Hi all new to the forum,and how good it is to, just wont to ask this question,and you,v all heard it before BUT.. i get bad nerves when playing for my teams, i shake and get so clamy, the nerves are realy getting me down,what makes it worse i dont drink, i sit on orange juice ect, does anyone else hear suffer with the dreaded shakes when playing, how did you over come this problem, any advice and help PLEASE..

its only a game of darts !! thats what i tell myself when on the oche nerves ease more with more experience. just enjoys it and try and let your arm do the hard work.

p.s dont start drinking stupid amounts of alcohol to try and fix it

I had the same problem last Wednesday, haven't played league darts for a long while, felt great all night, got on the oche and went to bits.

The fact I set off badly and my opponent set of great didn't help but I noticed as I started hitting the targets a bit better his game faltered slightly.

So in my mind it is all about confidence, if you are playing well you will not feel the nerves, however a few bad darts and the shakes start, you over analyze and the darts get worse.

The only way to overcome nerves (without alcohol) is, in my opinion, relaxation.

This leads to a more steady action when throwing which hopefully will result in better darts which will ultimately lead to confidence, so while relaxing will not initially ease the nerves (some nerves is good) the knock on effect will soon eradicate them as your confidence builds and you forget about the nerves.

I use alcohol to relax before a game, however there are many techniques you can use that doesn't involve the booze, controlled breathing and positive thinking will go a long way to you enjoying your darts more.

Hope that helps a little bit and good luck

Are you a teetotalar John? If not a little drink wont harm.

But I think its a mind thing that needs to be addressed, I dont play for a team, but I have done other activities and sports where nerves are an issue, in most cases the nerves helped but if your shaking so much it is affecting your throw, then you should try some sort of relaxation technique before hand such as deep breathing.

The more you expose yourself to it though the more you will start to control it. Good Luck!

Aww the old nerves thing. I still have a bit but it helps IMO to have a little. Thats not your problem a little nerves and assuming you don't drink I suggest relaxation techniques such as breathing and visual . Remember your opponent is nervous and just may be masking it better than you. IMO all players have some nervousness just maybe not to the extent that you have. Chewing gum has been shown to help in some cases so get a pack mate.

John, I dont tend to drink often when I play league. What I do is make sure everything that is in my control is sorted. My equipment is good, I have plenty of time to get to my venue. So that once I am ready to play, the game is the only thing on my mind. All outside distractions are cleared from my head. Then if I find I'm a little nervy, I will take a few slow deep breathes with my head bowed and my eyes closed.

This works 90% of the time for me, the other 10%, is over excitement at getting close to beating a good player and coughing up the game. lol

I don't drink when I play either...suffer from nerves from time to time...the bigger the game the more nervous I am. As someone else said...it is a game of darts and it is fun....or else we wouldn't play the game.

Relax and really focus upon your throw...there isn't a secret but the more you play through it the easier it becomes. Try talking in public and being centre of attention...most folks are scared of that sort of thing and if you can do that you can do anything. Use distraction too. I sometimes imagine I am in my garage playing or that some sexy barmaid is watching etc!!!! Anything to distract your mind.

Oh and smile....smile as you play....smiling means you are happy and if you are happy you are not nervous....so think about things that are really positive and smile and enjoy the game.

Probably not what you want to hear, but you know there is no secret don't you

Thanks all for the great advice, iv been trying the breathing thing and it does help a little, and it whould be nice bovrilheid to see some fit bar maid at every game lol???, i suppose it will and hopefully get better in time and thanks all.

There is a magnesium drink you can get at health stores called 'Natural Calm'. works quite nicely!

davidsproull wrote:

There is a magnesium drink you can get at health stores called 'Natural Calm'. works quite nicely!

sounds like milk?

mmmmm milk. My Monday night club now sells flavoured milk. Im in heaven. lol

havent played in a league yet, but when i was bowling this happened to me. ahhh sucks so bad.

Same philosophies apply to any sport really m1ghty.

I used to bowl, both tenpin and lawn.

Was the anchor bowler in my tenpin side, so got thrown in to pressure situations on a regular basis. I just used to treat every situation as just like the first go for the match.

When you think about, there is no difference between the 1st turn and the last turn. You still have a target to hit.

I treat finals matches the same as all of the weeks leading up to finals, as just another game.

Love, I don't know what kind of league you play in but the crew I play with like to have a laugh. I find the more I joke around with my teammates, the less I worry about my game. The only problem is, sometimes I am laughing so hard when I get to the line, I can hardly shoot.

Get yoruself a routine for every time you step to the oche and concentrate on that. I have a set of steps I go thru. I set my lead foot to the oche, bounce on the lead leg a little and lock my knee, set my trailing foot so that I am balanced and make sure both feet are flat on the floor, then I shake out my throwing arm once, take my first dart and throw. I concentrate on doing this in the same order every time in practice or in a match. This allows you to focus your mind on something other than being nervous and it only takes a few seconds. I noticed this watching good golfers play. They do the same set of actions when they set up to the ball. Sometimes you will see them do something that is totally irrelevant to their swing like tug at a pant leg, but they do it the same every time. I think this occupies your brain with the process and you forget about being nervous.

im tee total, I deal with nerves and confidence with meditation.

Thanks guys, played my tuesdaynight game, my team game and we won 5...2 should of been 7 ..nil, but well chuffed with the result, my tuesday night team mates have a good laugh and enjoy the crack and that helps buckets,,i think when you win games that helps noend to, i think i will overcome this and hopefully sooner rarther than later, again amny thanks guys for all the great advice.

Thats good to hear!

keep us informed mate

Great result there mate. The more fun you have, the less you worry. Just keep enjoying this great game.

I'm looking to see what works in calming nerves and relaxing more. I'm good for the start but my hands start shaking and go all over I tried taking deep breaths other then drink half a bottle Jim Beam or Jacks is there any other ways ?

topics merged.

Gone through a bit of a slump recently on Wednesday league night. Practicing hitting low 20 dart games or better but high 20 to 30 dart games in league play. Team mate set me straight. told me to concentrate on my breathing and breathe out shallow before throwing. i was holding my breathe and tensing up. Much more consistent using this technique. Won 2 of 3 doubles and 2-0 in singles with 24 and 19 darts.

Last season I had real trouble with my nerves because we were in the lead (made it to the playoffs and tied 3rd).

We got bumped up a division this season because of our performance last time and the teams we're playing now are wiping the floor with us. We can't possibly win the season so now we're just playing for points and fun. It's much less nervy for me when there's nothing on the line.

Also, now that I have some experience under my belt, it's easier for me to see how everyone else approaches the game. It's a bar league. 99% of the people we play against are just having fun and don't really care if they win.

I tend to take it WAAAAAAAAY too seriously. So I'm just telling myself (as somebody above mentioned) "It's just darts."

Seems to work for me most of the time.

Although I did get nearly enraged during a 601 game this week. Waitress called my name during my throw, then a billiard ball came flying at the score keeper during my throw, then my team mates switched their order around and right as I'm stepping up to throw for 32 to win, the other team goes, "hey, hey, wait... did you guys change orders?"

Hit the wall with the first dart and completely flubbed the last two. It cost us the game. So that's not really "nerves", more just hideously timed distractions, but it caused the same thing: missing shots I should normally hit. If I had kept the "it's just a game of darts" thing in mind, I probably still would have hit it, so... yeah. That's my advice.

"It's just a game of darts."