BullShooter Magazine February 2015 Number 2 Volume 32 | Page 15

Pacer: When you are a team captain, what is it like on draft night?
Is there any pressure involved?
Rick: You basically know all of
the players on the draft list, but I
always try to keep two things in
mind when I’m drafting my team.
Of course I want to put together as
powerful a team as possible, but I
also try to put together a bunch of
guys who will get along and pick
each other up. It’s a long season,
and I want a team that not only
is competitive, but enjoys playing
together. Just because our league
is super competitive doesn’t mean
it can’t be fun.
Pacer: How did the draft shape
up this season?
Rick: My first two picks were
Matt Edgers and Ray Ariolla who
are great teammates and great
shots. With my last pick, I took a
guy named TJ Shumacker who had
not played in the Elite Masters before. We talked before the season
and I told him to consider this a
chance to improve his dart game.
He set some goals for himself and
so far he has raised all his stats.
Pacer: You definitely have a
Master League program that has
been competitive, but also has become famous in its own right.
Rick: Tom, I want to mention
Mike Bates who has helped so
many players in the Phoenix area.
He owns “Bullshooters” and it is
really a great dart bar. If any dart
players come to Phoenix, be sure
to go to Bullshooters--you will love
it.
Pacer: Rick, what is your tournament schedule?
Rick: Well, I like to say that
darts are my hobby and my work
is my job. I don’t travel a lot, but
Republic Services is pretty good
about letting me have some time
off if I am going to a tournament
like Vegas or Chicago. A couple
years ago I took a third place in

the singles in Vegas. My two
losses were to Scott Kirchner
and Benny Dersch.
Pacer: You took a third in
Singles and ended up losing to
two guys from Wisconsin.
Rick: It had been a long time
since I had played those guys,
but I guess they are still playing okay (both laughing).
Pacer: Okay Rick, let’s talk
about that amazing league
night you had recently.
Rick: Well, in Cricket I finished the night shooting a 6.28
average per round.

At the League Tournament Party, a tournament was
held with Joe Feist (left) winning the C Div., Rick
winning the A Div., and Bob Brockman winning the B.

Pacer: Man, you must have been
smoking. You couldn’t have missed
many darts.
Rick: What’s hard to believe is, I
shot a 3.0 the last game.
Pacer: That is amazing, did you
feel any different? I guess I mean
did you have any idea you were going to play so well that night?
Rick: Tom, when I was warming
up I told the guys, this is going to
be a good night, but I didn’t expect
a 6.28. But when league started
the triples looked like they were
the size of a full segment and the
darts just kept going where I was
throwing them.
Pacer: You said you finished
with a 3.0 game. Your other games
must have been out of this world.
Rick: My other games were 7.67,
7.33, 6.67, 6.30 and 6.0. I really
wanted to average a 6 for the entire night. I thought maybe that
last game would hurt, but it came
out to a 6.28.
Pacer: All I can say is that was
one amazing performance.
Rick: Tom, I’m also proud to say
that I wasn’t chasing the stats.
When I play it’s about winning
the game, no padding my stats.
If I have to shoot a couple singles
to close numbers that my opponent is scoring on I’m happy to
15

do it. Chasing stats will cost you
wins. The only trouble is that now
I want to shoot 6.28 every week
and it’s just not happening (both
laughing).
Pacer: Rick, before we wrap
this up, I’d like to ask a favor from
you. Scotty North, who works for
Troy Vending, is an old friend from
Rockford, IL, be sure and tell him
Pacer said hi.
Rick: Will do Tom, Scotty is a
great guy. He’s always in a good
mood and has a big smile on his
face.
Pacer: Rick Breckinfelder had
one of those nights that most athletes on