Is it possible for anyone to reach professional standard?

Kingp35

I suppose I'm asking this question with myself in mind but do you lads think it's possible for any player, like ourselves, to reach professional standard if we put in a serious amount of practice lke 7 hours a day etc? Or do you think that you must have natural ability to become a top darts player and all of us are destined to be county players at best?

It's something I have always thought about, I barely practice an hour a day, in fact I barely practice an hour every 2 days, but I have steadily improved over the last year. I would like to think if I upped the amount I practiced that I could keep on steadily improving to reach a standard where I could average in the 80's and maybe break the 90's. I know it's probably wishful thinking but I do think with a serious amount of practice and the right attitude that it's possible.

What do you lads think?

Double Top

I think anyone can become a pro in darts. it's one of the only games that you don't need god given talent (like football) to get to the top level. of course there are loads of pro's that have natural talent taylor,wade,barney but for ever one of them there are 20 lads that have been working and practising for years to get to there standard. personally i know a few players that with a bit more practice and determination they could be pro's in a few years.

It is my dream in life to go pro and play at the world championship,matchplay,uk open etc etc. i have been getting better but i know i need ALOT more training and experience to even get close but thats what drives me to get better to play against greats like taylor and barney

Any Double !

(Is it possible for anyone to reach professional standard?)

I afraid I don't think so. If you're not a natural then somebody may practise as hard as they like and might become pretty good but they will never make a living at it like a Pro.
You can be sure they're are probably hundreds if not thousands practising this very minute having thrown probaly 6/7 hours already today but will never reach those heights.
If it were that simple and it boiled down to just practise alone then there would be hundreds of Phil Taylors out there along with as many Giggs, Rooneys, Mayweathers, Harringtons and every other sport you can think of.
Its all in the genes !

501darts

I think it is possible to make it as a pro player with lots of practice. The trick is to practice the right things, that varys depending on each person but one hour practicing the right thing is as good a seven doing the wrong things.;););)

ratinakeg

I think it's all about experiencing big tournaments like we were at the weekend. It's really hard to relax and play your darts you play at home with all these top players around. Next time I'll be better. Was shaking like a leaf in my games. Does not matter how good you are at home, it's about going out there and producing it in a pressure situation, if you go out and produce good darts then maybe!

Kingp35

Any Double ! wrote: »

If it were that simple and it boiled down to just practise alone then there would be hundreds of Phil Taylors out there along with as many Giggs, Rooneys, Mayweathers, Harringtons and every other sport you can think of.

You see I agree with this about Football, Boxing and most other sports but I think darts is that little bit different. it's a highly skilled sport BUT anyone can at least get to county standard and throw solid averages in the 70's if they practice hard, I'm certain of that. Not anyone can play semi-pro football or be a semi-pro boxer. I'm just wondering is it possible for everyone to go that one bit better in darts and reach the 80's and 90's averages.

Obviously for some people like Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson they just picked up a dart one day and started chucking them into the T20 but others like Taylor, Priestley etc. spend hours and hours practicing and got to a brilliant standard.

Time is on most of our sides so lets see how it goes

Carrickman

If you got a good sponcer I dont see why not, that is the biggest problem the cost of entrys and travel to tournments etc.

dionsiseire

I feel that with the right setup and dedication i could definitely make it to at very least an 85 average. i dont get much practice and would probably hold a 55-65 average at the moment, i know if i had a board that wasnt out in a cold shed somewhere i wont annoy people if im practicing i'd improve leaps and bounds

death1234567

I think this very question was answered by an English guy who tried to become a professional sportsman and darts was his game of choice. He practiced hard and found that he could do it at home but under the presssure of the tournaments he couldn't cut it. He even said that its easy to understand why most darts players have a drink or two before playing games in tournament as it helps them relax and handle the pressure. I think he wrote a book about his attempt. Without the natural ability I'm not sure you could ever make it as a pro.

gdael

death1234567 wrote: »

I think this very question was answered by an English guy who tried to become a professional sportsman and darts was his game of choice. He practiced hard and found that he could do it at home but under the presssure of the tournaments he couldn't cut it. He even said that its easy to understand why most darts players have a drink or two before playing games in tournament as it helps them relax and handle the pressure. I think he wrote a book about his attempt. Without the natural ability I'm not sure you could ever make it as a pro.

