The Darts Experiment - Night 5
The Darts Experiment marches on accompanied by music and Team Kasbah are also "checked over" with a full MOT, will they pass or are they off to
the dart players scrapyard?
Rhythm is a Dart Player
We kicked off The Darts Experiment this week with an idea we have been toying with for ages. However, we are not going to tell you exactly what we
did as the idea is still in the development stages. We will give you a clue, it is music related. Team Kasbah donned their headphones and remained
"open minded", if somewhat bemused at our idea. One player has asked to keep the headphones and CD to try it this week and he will report back.
This is work in progress!
Team Meeting
One feature of The Darts Experiment which we discussed last night was the benefit of team meetings. I mentioned to Team Kasbah how I felt that a
team gathering is absolutely vital. The opportunity to reflect on the previous match, any internal team issues or the direction of the practice
sessions can be discussed and resolved. It can also add to the process of building team cohesion. There are two key issues, however, you need
one person to "chair" the discussion and each team member must respect their role and allow open discussion to flow. Each team member must also
remember they are part of a team and the group is the most important thing! The team spirit of Team Kasbah has shone through from day one and
this will win them points in their league games that teams without a similar spirit will not get.
Team Kasbah - The Future
We also discussed the legacy of The Darts Experiment and it was suggested that the concept of team practice sessions and having different practice
games to play was probably going to be the enduring feature of The Darts Experiment. Two team members surpassed their own expectations in a
recent tournament; they are through to the semi finals of a local pairs competition. They discussed how they used several areas of what they
have learnt during the experiment, in particular from the psychology section and the video analysis. Maybe they are telling me what I want
to hear? However, the overriding feeling I got from their account is that not only do they really believe they have become savvier dart players
over the past few weeks, they quite genuinely have and they are enjoying the rewards of that!
My MOT is Due
We are keen for Team Kasbah to keep practising our coaching ideas but also that they do not forget what they have learnt in the first few weeks,
our successful pairs team alluded to the potential value of retaining as much knowledge as possible. Our first session (other than the music
experiment) of the night involved an MOT of each player's throw. We drew up an inspection sheet of around seventeen different parts of darts
throws. Seventeen! It`s no wonder things can go wrong with your technique (we will upload the MOT document to the Darts Performance Centre
website).
One team member was concerned that one of his team mates would fail on the emissions test, he made a very good point as it happens. I can
confirm from experience that there is an ill wind that most definitely blows on occasions from somewhere in the Kasbah Club. On a serious
note each player was also encouraged to add to their list any coaching points we raised when they had their throw analysed in our video
analysis zone. This service is now available online by the way. The players split into pairs and effectively ticked off each technique area
as a pass if it was up to standard.
Once again this was a good team bonding exercise and on a more practical level allows Team Kasbah to "keep an eye" on each other during matches,
the most likely time your technique will start to break down. A quiet word between legs may make all the difference! We ended the night with a
lively discussion about the benefits of throwing first in a leg (The Power skewing this argument with his insistence on systematically giving
the throw away) and a "Bull Hitter" session followed by a 8 player simultaneous pairs tournament (with a small twist but more of that later).
Next Time
Last week next week! What a shame! We will be running some more practice sessions and we will give Team Kasbah the chance to tell us exactly what
they have made of The Darts Experiment.