Stuart180 wrote:

Some people don't need to practice full stop.

My team mate last night hasn't thrown in 6 weeks, He averaged 88 in his singles !!

He's one of the most natural Pub sports people I've met lol

I've only met one other person like that. My ex. She NEVER practiced!! When she started playing she used to play doubles and trips with Darin Young. To this day Darin will say she's the best player he's ever seen. Also one of the reasons I used to win so many mixed events. Certainly wasn't my doing.

A friend of mine that I used to play doubles with(until he got married) is one who can not touch a dart for 6 months and pick them up and be deadly! He was big in the youth darts back when and then traveled and played doubles with Roger Carter. He got burnt out being so young when he started -if he wanted to work at it he would be one of the top players in the U.S. He gets out once in awhile to play with us -it amazes me how well he throws, beautiful stroke

Part of the frustration stems from this with myself.

I practice alone or with my brother, my brother does not practice alone yet demolishes me when we play!

He has played a couple of open events in the past and won a dartaholics even a few years ago so is of decent standard - again, he neither has time or space at home to practice, yet once a week (or 2-3weeks if I am working nights) we meet up, he picks up his cold darts, never been touched since our last meeting and pastes me!!

I am starting to think confidence in THE major factor for me, I know I can throw darts to a decent enough standard and I can spend time trying to hone my skills but I guess inside I must feel defeated before I even throw a dart against him which I guess sometimes unearths itself when I come up against a top player in the league.

Like Taylor says, you can't practice crapping yourself, just as I find it difficult to practice confidence in my game.

Ya right Rebel- your beat before you throw - and he knows it- now stop it and say to yourself I will win-I will win - it works.

You need to believe in yourself Reb. You know you can play well, just stop thinking about how your brother beats you and go out and show him how its done.

Once you beat him, the wins will flow, you just have to get that break through win.

i've learned frequency trumps length when it comes to practicing. 20 min a day is better than 90 min sessions 3 times a week.

regarding the mental game. it's between you and the board. your opponent is just throwin' demo darts while you rest your arm. -=]

someone else told me they only ever practised in 20 min spells 3 times a day, it worked for them, so might be something to it?

Steve Beaton says on his vid he only does 20-30mins a day unless he's on fire, then he may have an hour.

Thing is, I only get about 20-30mins a day and it hasn't worked for me hahaha

yeah i've seen steve beaton say this on the winmau site i think . it seems strange to me . i like steve and hes been up here amongst the top 32 for a long time , but to me he seems happy enough to stay in that position and not push any further . i mean these guys surely have a lot more spare time to practice than us . i feel hes relying on just natural talent and not pushing for that bit extra. phil taylor says he only practices for an hour or so a day now as his eyes can't take it as much these days , but hes still putting in 2 to 3 times the time that steve does

I think the key thing you are saying there, jamie, is that Steve Beaton "seems happy enough to stay in that position and not push any further." I'm guessing that there is a minimum amount of daily practice to simply maintain form. For Steve, it could be 20-30min/day and for others it could be more or less.

I'm guessing that Steve Beaton practiced a HELL of a lot more than 20-30 min/day to build his skills up to where they are today.

But if you are actively looking to improve your game, I think that you would need to put in more time than that each day. I suppose it all comes down to what you are looking to do? Are you happy with your game where it's at (in which case, just a little time each day to "feel" your stroke is probably good), or are you looking to take your game to the next level? And I bet that each incremental increase in skill probably takes more and more time at the practice board.

And personally, I think Phil Taylor is lying when he says he only practises for 1 hour a day. All that man cares about is improving his game and winning more and more. I wouldn't be surprised if he's putting 2-3 hours a day (or maybe more) on the practice board. I've even heard him say during interviews after a win things along the lines of "I'll take it easy tomorrow, maybe put in a few hours of practice then relax."

i'm sure he did practice like hell at first. just saying if it was me and darts for my job i'd be there putting in as many hours as possible . also i agree with you about taylor i'm sure he does put in more time than an hour , just saying what he said in an interview . to be the best you need to put the time in. i think a professional darts player is wrong to be only hitting the practice board for 20 minutes a day IMO.

As with anything I think you can over do it.


While Beaton say he only practices 20-30mins per day, may be enough as he does plenty of exhibitions, 2-3 nights a week if not more?
Add to that the travel to get to these exhibitions, the gym, the running and golf - dont leave a lot of time for practice.

travel granted ! exhibitions is practice really . probably spends more time playing golf than practicing darts. as i said its just my opinion , but i think if he is doing so well with 20 to 30 minutes a day i think he could push even further by doubling or tripling that time at the board.