What parts do you hail from?
I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

How long have you been playing darts?
I have been seriously (in leagues) playing for 3 years now, but I had done it for fun here and there over the years.

How did you get started?
My first ever experience playing was when I was 18 and my mom asked me to spare for her dart team because they were short a player, I had no idea how to play but agreed. They didn't care as long as they had a body. I didn't play again in a league until I moved to Edmonton and was at the Lions Head Pub, a friend asked me to join his team in a beginner league there and after that I joined the other leagues the pub was involved in.

Do you play steel-tip or electronic?
I have never even tried electronic; it looks kind of strange to me.

Do you think steel-tip is growing or lagging?
Right now I would say it is lagging, which is unfortunate, I wish more people would realize how fun and inexpensive playing darts is. Too many people spend money on pay pool tables when they could be having fun for nothing.

What needs to be done to grow steel-tip darts?
More pubs need to be involved in getting beginner leagues and more veteran players need to start getting new players interested.

What do you say about darters who insist electronic darts are not real darts?
I kind of have to agree, but what do I know? I haven't tried it, the only time I see electronic darts and boards is at garage sales for $1.

Where did you get your first set of darts and what kind were they? My mom gave me her darts when she quit playing in the Red Deer Dart League. I have no idea what kind they were, but they were 28's and had next to no grip. I learned on them when I started playing in Edmonton but have since moved on to more stable darts.

What is your favorite game and why?
501, it is the standard for all players. I love all the games and I am willing to play anything and learn any game, but I love the simplicity of 501 and the planning of your take-outs.

What is your personal cricket strategy?
Point when you are behind and close when you are ahead.

What is your favorite out?
1 dart out? 32. 2 dart out? 48.

Tell me about your first dart team...
It was at the Lions Head on Thursday nights; we played 1001 with teams of 4, double in and double out. I was brought on to shoot 4th on the team, but played better than our 3rd shooter right away so I was moved up. I pretty much stayed 3rd the rest of the year and we finished 2nd in the league.

What was the name of that first team?
Troy's Terrors!

Are you still friends with some of the darters from that first team?
I still played in that league until this season, now I am no longer a member, but of the other 3 players from that team, 2 of them were still in the league and I talked to them frequently.

What is the best way for a darter to learn to chalk?
Just do it a lot, the more you do it, the easier it gets, eventually you do it without thinking. Don't be afraid to take your time at first, if you rush yourself on the behalf of others, you will never learn properly.

What is your practice routine like?
Loosen up with some simple 20's and 19's, then once I hit my first ton, it depends on the game night. If it is "tactics" night, I hit every number in a tactics game 3 times in a single turn, if I miss getting all 3 in a turn, I start again. If it is a 501 night I throw at 170 outs in as few darts as I can. I have many practice games on a daily basis, but these are the basic ones. (Tactics is like cricket but includes triples, doubles and the numbers 14 and 13. Most people in Europe refer to tactics as "Mickey Mouse.")

Do you have a dart board setup at home? Describe it!
Yes, it was given to me by one of my favorite former teammates. He still plays at the same pub as I do, but he is on a different team now. It is a Winmau basic board; it is still in pretty good shape, though I have been beating it up a lot the last year. I make sure to rotate it a lot.

Tell me about your favorite dart pub!
Has to be the Lions Head. The atmosphere is great, the people are nice and it is really close to my house. It is the first and only pub I have played for, and after seeing most of the pubs in the city through leagues; I still say it is the best.

What would be the perfect dart pub?
Oh my... 12 boards, 8 reserved at all times for league players only, 4 for anyone who wants to play. No loud music, but still a jukebox or something. High caliber players who are willing to play a game with just about anybody, nothing is worse than a good player who thinks he is too good to give a new player a shot. The pub would put up all the plaques and/or trophies the teams won. Basically if darts were the #1 in the pub, it would be the best, no pool tables in the way or areas where drunken people can walk through the middle of a game.

