because you don't hit enough trebles then what good is that.

What this does for me is keep me high in confidence. This confidence flows into my game and develops the other parts of my game like pegging and double hitting. The treble hitting in my scoring practice flows into my pegging and gives me opportunities to hit those big finishes. Doubles comes with the confidence of hitting targets that you are aiming for. If you can change how you see the dart board as in not trebles, doubles and singles, but a board of segments of different size this makes your outcomes easier as your achievement becomes hitting targets not the dreaded doubles or trebles. If you can hit 1 target you can hit them all.

My next tip is the frame of mind to take into the game when you have tried out this hint.

Treat the double you require as a target, not a winning game shot and a "do or die" double. You are adding something extra to the game that is not needed.

The game of darts is a wonderful sport but it's difficult enough without adding these extra barriers holding you back from achieving.

Have fun!

Mitchell Clegg