Getting Out of A Slump in Darts?

Dave, Tom, John and I had a great night in the Kelly's League last Monday in what is known as the "Bumper Week." The idea is that the first place team plays the second, third against fourth, and so on, which can give a team a chance to close the gap with the one in front of it. We were in first by about a half dozen points.

We had a monkey to get off our back. In the last several weeks, we had uniformly shot terrible in the first game of the match, usually losing it. Some weeks, we picked it up a bit in the next two and won, but we did lose two of our weekly matches. This week however, everything clicked and we managed a sweep, placing us well out in front in the league standings. Everyone played solid for the whole match.

That got me thinking about what people do to get out of a slump. When I say slump, I don't always mean just a decline in your general level of play. It might be some small aspect of your game. Maybe your third dart is always off. Or, like us, your first game was always off. How do you adjust? Do keep just plugging away and hope things will get better?

I always like to see what other people have to say so I searched around. A guy named Karlheinz Zochling had a detailed and interesting way of looking at declines in a dart player's general level of play. He views them as inevitable stages in gaining expertise, with the key being working through the slumps. His theory is that talented dart players progress quickly at the beginning, but then often hit a big slump. Some give up at the point, but others keep playing through the ups and downs, with a general, gradual trend towards better darts. That can be frustrating for someone used to their earlier rapid improvement.

Zochling's theory makes sense to me. Let's say you started out averaging about 10 or 12 points per dart (30 to 36 points per turn), and after six or eight months you are averaging a respectable 20 points per dart (60 a turn). Should you expect to be averaging 30 points per dart (90 per turn) in another six months? While anything may be possible, it's not very likely to happen. However, from the perspective of the talented beginner, they are thinking "Why am I improving so much slower?" They may start thinking much more about their game, trying different things, and their average slips to 15 points per dart. The real frustration sets in. Zochling's idea is that the darter who keeps at it will gradually regain that loss, and go through a series of ups and downs, generally trending upwards, improving overall.

Another writer at nicedarts.com cautions dart players against considering a few bad nights as a slump. His advice boils down to staying positive and not overthinking the problem. He advocates for calming your nerves, and against changing your throwing style. I agree in part. Sometimes you might be off because you are tired or distracted by something going on in your life. If that is the diagnosis, the cure is sticking with your regular throw until your head gets straight.

All I would add to the nicedarts.com author's point is to check your throw when you feel your game is off for more than just a few days. Do a video recording of yourself throwing a practice. Are you doing something that would clearly hurt your accuracy? If so, the video should reveal it. Otherwise, it's sometimes difficult to notice bad habits that can creep into your throw. If your throwing style and fundamental form looks good, no changes should be needed. On the other had, if you notice some bad habit cropping up, best to nip it in the bud.

After taking all of that in, it seems likely that our Kelly's team slump was likely the result of all of us being tired. Dave, John, and Tom have been hitting the weekend tournaments a lot lately and have come in exhausted on Monday night. Work has been keeping me more busy than usual so I have usually come in tired. We were fresh last week, and we all shot well. No need for any big changes.

We are off next week for the holidays and I am writing from New Orleans. Happy Holidays to everyone and I will look forward to posting again soon!

2010 Darts Gift Review Part 2, Incredible Edible!

There are many dart gift ideas out there, and I like to point out what I find. Before saying more, I need to give my usual legal disclaimer. I have not tried out many of these products. I list them because they look interesting. I'm not vouching for the quality of the products or the vendors by listing them. So, caveat emptor. Also, I have not accepted any money or other benefit from any of the vendors. I do this blog because I enjoy darts and I like to write! If you have experience with any of the gift ideas that I have mentioned, good or bad, feel free to leave some comments.

With all that out of the way, its time to wander with me through the web's offering of edible dart gift ideas. The Chocolate Vault still sells nice looking chocolate dart boards and darts. They even have a dart lollipop.

Homemade gifts are nice, and Christmas is the season for baking and decorating. Check out these interesting ideas for making dart cakes. This one particularly caught my eye. As another sign that the British know how to do darts right, one London bakery makes a giant dart cake that serves 35. I found a Georgia bakery that makes a delicious looking dart cake as well. Got a sugar craving yet?

Let's go from sweet to salty. Some clever folks have made dart gift baskets using a dart board as a base. One popular one features salami, beer cheeses, crackers, and cookies, and there is a less expensive basket with just the cheese. Of course, there is no reason not to let your own creativity loose. Buy a dart board, pick a theme, and add your own items. There is plenty of advice out there on how to make a good gift basket, and you can customize the goodies to things you know the recipient will like.

No gift review is complete without a truly strange idea, and I found one for you. One of my favorite websites to browse is worth1000.com. The idea of the site is to have photoshop contests around a theme. People come up with some creative or just plain zany ideas. They post the results for all to see. Imagine my surprise when one creative genius came up with the idea for a dart pizza. I have not yet found a pizzeria that will make one, but what a great idea...so just imagine your perfect dart birthday party.

1. You go to the pub, order some dart pizzas and play a few games with your dart buddies.
2. The PDC Dart Girls join your friends in singing happy birthday, then you eat your dart birthday cake, and open your dart gift basket.
3. Pinch yourself to see if you have died and gone to dart heaven.

A special shout out to the guys at Darts Around the World. They were kind enough to interview me last night along with my friend Rags, my favorite darts graphic design guru. If you have not already checked out the Darts Around the World podcast, get with it!

2010 New Jersey Darts Holiday Gift Review, Pt. 1

Christmas and the New Year are close, and it's time for the New Jersey Darts annual gift review! Those familiar with past reviews will remember that I like to focus on extraordinary dart-related items. Don't look here for your standard gear, as there are already plenty of places for that.

My first installment will review two great places to find a variety of dart gift ideas: Zazzle and Cafe Press.

The basic idea of these online shops is simple. People submit graphics, and they will put them many types of items. Lucky for us, they have many interesting dart graphics to choose from. In the past, they were limited to things like shirts, mugs, keychains, and carry bags. However, technology has marched on and now you can get a dart i-Pad or dart i-Phone case. Want to take some footage of your next ton-eighty? Do it in style with the Darts Flip Mino HD Camcorder.

If you know someone with a new future doubles partner coming into the family, there are many items to pick from. Cover mom in some darts maternity wear and then follow up with a dart baby onesie and even a dart Teddy Bear. Don't leave Fido out, they have dart pet food bowls, and even dog T-shirts. They really do think of everything.

True fanatics might like dart shoes, which they could use to ride on a dart skateboard. Dart Christmas stockings and some holiday ornaments are there for those who have almost everything. If that does not work, consider the selection of dart ties, which is expanded from previous years. You can even send your dart buddies holiday greetings with dart postage stamps. Hoping to learn darts by osmosis? Try the dart pillows.

Each site has over a thousand interesting dart-related designs, and when you find one that you like, presto! You have a gift. They even allow you to customize and personalize some of them.

I have been following the dart offerings on these sites for a few years, and they have certainly improved. It will be a rare case where you won't find something to get for a dart player there.

Part of the fun of these sites is just browsing through the graphics. Sure, they have some lame ones, and they need to refine their search engine a bit. You will have to scroll past some poison dart frog and lawn dart graphics at times. However, they do have some good ones too. I won't spoil your fun. Check them out.

In my next installment I will reach beyond these sites to find even more rare and custom items. Until then, good darts!