Darts Dojo - How To Find Your Darts Path

On occasion when I play or teach I get the question that a lot of strong players whom you don’t see travel much get: "How come you don’t travel?" or "How come you don’t play more tournaments?" They are great questions asked out of genuine curiosity. It is an indirect compliment and without getting into it I generally say something like, “It is just not part of my darts path.”

This is a common exchange amongst darts players. It is part of a larger conversation of our community sometimes having outsized expectations of who should be competing in what tournaments, who should be national representatives for particular organizations, or what individual players "owe" the darts community at-large.

Many have said things like, “If I was as good as you, I would be traveling to everything.”

To which I reply, “There are players better than I, and they purposefully don’t travel to everything.”

It is not for me to walk a mile in your shoes just as it is not for you to walk a mile in mine. We are all on our on journeys in life, as with our own darts paths. Not everyone (including myself) is out to be the best in the country. The ones that actually are the best, are so in part because they carefully choose their darts paths.

I came to realize that following your own path was about understanding how are you most fulfilled in the game. That lack of fulfillment comes from not knowing where you want to go. There are many who can’t succinctly understand or define why they play, and I think all players along the way question it from time to time.

Have you ever seen a friend on social media post something like, “I’m retiring from darts, it’s just not fun anymore.” We have all seen it, and perhaps we have even felt it. Then we see those people at league or at a tournament soon thereafter. It is not that they hate the game and want to quit (retirement usually comes with a pension), it is that they have simply lost their way and lost their why for their own darts path.

A darts pathway leads to somewhere. That somewhere may not be a place (but it could be). It could be night out with laughs and beverages, friendships, community, travel, a trophy, inclusion into membership of touring players. Pathways to all such exist. We, as Americans darters should consider ourselves fortunate because we weren’t always. The game has grown nicely in the past 15 years. Before you find your path, you need to know where you are going.

Just like planning out a trip on Google Maps, you need to enter a destination to map out the different pathways to get there. Your destination in darts is your goal — your darts path, if you will. Goal setting is about knowing what you want, making a plan that accounts for proper practice, financing and logistics, and then sticking to, and working the plan. It also involves knowing what not to do and where not to go — i.e., what are you willing to sacrifice?

Lots of great players decide playing local team leagues are not part of the time they want to put into the game anymore. It is not about ego, or thinking they are better than the community. It is more often simply not a good use of their time and money. It doesn’t prepare them properly for the competitions they want to play. Maybe it doesn’t jive with the work schedule. Maybe it doesn’t jive with their finances. Maybe they don’t want to spend that much time away from family. Again, their shoes and their darts path, not yours.

If you are young and without too many responsibilities you likely could find darts every night of the week. (Sigh. Those were the days). As the players I work with get better, at a certain point, I actually suggest that there are darts they shouldn’t be playing anymore. There are times for all when less is more. You don’t need to go beating up on players to feel good. You don’t need to be out late at night wasting time and money. You actually need to limit repetitive motion strain from darts that aren’t helping you improve.

Here is the other part of it. If you don’t have goals, even small but definable ones, you can meander aimlessly in the global darting ether and lose sight of your darts path.

Have you met any surly, resentful types in the game?

Have you met any players with an inflated sense of self?

Have you ever met any players who have the attitude that darts or the community owe them something?

Whether you are a local player in a pub league, or someone who likes to travel, you have likely come across players like this. It is not because they are bad people, it is because they never took the time to assess what they truly wanted from the game and how to go about getting it. It is easy to fall into these ways when you aimlessly approach a passion you have some skill in.

There are players who have been very prescriptive about their goals and their darts paths, and share their journey. Alex Spellman does a great job in his videos outlining how he approaches his time, travel, and expenses. Jules Van Dongen has been documenting his journey through dartitis for others to learn from. Leonard Gates is all business in his approach to his chosen profession. Seldom do they share specifics of their formula; maybe that is purposeful in not wanting to give away trade craft. Even if they gave away every bit of their routines and logistics, I am not of the opinion that many would have the ability discipline and sacrifice the way they do.

I remember having conversations with Jim Widmayer when he lived in NYC and played in the NYC Premier League with me. Some of his goals were to qualify for the Winmau World Masters and the BDO World Championship. He was very calculating in his research to know what ADO events he had to do well in to make that happen, and he often did. In part, I organized that group of the 8 best in the area to give him the best weekly push he could get in long format to prep him for what he wanted to do. He participated because it was worthwhile practice on his path to defined goals.

Do you want to play in the JDC world championship in Gibraltar?

Do you want to be the MVP of your local league?

Do you want to qualify to go to Budapest for the WDF championship?

Do you want a CDC tour card?

Do you want a PDC tour card?

Whatever it is, it starts with a goal. The goal will then help you find your darts path and teach you how to stay on it.

All goals have identifiable pathways. Just because you may not readily see them on your social media scroll doesn’t they don’t exist. If you want something bad enough, do your own research. No one is going to spoon feed you your dreams. Dig into the fine print. Understand what you need to do, how much it is going to cost, and the time you need to account for in your schedule. Do not get halfway down a darts path to nowhere and realize that the goals you haven’t defined are not at the end it. That is how resentment builds.

There are so many great opportunities in the world of darts that sometimes mid-stream or mid year something changes. The powers that be create new, additional pathways or change existing ones. New qualifiers, higher entry fees, venue changes, etc. Sometimes the changes aren’t communicated perfectly. They are not doing it, “to you”. They likely have no idea what darts path you are on and such decisions do not need to run through you to get approved. They are getting made for business reasons behind the scenes. You can choose to get pissed at the perceived slight or injustice. Or, if the goal you set is important enough, you can adapt and overcome to stay on your darts path. Detours in life happen but there is always a path to get to your goal. Are you going to turn around, go home and pout? Or, are you going to reroute yourself to get to where you want to go?

The choice is yours.

Respectfully,

Dax

Dr. Manhattan