Sometimes the best thing you take home from a darts tournament isn't a trophy, a good average or even a victory. Sometimes it's just one visit to the board.
I was playing in an Under-55 average darts tournament today, and something happened that got me thinking.
One of the players hit his first-ever 180 in a tournament.
Now, to some players, a 180 is almost routine. Some hit several in a single match. But at our level, particularly for somebody who has never managed one in competitive darts before, it's a big moment.
And you could see how much it meant to him.
He was absolutely delighted, and rightly so.
The interesting thing was that he actually lost the match.
But I suspect when he looks back on today's tournament, he won't be thinking too much about the defeat. He'll remember that first 180.
And why shouldn't he?
It got me thinking about something that perhaps we don't do enough of in darts.
Celebrate the little wins.
We Can't All Win the Tournament
The reality of competitive darts is that, unless you're fortunate enough to win the whole thing, you're eventually going to lose.
That's true whether you're playing in a local Under-55 competition or on the biggest stages in the world.
But does that mean the tournament has been a failure?
I don't think it does.
We spend an awful lot of time measuring ourselves against results. Did we win? Did we qualify from the group? What was our average? Did we play better than last week?
And those things matter, of course they do.
But perhaps there's another way of looking at it.
What if, before every tournament, we gave ourselves one or two smaller goals?
Not necessarily winning the tournament. Not even necessarily winning a match.
Just something achievable that would represent a little bit of progress.
Maybe it's hitting your first 180. Maybe it's getting through a match without becoming frustrated with yourself. Perhaps it's finally managing that checkout you've been struggling with.
There are plenty of possibilities.
And if you manage one of them, then surely you've taken something positive away from the day?
What If You Don't Achieve Your Goals?
This is where I think it gets a little more interesting.
Let's say you've gone to a tournament with a couple of goals in mind.
You don't achieve either of them.
You lose your matches, your average is disappointing, and you come away feeling that you've played terribly.
We've all been there.
So is there still a little win somewhere?
Perhaps you checked out with your first dart at a double in one leg.
Perhaps you played somebody considerably better than you and managed to take them all the way down to a deciding double.
Perhaps you produced one really good leg, even though the rest of the match was pretty awful.
Or maybe you recovered from a bad start and showed a bit of determination.
None of these things is going to get you a trophy.
But they might just be something worth remembering.
And if you can find one little thing you've done well, perhaps the journey home doesn't feel quite so disappointing.
Sometimes There Really Isn't a Positive
Now, I don't want this to turn into one of those motivational articles where we're told that every defeat is secretly a victory.
Because it isn't.
Sometimes you have an absolute mare.
You can't score, you can't finish, nothing feels right, and the more you try, the worse it gets.
You look back over the tournament, try to find something positive, and genuinely can't think of anything.
And you know what?
That's fine too.
There's no point inventing a positive just for the sake of it.
Accept that you played badly. Own it. Don't make excuses, and don't spend the next three days beating yourself up about it either.
Every darts player has those days.
Every single one.
Even the players you look up to, who seem to throw effortlessly and rarely miss a double, have tournaments where absolutely nothing goes right.
You might not notice it because you're too busy comparing your worst performances with their best ones.
But it happens.
And the wonderful thing about grassroots darts is that, more often than not, there's another tournament just around the corner.
Another chance to start again.
Give Yourself Something to Aim For
I think there's a lot to be said for setting small personal targets before a tournament.
Not huge ambitions that depend on who turns up or who you happen to draw.
Just little things you can work towards.
Something that makes you feel you're improving, even if the results haven't quite caught up yet.
And perhaps those targets should change as you improve.
For somebody relatively new to competitive darts, hitting a first 180 might be a massive milestone.
For somebody else, it might be recording their first 60 average, winning a group match or finally managing to beat a player they've lost to several times.
For a more experienced player, the target might be maintaining concentration, improving finishing or producing a more consistent performance throughout the day.
The important thing is that they're your goals.
Not somebody else's.
Because we're all at different stages of our darts journey, and progress doesn't look the same for everybody.
Something I'd Like to Bring to Q4QS
This is actually something I'm hoping to develop as part of QuestForQSchool in the new year.
I've got plans for a training and player-development section, and one of the things I'd like to introduce is the ability for players to set themselves personal tournament goals.
Nothing overcomplicated.
Just a way of deciding what you'd like to achieve, recording how you got on and hopefully seeing those little improvements add up over time.
Because while Q4QS already looks at rankings, results, averages and performances, I think there's another side to darts development that's just as important.
Recognising progress, however small it might be.
And sometimes the numbers alone don't tell the whole story.
One Visit Can Make Your Day
So I'll finish by going back to that player from today's tournament.
He didn't win his match.
He didn't win the tournament.
But he hit his first competitive 180, and he was absolutely delighted.
And I thought that was brilliant.
Because in years to come, he might not remember who knocked him out today, what his average was or even how many matches he played.
But I reckon he'll remember that 180.
And that, to me, is what a little win is all about.
Next time you play a tournament, give yourself something to aim for. And when you get home, ask yourself what you can take away from the day.
Hopefully there'll be something positive.
And if there isn't?
Put the darts away, forget about it and have another go next time.
There's always another tournament.
QuestForQSchool – Following the numbers, celebrating the players and recognising the little wins along the way.
