Dartitis

[Rural Expansion]

After suffering with the dreaded dartitis which starting setting in around 12 months ago, i now feel i am far down the path of recovery.

Many people believe it is caused by some kind of physical obstruction or ailment whilst others believe it is purely in the mind. From my experience i would say it is the mind making the physical aspect of your game useless. Mine started after i signed for a new team, i played well my first 2 games but lost then in the 3rd game id won but it was a struggle. With this i was subsequently dropped and i started thinking too much about why i was throwing so bad, i would question my stance, where i stand and my throw and try to change it. This was a big mistake, I would start doing things i had never done before and it hit my game hard, i could no longer hit targets i was used to hitting.

I struggled on and then all of a sudden it kicked in and i found it really hard to let go of my darts. My shoulder would feel tight and no matter how much i tried to relax i just couldn't let go when i wanted. Once i had finally let it go it was no where near where i wanted it to go!! I found i was snatching, trying to flick, absolutely allsorts!

I had this for around 6 months, id won a couple but lost many, this is something that hits you on the way down and drags you down further before it will get any easier. I decided to play as little as i possibly could which did help a little but it gutted me not being able to do what i loved.

What got me feeling better again was a cardboard box!! I would throw my darts from around 2ft at an old shoe box basically to get me to let go of the darts without throwing them at a board and im amazed that it worked! I carried on doing this for a week or so then decided to try on the board from the same distance. To my shock i could throw each dart whenever i wanted and slowly worked my way back to around 6ft from the board. I did this for only a few days then went to regulation distance upon which little stutters started to creep back in. I was undeterred though and mixed between the box and throwing from 6ft until i felt more confident of releasing the darts. Then one day i decided to have a throw with some (im guessing the weight) 40g "bombs"!! It was great, i had to put little effort in and whilst they weren't going straight first time every i generally felt better. I decided to carry on with this at home around 5-10 mins at a time.

I then decided to try lighter darts and bought a set of 24g generics and i haven't looked back since. Ive lost games and ive won some good games but overall i feel much better about the way i am throwing.

My advice to anyone suffering is to take a short break and use the box trick, you may find it works or you could simply try switching your darts. Either way if you are suffering like i did, i hope this advice helps.

[The Juggernaut]

Nice tip, mate.

It's a good idea, if you're struggling with the release there is no point with aiming at a small target such as a treble 20.

I'm not sure I saw you throw before you started with your problems but the month or so you've played really well.