Good day Mr. Silberzahn, Jan. 6, 2009

I bought and read the 2nd edition of your book a few weeks ago (twice, in fact) and would like to join Flight School. I really appreciated the distinction you draw between ‘shooting’, ‘playing’ and ‘playing around with’ the game. Too much of my energy has been taken up with ‘playing around’ and/or just ‘playing’ with the false expectation that this would help me become a better shooter.

In this new year I want to make my practice and preparation the most effective it can be, because the game isn’t ultimately fun for me unless I’m shooting well and improving. As written earlier, I’ve read your book twice (and the section on practice several times) and have changed my practice routine so that I do ‘group darts’ for fifteen minutes until I’m not thinking and only ‘feeling’ my stroke and then do the ‘Accuracy’ drill. Right now I’m on 8 numbers in an hour, or 40 targets. I no longer play games versus imaginary opponents or the SEWA games as I’ve found I spend too much time thinking about the abstractions and/or my personal best scores instead of really practicing.

What’s the next step I should take?

Best regards, C. Keen

p.s. The book is wonderful — I really appreciate your direct, no-nonsense style. I’ve recommended it to all my dart playing friends and wish that I had known of it when I first started playing three years ago. It might have saved me a lot of trouble and mental anguish. I say ‘might’ because I don’t know how much of it I would have recognized as being ‘right on’ without three years of trial, error and trouble. Thanks for writing it!

We corresponded concerning Flight School earlier in the year.  I’ve seen consistent progression since then, and just finished my best (because most consistent) league season ever.  I had less luck getting the other guys on my team to actually practice on a more frequent basis (i.e. going to the pub to throw a few with dart buddies is NOT practice), but that’s beside the point.  I’m happy to know how to practice to good effect.

To that end, I’ve heard talk of a Ten Ton Drill on SEWA and would like to know how to works.  I’m up to 14 numbers in an hour and would like something to add a bit of variety.  I’m OK with experiencing frustration.

The Ten Ton Drill is the high end of FS practice drills. If you have gotten to the point in “Accuracy” where you are knocking out at least fourteen numbers within forty to seventy minutes you are probably ready to take a whack at “Perfecting Scoring.”

Please get back to me with your results?

When you get so you can finish ten numbers, in “Perfecting Scoring,” in from forty to seventy minutes you will be playing at world class level. I hope to see you on TV!!

Your friend in darts, George S.

ps: there are those who are willing to do what it takes to be a “Shooter” and there are those who, for all their dart life, will be a “Player.” You, my friend, appear to be a Shooter.

June 8, ’09 Hi again,

Thank much for the reply!  I’m looking forward to giving the drill a shot tomorrow.  I’ll let you know in a week or two how I’m faring.  

I’ve done the ‘accuracy’ drill many times over the past few months.  Perhaps you’d be interested to know my experience of it.  I get warmed up and then start moving through numbers.  I usually start very fast, and within 20 minutes or so have 2-3 marks on a good amount of numbers.  Then, in the blink of an eye, I can’t hit anything.  My mind starts wandering and I can’t focus on the target.  I can’t hold the double or triple bed in my vision and put the dart in the target.  I start to feel anxious and frustrated.  I start to think about stopping.

This is the point at which I think I actually get better, because I have to push past all of that to finish the drill.  It’ll take a few minutes but I’ll gradually start to hit numbers again.  I usually finish the drill as strong as I started it, sometimes hitting six targets out of ten darts thrown.  This is how it goes pretty much every time I do 12-14 numbers in a session.  EVERY TIME.  Dealing with the lull (which is mental) is the best part of the practice, and I’ve found that practicing the capacity to really buckle down and focus has been the best part of doing the accuracy drill.  I can’t snap into this focus whenever I want to, but I’m becoming much more proficient at turning it on and off when I need to.  This makes it easier for me to play well consistently throughout an evening of league (dealing with waiting an hour between matches), and should I ever become a genuine tournament player it will be essential then too.

I saw that you posted my earlier email on SEWA.  I’m glad to help put a good word about the work you’ve done on behalf of the sport of darts.  I can’t wait for the new book!  

Best regards,

C. Keen