One thing I've learned over the last few months is that progress in darts isn't always reflected in your average.
If I look purely at the numbers, I'm probably still around the same mark I was a few months ago. The averages aren't suddenly jumping off the page and making headlines. However, when I look a little deeper, I can see signs that things are moving in the right direction.
I'm finding myself going deeper into tournaments more often. I'm also hitting under-21 dart legs more regularly than before. Those are the sort of things that tell me I'm improving, even if the headline average hasn't changed much.
The biggest challenge remains consistency. I can play some really good darts, but then follow them up with a frustrating spell where things don't quite click. That's probably the difference between where I am now and where I want to be.
One thing I've been working hard on is staying relaxed. In the past I've often become obsessed with focus, mechanics and trying too hard. Recently I've made a conscious effort to relax as much as possible at the oche.
It feels like it's helping.
The darts are coming out of my hand nicely and the game feels more natural. It's still a work in progress and there are plenty of days where I drift back into old habits, but I'm sticking with it because the signs are encouraging.
At the moment I'm not too worried about averages. My feeling is that if I keep working on relaxation, confidence and consistency, the averages will eventually look after themselves.
The first half of the year has been about laying foundations. Hopefully the second half of the year is where we start to see those improvements show up on the scoreboard as well.
As always, the journey continues
