Coaching Clinic 36
This month we look at the switch. How efficient is your passing of the darts?
When it comes to darts technique most people (and we include ourselves in that) focus on what is happening whilst the dart is being thrown. We have a vast number of areas, from head to toe, that we study to see why a dart may have missed its target.One of the best bits of running the Darts Performance Centre is that people get in touch to discuss all sorts of aspects of darts play. This is one of the most fertile areas for discovering what players are having issues with or for highlighting areas that get overlooked.
I was chatting to Kelvin T recently, he is a member of our site and thinks hard about the game. He actually rang me to get hold of a set of our scalloped Gun Metal darts but he also explained why he was so keen to have this particular set! A scalloped dart worked perfectly for him, he could land his fingers in exactly the right spot each time which not only gave him confidence when it came to throwing it but also allowed for a smooth switch over from left hand to right during his throw!
He pointed me in the direction of an interview with Mervyn King- The King said about his own darts, "I've spent my whole darts career looking for a set of darts that has the absolute perfect transfer from my left hand to my right hand. It is this transfer that sets the perfect grip and so the darts must be shaped in a way that you get the exact same position on the darts every time."
Both Kelv and Merv are right of course. Just like the runners in the relay the changeover is as crucial in that particular style of race as it is for dart players in a darts match. If you have to look down to complete the transfer of the dart to your throwing hand you lose focus, you lose any chance of adjusting from your previous throw and your rhythm has been abruptly halted too.
Merv actually holds his non-throwing hand fairly high up to his chest to assist with a smooth change over whereas The Power and Peter Wright for example make their throwing hand to the work and move it down to their non-throwing hand to collect the dart. I don't believe there is any right or wrong way, probably the best thought to have in your head when practising the switch is that comfort is king (excuse the pun). What feels right for you is all that matters.
Kit wise, scalloped darts work for Kelvin and points with some form of grip could also help get your fingers in the right place to aid a smooth transition to the hand. But like any darts skill, practise it! Try your hand in different positions and tweak your kit to ensure you have some reference points on your darts to get your fingers in the identical spot each time.
This is a skill worth mastering, no team that has ever dropped the baton in a relay race has a gold medal!