Everyone wins and everyone loses. In your opinion how does a darter win and lose graciously?
This also depends on the game you are playing. In tactics you can have a bit of what I call the "NHL pre-lockout" syndrome, where a lesser player can drill points and hold back a better player, much like the old NHL. It is hard to lose graciously to someone who mongers points on you, but the best way to get past tough losses is to remember who beat you and try to get a win off of them the next time. Losing at any dart game is simply handled by trying to do better the next time.

Winning graciously is easy, just shake hands, stay humble and don't gloat under any circumstances. Don't give someone a reason to choose you as the target they want to beat badly next time, as I described above.

What is a poor sport? And how do you get a poor sport to change their ways?
A poor sport is someone who quits or gives up when things aren't going very well. I can't lie; I have been this guy a few times. I don't mean to be, it just gets so frustrating, but that is the beauty of it, once you learn to deal with the little stuff like this it gives you a new outlook on life. The whole game can be quite cosmic at times.

What are you thinking about when you step up to the line? What is going through your mind?
I think about as little as possible. Again, from game to game... in tactics I am thinking about what I need to throw at next and how many. In 501 I try to think about what I need to get to my check out. The less I think, the better. At no time do I ever think about my opponent, only the scoreboard. I never play the person, which is when things start to get bad. Darts is not personal.

Do you ever get nervous at the line and what do you do about it?
I get nervous a lot, especially against good players. This is why I try not to think about my opponent. When I get nervous I just try and breathe, take my time and focus on what I need to hit. I try to make the game about me and the board, no one and nothing else.

Tell me about your first blind draw experience...
I drew a rather good player in our city (I won't name names here). I had no idea who he was. The captain of my team at the time took me to the shoot and I was nervous, my first ever big shoot. This player and I did well; I tried to keep up as best I could. We got to the semi-finals, best of 5. It was the 5th game and I had 2 darts looking at a double 8, I wired them both on the outside. The next opponent came up and took us out. It was humbling, but we ended up in joint 3rd. The player who I was playing with looked at me and simply said, "You suck" and walked away. I would have been offended until the other players around me explained to me that this is just who this player was, so I never let it bother me, if anything it has motivated me to be better.

What goes through your mind when you draw someone as a partner who has never thrown darts before?
That the best thing to do is keep them calm and relaxed, let them play their game while trying to get the odd helpful tip in there. If a person seems willing to just relax and have fun and try their best it makes the whole thing enjoyable no matter how they play. If a person is just uptight and doesn't really want to have fun, it can make for a long night. This is true of beginners or veterans.

Tell me about your first tournament experience!
Other than the blind draw from before, the first tournament I played in was the league singles shoot 501 in the Edmonton Pub League. I drew a pretty good group, mostly people I knew from league play and I got to a playoff to make it out of my section. The player I was playing against really wanted to go home and I really wanted to keep playing, but I blew a big lead and lost the game. Ironic I am sure, but the player that beat me lost in the first playoff round to the eventual champ, so it wouldn't have been a much longer night for me anyway I don't think. I did get a 180 and a win against another very high-ranking player in our city during the sections, so that made the whole thing worthwhile.

What is your favorite tournament and why?
So far, the Snoflake, it was just so huge with all sorts of people and players and different kinds of games to play. Sure they are all 501, but there is blind draw, doubles, singles, triples and so on. It was a blast and I learned a lot from it, especially the caliber you need to be at to compete at a high level.

What is your best experience at a tournament?
Hitting my first tournament 180 and taking a win from a very high-ranking player, it gave me the confidence to realize I could compete if I kept working hard.

What is the furthest that you have traveled to play darts? Tell me the story!
Just to the other end of the city sadly, but I plan on playing in a lot more big tournaments over the course of this next year. I do not drive, so I might have to plan it with another player, but I really want to expand my experience.