Are you talking about Justin Lee Collins, the comedian?

I doubt that fella could even learn how to get out of bed, never mind throw a dart. He hardly practised at all either.

Kingp35

death1234567 wrote: »

I think this very question was answered by an English guy who tried to become a professional sportsman and darts was his game of choice. He practiced hard and found that he could do it at home but under the presssure of the tournaments he couldn't cut it. He even said that its easy to understand why most darts players have a drink or two before playing games in tournament as it helps them relax and handle the pressure. I think he wrote a book about his attempt. Without the natural ability I'm not sure you could ever make it as a pro.

But surely this aspect of the game can be worked as well considering it's a purely mental thing. If you can get to the point where you can throw a 90 average at home then you know you are capable and you just have to focus on sorting out the nerves. This can come with experience or just learning to control your mind.

I know there are plenty of players that can do it in their bedroom but can;t do it in tournaments but if you can reach the 90's standard you should eventually be able to bring that into tournaments.

Question is though can anyone reach the average in the 90's standard?

getz

anyone with the right attitude and practice can be a darts pro,but not all of them make a full time living in it,i played darts at a high level and made money ,but not enough to live on, others like phil tayler had to have a financial backing from the likes of bristow,the early pros the likes of alun evens and leyton reese,used to tour the pubs and clubs [with a bookie] and make their money in exhibitions,best of luck but keep your full time job

ratinakeg

Kingp35 wrote: »

But surely this aspect of the game can be worked as well considering it's a purely mental thing. If you can get to the point where you can throw a 90 average at home then you know you are capable and you just have to focus on sorting out the nerves. This can come with experience or just learning to control your mind.

I know there are plenty of players that can do it in their bedroom but can;t do it in tournaments but if you can reach the 90's standard you should eventually be able to bring that into tournaments.

Question is though can anyone reach the average in the 90's standard?

I don't think there is any point in averaging 90 at home if can't do it in a league match or a proper tournament. It's totally differant! Maybe the best thing is to just get out there and do it and if you can produce anything like your home form, then fair play.

Kingp35

ratinakeg wrote: »

I don't think there is any point in averaging 90 at home if can't do it in a league match or a proper tournament. It's totally differant! Maybe the best thing is to just get out there and do it and if you can produce anything like your home form, then fair play.

Oh I know that but you have to put in the practice to be able to average 90 at home in the first place which is definitely not easy to do!

getz

ratinakeg wrote: »

I don't think there is any point in averaging 90 at home if can't do it in a league match or a proper tournament. It's totally differant! Maybe the best thing is to just get out there and do it and if you can produce anything like your home form, then fair play.

i found that when playing in a match,it was best to try and shut out what your opponent scored, even to the point of not looking at the score board untill you get down to a finish, in the early days,i would share a joke with the audience,or even take my time before throwng[have a sip of lemonade]its about concentration on your game. not his ,in those days i had many ways of putting him off.

ratinakeg

getz wrote: »

i found that when playing in a match,it was best to try and shut out what your opponent scored, even to the point of not looking at the score board untill you get down to a finish, in the early days,i would share a joke with the audience,or even take my time before throwng[have a sip of lemonade]its about concentration on your game. not his ,in those days i had many ways of putting him off.

Yeah Daffy was giving me great advice about this at the weekend. I was looking at everybody else's darts but my own, that's when the nerves came in. Just believe in your own game, believe you can beat anybody and if your average starts getting near your home average then Bob's your uncle you can be a pro if you have the money or a sponsor!

Any Double !

getz wrote: »

anyone with the right attitude and practice can be a darts pro,but not all of them make a full time living in it,i played darts at a high level and made money but not enough to live on,)

