Like my signature says. I would say its just about the most important aspect of darts if your mechanics are right. Phil Taylor IMO is the master of mental capabilities. Starting off with his walk on music! IMO 50% or more probably who play Phil are beat after the music.





After that you got to play him!!

True Larry, Taylor beats a lot of players before they even start, but there are a lot who are not as phased by him as much as they were once. But you have to admire his ability to be so mentally tough for so many years!

I go into every game believing i can win, theres no point in even picking up my darts if i dont believe that. Although if i had to face down someone after that walk on....:S

Imo Phil and Adrian have the best walk on's. Must be very intimidating to have to wait up on stage while they come up to play.

But even the top pro's are always scared of Phil. Although some don't admit it, most do though.

What can you possibly do when someone is throwing 110+ average at you set after set??

Just sit back and watch the show I guess.

Quote :

But even the top pro's are always scared of Phil. Although some don't admit it, most do though.

Which is funny, because as a very non-pro I would not be scared at all, because I would know that everything was on him.

It would be a thrill to play the man.

I used to enter games with a clear mind and then the mental game would set in after the first 9 darts, either in a positive way or negative way. It seems that as of late, the past two seasons or so, I find myself trying to convince myself that I can win. It's really a miserable state of mind to have and I am working on it. However, the mental game becomes very difficult to overcome when you can't produce good enough darts to keep the morale up

I keep at it though because regardless of how good I do or don't throw, I still love the game. I just feel like I am letting the team down. So, I make up for it by cheering my teammates on when they are at the oche

Thats the way Lefty, if you aren't throwing well, then get behind the team. Moping around will only serve to add to miserable state of mind. I have been battling this like you for some time.

I find that playing team games is a lot harder for my mental game than playin singles and not so much because of how I am playing but because of how a teamate might be playing. Let me explain. When playing singles wether I am playing bad or good I pretty much maintain the same focus and mental aspect of the game, dont get me wrong when I'm playin poorly I sometimes try to over analyze what it is I'm doing wrong but I do remain focused. When playing as a team if I'm shooting really well and a teamate is struggling just to hit the board (1 of those times when if you drop a dart it probably wouldn't even hit the floor.. lol) he gets frustrated and pissed off and no matter what I say or do they just stay mad. It's very hard to keep focused on your own game when they are like this. I don't know why, it's just something subconscious that says maybe I shouldn't be playing well when he is struggling so bad.. I don't really know how to word it. It's just a feeling I get.

Hat

I know where you are coming from Hat. I get the same feelings if I'm on it and my partner isnt. You find it hard to stay firing when you feel your pushing uphill.

Hatrick wrote:

I find that playing team games is a lot harder for my mental game than playin singles and not so much because of how I am playing but because of how a teamate might be playing. Let me explain. When playing singles wether I am playing bad or good I pretty much maintain the same focus and mental aspect of the game, dont get me wrong when I'm playin poorly I sometimes try to over analyze what it is I'm doing wrong but I do remain focused. When playing as a team if I'm shooting really well and a teamate is struggling just to hit the board (1 of those times when if you drop a dart it probably wouldn't even hit the floor.. lol) he gets frustrated and pissed off and no matter what I say or do they just stay mad. It's very hard to keep focused on your own game when they are like this. I don't know why, it's just something subconscious that says maybe I shouldn't be playing well when he is struggling so bad.. I don't really know how to word it. It's just a feeling I get.

Hat

I find if you grab him and slap him and yell PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN!!!! always works.

thats why I get sore cheeks after darts.

hahaha... Nice one dirty!!

Hat

I have been struggling with my mental game a bit lately. Due to constantly traveling for work, I wasn't able to play league matches for about a year and a half. Now I'm changing jobs so I'm able to play again. The only problem is I'm putting too much pressure on myself to perform. I don't want to let my teammates down and I want to play well for myself since it's been so long since I've played in league.

All of this overthinking and unnecessary pressure has been really affecting my darts. Then, since my play is worse, it's making the pressure worse. Since I'm a flight schooler, I contacted George and asked for some advice and what to practice on to get me back to focusing the right way. He sent me some routines to work on that will help me focus more on the target and grouping rather than all the other things.

I'm trying to remember to just relax and throw. I've done this a trillion times. Don't let your last dart affect your next dart. Just because that one missed doesn't mean the next one will. I have no control over my teammate's or opponent's darts or how they throw them. All I can control are mine. I need to just focus on what I can control. Just throw at my target and try to get to the finish (be it Cricket or '01) as soon as I can.

I struggle with the mental part. If I get called up to a board and the guy has a nice dart shirt with his name on the back I get nervous. It's worse if he has a big dart case. I'm thinking, "oh man, this guy is serious business"

doubt it will help JD but I have a big dart case... I'm not a threat lol. Remember size doesn't always matter

Shane, I think you have pretty much answered yourself with what you've said at the end there.

I'm trying to remember to just relax and throw. I've done this a trillion times. Don't let your last dart affect your next dart. Just because that one missed doesn't mean the next one will. I have no control over my teammate's or opponent's darts or how they throw them. All I can control are mine. I need to just focus on what I can control. Just throw at my target and try to get to the finish (be it Cricket or '01) as soon as I can.

As Eric Bristow said in an interview: “When I took Phil Taylor under my wing I taught him to beat people up, not physically, but, mentally”. And lets be honest, that’s just what Phil does…he puts the fear of god into his opponents.

