Last night I got together with quite a few darting friends for a game because we are interested in regular competitive play again, perhaps even reforming our old team. My last post culminated in a to-do list I was aiming for in terms of conduct and mood control. I decided not to set myself performance targets as I have over-practiced darts of late and I felt like my arrows would most likely flow if I took my mind off technique.
I was expecting around 4 darters on the night but even with a last minute change of venue 8 players in all turned up. Half were from our old team and half partners and friends so we settled into rounds of doubles 301 SIDO to get warmed up. My first target was to avoid over-anxiousness but as it happens I did not have time to become too introspective and worry about the finer points of my throw. When I was not throwing I was occupied chatting, buying drinks, wrestling with the scoring machine and greeting new players as they arrived. The first few legs flew by and after my customary awful first leg I put together a few unspectacular but fairly steady rounds including a solid finish in one leg without messing around. If I reflect back on my personal targets I definitely failed when it came to resting my eyes and mind between shots. Big tv screens, quiz night on the mic, a crowded oche and loads of banter from my darting friends meant the classic sporting 'focus' was definitely not happening!
The subject of gamesmanship is one that routinely comes up in darts and with good reason. The game is played in the pub, which sells alcohol, which removes inhibitions, which loosens gobs! I knew with the old team getting together there would be some trash talking, especially since I know these players from the punk rock scene which is a breeding ground for hecklers. I also invited a new player who is a grand master of hissing comments designed to unsettle you both on and off shot. I decided in advance that I would laugh off gamesmanship attempts and also to butt out of other people's games and avoid heckling myself. I was fairly successful ignoring the odd comment aimed my way, but at a couple of points found myself borderline needling other players and may have caused a bit of grumbling. In some spots even asking a question such as "what (shot) are you on?" was enough to illicit a bout of chuntering. With so many players all watching at once the atmosphere was quite tense and gladiatorial but I did not do or say anything particularly out of order and even tried to talk one player down from the ledge when darts tilt sent him to a dark place. In a climactic game of halve it I became the Peter Manley of the night after showboating a 140 to shoot ahead, so I was pretty much the target of heckling rather than the instigator which suits me anyway.
With so many new and some inexperienced darters toeing the oche I was mindful to compliment good throws and even though I am often accused of a sarcastic tone of voice I was able to do my bit to build some team spirit. There was in fact quite a bit to get excited about if we are going to form a regular team and compete in the area: steady scoring from at least 2 players who have clearly benefited from recent practice, an 82 finish, 2 wired tonne plus finish attempts, 2 or 3 clinical finishes from a recovering dartitis suffer, and a cool finish from an old friend on double 13 to close a leg in which I unwisely gave the throw away Phil Taylor style! For my part I hit a couple of tonnes early doors, a couple of decent finishes and held my own overall. My throw however was unpredictable and felt disjointed and jerky most of the time, so for some reason I kept shuffling about on the oche to try and fix things. When I get back on the practice board I am going to fix my oche position again, and go back to working on rhythm and straight throwing. A continual niggle has been the aim point as well so I will refocus on how I line up the barrel with the target and try to come up with a consistent method that works.
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