My point exactly. Also if there are any of you out there going to make it to the top you would have known long before now. Most Pros went through pub teams, super league, to county and even international standard in a year or 2. They knew the dart was made for their hand the minute they picked it up.
I've seen so many good and very dedicated players over the years putting in so much practise they could hardly walk afterwards...yet never hit the heights.
I was lucky enough to attend (but of course not play in) 2 recent qualifying tournaments for the PDC world Champs and it brought it home to me just how hard it is for to get through. The first one was the December at Villa Park in Birmingham where Mick McGowan got through dropping only one leg all day and the latter was the following November in Wolverhampton. That 2nd night on one board alone the standard was so high. Our own Gareth Gray was on it throwing unbelievingly well all night long before going out in the last leg to Darren Webster. My mate and I presumed Webster was home and dry but no such luck as up stepped Wale's Steve Evans to hammer him 5-2 in the final. there was 11,12,13 and 2xI4 darter legs in that game. I even backed Evans each way to reach World semis after that but of whenit got to the TV he was hammered.
I've watched both him and Webster since along with Dave Honey who was there with them but while they still attend PDC events (and I don't know how they afford it) they never make any money and have actually slipped down the rankings.
If it were possible to gain entry to view the upcoming Players champs round at City Weston the weekend before the Grand Prix it would be a great experience for anyone interested in following darts for a living. It would give a much fairer representation of live in the PRO lane than watching a few players on TV at the Grand Prix.
If you can't get in to City West then while there won't be as many PROs in Killarney it will be still a great place to gauge the standard.
Again I think anybody out there going to make it as a PRO would probably know by now and be throwing 90-100 averages regulary at tournaments already. Maybe Willie one or 2 young players in Ireland have shown they have the natural ability to ''maybe'' make it further. Willie O'Connor is one who is already winning big tournaments in the space of a year or 2 but it'll be a long and lonely life on the road if they're to make a living at it.
As for the rest if it was going to happen tou'd already know !

death1234567

gdael wrote: »

Are you talking about Justin Lee Collins, the comedian?

No It was someone else. It was a few years ago and I think he was interviewed on the Ray D'arcy show about his book and how he got on. I'll see if I can find the book on amazon.

padr81

Its well possible imho, if you can average 80+ you'll compete at most events bar against the big boys. Only about 4 games at the recent world master saw both players top 90 average. It's all about getting your game to the stage.

The best irish players have an 80 or so average, anyone that tells me Mick McGowan, Aodhagen, Brendan Dolan is always 90 or above is full of pure and utter ****e and their stats will back me up. Its pure experinece that sets the top irish players apart from the average ones and pure experience that sets the top english players apart from the top irish ones.

Tons of players can throw at an 80 or so level in comfort and its only experience thats holding them back. I've being beaten by guys with 3 straight 15 dart legs and once got beat 3-0 to 12, 15 and 11 darters in a local tournament but put the guy that done it at a bigger event and he doesn't have the experience to reproduce it. Put him at 40 of those big events and he's much closer to it than at his first.

If you can throw an 80 average, you can throw an 80 average, if you can throw 100, you can throw 100. You just have to get the experience to do it in bigger and bigger competitions.

ratinakeg

padr81 wrote: »

Its well possible imho, if you can average 80+ you'll compete at most events bar against the big boys. Only about 4 games at the recent world master saw both players top 90 average. It's all about getting your game to the stage.

The best irish players have an 80 or so average, anyone that tells me Mick McGowan, Aodhagen, Brendan Dolan is always 90 or above is full of pure and utter ****e and their stats will back me up. Its pure experinece that sets the top irish players apart from the average ones and pure experience that sets the top english players apart from the top irish ones.

Tons of players can throw at an 80 or so level in comfort and its only experience thats holding them back. I've being beaten by guys with 3 straight 15 dart legs and once got beat 3-0 to 12, 15 and 11 darters in a local tournament but put the guy that done it at a bigger event and he doesn't have the experience to reproduce it. Put him at 40 of those big events and he's much closer to it than at his first.

If you can throw an 80 average, you can throw an 80 average, if you can throw 100, you can throw 100. You just have to get the experience to do it in bigger and bigger competitions.

Spot on Padr!

jamesbere

its all about how much time you are willing to put into darts, i would love to become a pro someday but i dont have the time and money to go to ranking comp and other comp, if i was willing to put more time into it maybe one day i could push to be a pro.

i know im a good player, im prob one of the best players in my league, i can hit 17 18 darters when im on form and get better now and again, but our league finishes in april and deosn't start again until late october, so trying to play in summer is hard cos i dont have the time to practice and living on an island does not help cos no one is interested in playing.

im going to killarney this year alright and hoping to win some prize money, its not goin to be easy and will need alot of luck with the draw but it would be great.