Darts, just like any other sport really, is a ‘head game’. A persons thoughts, become their reality. You see your opponent stood in front of you sporting a posh darts shirt (with the word DESTROYER printed on the back), using expensive darts, etc, and you assume this guy is good. The pressures on! However, anyone can purchase a darts shirt off the internet, and it doesn’t make them a good player. It does give that person a psychological advantage, though. He feels better, he looks the part and, can ‘possibly’ intimidate his opponent! But the way foreword, if you have the necessary skills of course, is to remain calm and handle the nerves. Easier said than done I admit, but, most certainly achievable. Alcohol is not the answer, unless you give loads of it to your opponent of course before the match The short answer is: Relaxation and Visualisation therapy practiced on a REGULAR basis! Once a persons subconscious mind accepts a suggestion, then it ‘Will’ be acted upon via a thought process and the autonomic nervous system, and hence they will be calm during matches. However, telling yourself that your going through a bad patch is giving yourself a negative suggestion that will become a self fulfilling prophecy when you play bad in your next match.

As I say; “A persons thoughts, are what they become “!!!

Taffy wrote:

As Eric Bristow said in an interview: “When I took Phil Taylor under my wing I taught him to beat people up, not physically, but, mentally”. And lets be honest, that’s just what Phil does…he puts the fear of god into his opponents.

Darts, just like any other sport really, is a ‘head game’. A persons thoughts, become their reality. You see your opponent stood in front of you sporting a posh darts shirt (with the word DESTROYER printed on the back), using expensive darts, etc, and you assume this guy is good. The pressures on! However, anyone can purchase a darts shirt off the internet, and it doesn’t make them a good player. It does give that person a psychological advantage, though. He feels better, he looks the part and, can ‘possibly’ intimidate his opponent! But the way foreword, if you have the necessary skills of course, is to remain calm and handle the nerves. Easier said than done I admit, but, most certainly achievable. Alcohol is not the answer, unless you give loads of it to your opponent of course before the match The short answer is: Relaxation and Visualisation therapy practiced on a REGULAR basis! Once a persons subconscious mind accepts a suggestion, then it ‘Will’ be acted upon via a thought process and the autonomic nervous system, and hence they will be calm during matches. However, telling yourself that your going through a bad patch is giving yourself a negative suggestion that will become a self fulfilling prophecy when you play bad in your next match.

As I say; “A persons thoughts, are what they become “!!!

Your spot on Taffy with your analogy. Being in the Hypnotic field do you think hypnosis is a tool that can be used for people who can't get over the shakes or lack of self confidence?

Terry Jenkin's Wooley Bulley is awesome too and Barney's" Eye of the Tiger " is good too.

i always throw my best darts when im playing someone better than me and losing. I always am telling myself i can win-even when i cant lol.

You have to believe you can win any game you play, otherwise you have lost already and you just go through the motions.

Everyone talks about Phil's entrance, but if there is anyone that would terrify me it would be sitting there on stage awaiting John Part, when you hear "The Imperial March" come on. I mean, Jesus man, that's Darth Vader you are up there waiting for. Maybe I am just a little too nerdy sometimes. I always loved that the U would play that everytime they got a sack as well. Any way, here are all their entrances and I stand by Part's being the most intimidating

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZuJLZaFcMA&feature=related

I used to have the imperial march as my ringtone. So your not that nerdy Derek. lol

SilverSaber wrote:

Terry Jenkin's Wooley Bulley is awesome too and Barney's" Eye of the Tiger " is good too.

I think anything that gets the crowd behind the player does the job brillantly.

SilverSaber wrote:

Taffy wrote:

As Eric Bristow said in an interview: “When I took Phil Taylor under my wing I taught him to beat people up, not physically, but, mentally”. And lets be honest, that’s just what Phil does…he puts the fear of god into his opponents.

Darts, just like any other sport really, is a ‘head game’. A persons thoughts, become their reality. You see your opponent stood in front of you sporting a posh darts shirt (with the word DESTROYER printed on the back), using expensive darts, etc, and you assume this guy is good. The pressures on! However, anyone can purchase a darts shirt off the internet, and it doesn’t make them a good player. It does give that person a psychological advantage, though. He feels better, he looks the part and, can ‘possibly’ intimidate his opponent! But the way foreword, if you have the necessary skills of course, is to remain calm and handle the nerves. Easier said than done I admit, but, most certainly achievable. Alcohol is not the answer, unless you give loads of it to your opponent of course before the match The short answer is: Relaxation and Visualisation therapy practiced on a REGULAR basis! Once a persons subconscious mind accepts a suggestion, then it ‘Will’ be acted upon via a thought process and the autonomic nervous system, and hence they will be calm during matches. However, telling yourself that your going through a bad patch is giving yourself a negative suggestion that will become a self fulfilling prophecy when you play bad in your next match.

As I say; “A persons thoughts, are what they become “!!!

Your spot on Taffy with your analogy. Being in the Hypnotic field do you think hypnosis is a tool that can be used for people who can't get over the shakes or lack of self confidence?

Absolutely! Hypnosis is a tool that can be used to overcome nerves, whether playing darts, or public speaking, etc. There's no need to pop along to see an professional hypnotherapist though, because there is loads out there on the internet on self-hypnosis!

Funny thing about that, a darts shop near me moved premisses and a hypnotist has took over the old premisses

when i started playing i was beat before i started if i was playing a good player. but now ive been playing for a few year and played super league etc im not bothered who i play now. i just tell myself they have 3 darts just like me

mark86 wrote:

when i started playing i was beat before i started if i was playing a good player. but now ive been playing for a few year and played super league etc im not bothered who i play now. i just tell myself they have 3 darts just like me

Your soo right in your thinking !!

Being mentally tough is absolutely necessary if you want to win. You have to feel you can beat your opponent period. If you don't well ya at a big disavantage IMO.