made the finals , don ’ t remember if I won , but as a poor college kid I realized I could make more money playing darts on a Friday night than working 8 hours at the local grocery store and stick with it .
I played all the time when I was a kid in my basement on those boards that if you flip over has a baseball field ... and I remember stopping because it was too easy to get a hit every time . I wish I had recognized I had a talent for the game then instead of waiting another 7 years to play in that Blind Draw , but I was too occupied with Baseball and Basketball and playing with friends !
Sidney Vaughn & Alex captured 3rd in Pro AA 501 Doubles at BullShooter 36 Finals in Chicago .
Q : What advice would you give to a new dart player ?
Alex : 1 - Put yourself into positions to fail . It ’ s OK to lose . But you can not get better without the experience , period . 2 - Break your throw down into components . What are you doing with your shoulder ? Your Bicep ? Your elbow ? Your wrist ? Your grip ? I know its a lot but they all contribute to the throw . You want to be as relaxed as possible . If you are tense or tightening on your throw , work on that particular part of your arm . I don ’ t believe you can improve your throw with out breaking it down to its separate parts .
3 - Don ’ t aim .
This leads to trying to place darts . Just look at your target and ensure you are getting your dart / arm placement as consistent as possible .
4 - Purposeful practice . You don ’ t see NBA players playing Horse to practice for games . They practice one of two ways , Game or mechanics . If I need to work on mechanics , I focus on one thing . Maybe my fol low through isn ’ t great . I don ’ t care if I ’ m missing everything on the board , I focus on exaggerating my follow through . If I need to work on my Game , playing games like 121 , Count Up , Bobs 27 or just generally practicing doubles don ’ t make you better . Your improved mechanics will make you better . But for a new player there is value here as it will help you learn your outs and combinations .
5 - Grip . Don ’ t grip the dart so tight . It leads to you sometimes springing the dart forward a little extra as you release the tension in your fingers . Let your hand naturally open at the end of your throw .
6 - Follow through . Film yourself . If you aren ’ t following through all the way , I don ’ t care how uncomfortable it feels , start practicing it . Even without darts in your hand . Just get used to the feeling .
Q : What do you consider your greatest strength when playing darts ?
Alex : This is tough because I see everything in my game as an entire unit . Yes I can break them up into components and say “ My scoring power is my greatest strength ” but that also comes from my ability to engineer my throw . Coupled with the time put in to implement that engineering . It ’ s tough to answer , but I think the entire body of work would say my biggest strength is consistency . I ’ m going to wear you down over the course of a long match because you won ’ t be getting many slack darts from me .
Q : Do you have any dart goals for the future ?
Alex : I actually don ’ t . My job takes care of me and I still treat this game very much as a hobby .
North Carolina
I am going to try to join the professional ranks on the Steel side , but I ’ m doing that just because that ’ s the next stop in competition . Just like in a video game , when you beat one level , you move on to the next to be challenged and pushed even more . So what happens will happen natually as part of the journey .
Q : Up until now , what was your favorite moment in your dart playing career ?
Alex : In Soft , The 9 Darter in a deciding leg starting 2nd against Leonard Gates and Chip Anderson on the stream .
In Steel , I have probably had things mean more to me personally , but my recent USSDA Cricket Nationals win over Leonard Gates . Leonard is the one guy I would put ahead of me in scoring prowess and to win that match 5-1 with a 4.8 for the entire match ... it was my favorite moment not for the win specifically but because it was the most comfortable I ’ ve ever felt playing someone of that caliber and it was the match / moment that had me turn the corner in my self confidence that had me genuinely believe that I could be the best .
That win probably played a role in my ESPN victory and all the success I had at Music City and the CDC immediately following .
Alex did very well with a 1st place in Pro Cricket Singles in South Carolina .
Q : What does it take to be an Elite Dart Player ?
Alex : Consistency and Confidence . You can be as gifted as you want but if you aren ’ t doing it nearly every game , or have the confidence to overcome
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