if i move back to cork city i'll take my darts more serious cos there r more comp there. i just dont have the time at the moment:(, but maybe one day:rolleyes:

greened

death1234567 wrote: »

No It was someone else. It was a few years ago and I think he was interviewed on the Ray D'arcy show about his book and how he got on. I'll see if I can find the book on amazon.

cant remember his name either but i heard his interview on Today FM. He was director of a large childrens charity in england and wanted a new challenge so he tried to turn pro dart player. Ended up nearly getting divorced and put on a few stone because of all the extra drinking when he was playing/practicing. Ended up going back to his day job after two years.

greened

I think it is possible to turn pro however it would take a very determined person to break into the BDO/PDC.
The BDO would probally be an easier route however the prize money is terrible. I believe that to be a pro player you must has a natural ability to play darts. Practice will only get you to pro level if you already have natural ability.
I had a few drinks one night with Alan Wariner and he disagreed and believed that darts was probally the only sport that you did not need natural ability to become successful. He believed it was down to practice alone.

To have some hope of becoming pro standard I believe that you would need to quit work (if you are still lucky enough to have a job) and practice 8 to 10 hours a day solid for a year. in year 2 join the irish circuit and see if you can top the irish rankings. Only then should you join the PDPA and enter comps in England. I have seen a few very good players over the years trying to bypass the irish circuit and go straight for the PDPA route. They never made it out of the last 64 / 32 of the qualifiers. the standard s that good in england comps.
along with giving up work you would need huge financial backing just to enter travel etc let alone live.
It is a tough world to break into yet the rewards are great for the few who make it to the top.

Keep practicing lads, I always regret not trying it when I had the chance. Wife kids mortgage etc now so no chance. I still play darts to a relative high standard (average about 80) and regular finish in 15 darts and less on a good day. This is without practicing much. I class an hour a week now as a lot of practice so who nows what could have happened if I had tried it years ago!!!

greened

Kingp35 wrote: »

I suppose I'm asking this question with myself in mind but do you lads think it's possible for any player, like ourselves, to reach professional standard if we put in a serious amount of practice lke 7 hours a day etc? Or do you think that you must have natural ability to become a top darts player and all of us are destined to be county players at best?

It's something I have always thought about, I barely practice an hour a day, in fact I barely practice an hour every 2 days, but I have steadily improved over the last year. I would like to think if I upped the amount I practiced that I could keep on steadily improving to reach a standard where I could average in the 80's and maybe break the 90's. I know it's probably wishful thinking but I do think with a serious amount of practice and the right attitude that it's possible.

What do you lads think?

great idea for a thread

Kingp35

greened wrote: »

cant remember his name either but i heard his interview on Today FM. He was director of a large childrens charity in england and wanted a new challenge so he tried to turn pro dart player. Ended up nearly getting divorced and put on a few stone because of all the extra drinking when he was playing/practicing. Ended up going back to his day job after two years.

Does anyone know who this lad is? I wouldn't mind getting my hands on his book, it sounds like a good read.

Stretchryan

The book is called "murder on the dartboard", have it at home.

Cant remember the Author but he gave up a very well paid job as head of
one of the main charities in england and indeed it is a very good read...

Kingp35

Cheers!

Degag

I haven't read all the replies here so sorry if something similar has been said. but my opinion would be that if you were to split your goals into levels it would look something like this...

To reach a 60 average: 1 hour practice 5 days a week.
To reach a 70 average: 1.5 hour practice 6 days a week
To reach a 80 average: 3 hour practice 6 days a week
To reach a 90 average: 6 hours practice 6 days a week
To reach a 100 average: Damn near impossible

I guess my point is that the higher the level, the bigger the practice involved.

ratinakeg

Degag wrote: »

I haven't read all the replies here so sorry if something similar has been said. but my opinion would be that if you were to split your goals into levels it would look something like this...

To reach a 60 average: 1 hour practice 5 days a week.
To reach a 70 average: 1.5 hour practice 6 days a week
To reach a 80 average: 3 hour practice 6 days a week
To reach a 90 average: 6 hours practice 6 days a week
To reach a 100 average: Damn near impossible

I guess my point is that the higher the level, the bigger the practice involved.

Great guide Degag! I might start practising 7 hours a day 7 days a week! Future world champ!;) I do be knackered after 3 hours solid practising though and my average if still about 70!:(:D