What are the most number of teams that you have shot on at once? Would you do that again, and how many at once is your preference?
Four. I played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in leagues. I would do it again, in fact come September I will be doing it again. The more I play the better I will get. As for preference, I would love to play all 7 days a week on a team.

Have you watched darts on television?
Often, it is great to watch that caliber of player. I especially like to watch their checkouts and I am a big fan of when they miss, because it shows that even the best can miss.

Why do you think it has been so difficult for darts to get more exposure?
From just my experience, simply put, the people involved in it. There are a few pubs where the veteran players will not play against new players because they think they are too good for them. There are some players on teams who take the game far too seriously and make it unappealing for new players. I personally have had 3 new players on my pub league team not want to continue in pub darts because of one team in our league. No names will be named, but they fail to make it fun for new players who just want to be casual and enjoy the game.

What what should be done to promote darts?
I'm not sure? I wish I knew. I am doing what I can, I run an all beginners league out of the Lions Head that encourages new players to just come and have fun, I suppose it would be nice if this happened on a larger scale.

What words of wisdom do you have for the darter who has just started playing?
Keep playing, the more you play the better you get. Don't be afraid to ask a good player for a game, and never get upset if you lose to them, just keep trying until you beat them more than they beat you.

What has been some of your best experiences playing darts?
I have loved every minute of playing for the teams at the Lions Head, but one night in particular comes to mind. Our team went to another pub with only 5 players (6 play in a night on a team) and despite playing short, we still managed to win the night. I had never been prouder to be on that team than that night.

Are there any darters that you would like to meet? Who, and why? What would you talk to them about?
No one comes to mind; I have met the ones I really want to know as far as I know. Instead of a name, I guess I would really just like to meet any dart player who can give me the tips I need to get even better than I am now. Anyone who can help me get to that next step.

Do you have a favorite professional darter? Who and why?
I do not yet have a favorite, I like them all because each one has something different you can learn and take away from them.

In your opinion, how much of darts is mental focus and how much is the physical part of throwing darts?
In my opinion the game is mostly repetition, the more you do it the more you will get good. The more you throw at a spot, the closer you get to it over time. Adjusting how you throw is a huge thing and can take a lot of practice to change, but it is good to know when you need to adapt to something new in order to get better. Mentality is as simple as trying not to over think, just do, just play.

With your own darts and your own game, what do you think that you need to improve on? What are your best assets as a team player?
Like the majority of players out there, I need to improve on my consistency. Anyone is capable of throwing a few rounds of good darts at any given time, but doing it on a regular basis should be a goal. As a team player, my best asset is never losing confidence and leading by example. I know any new player can watch me and feel good about his or her ascension in the league, weather it is how I chalk or how I play each game like there is no one else playing the game but me.

What is the biggest mistake that most darters make? They give up without actually trying. Too many players I have seen think that just because they haven't seen a huge improvement in a short period of time that it means they will never get better. I hit this wall once too, but I didn't quit. Some players are just naturally better than others, that much is a given, but it doesn't mean you can't be better than they are at some point by just sticking with it and finding your own niche.

With regard to competitive darts, what do players need to know, or to work on, in general?
Some players get TOO competitive. I understand the desire to win, I have it too, and losing just sucks, but blowing up at teammates or opponents is just inexcusable. No one should ever think they are better than anyone else.

What has been your most trying or challenging dart experience?
I once had a player get me so angry at his comments that I was actually shaking. It was during a league night of tactics and I had to play him in singles. I just wanted to get the game over with and he took a huge league because I had no focus at all. Despite the deficit, he said something that really made me snap, and rather than get angry I just came back in the game and won it. I said nothing after that, I just packed up my stuff and left (it was the end of the night). I felt good knowing I won where it mattered.

What lessons have you learned playing darts?
There is no point in getting angry at things you can't change. This is another reason I love 501 over other games, it you against the board, not you again an opponent because you cannot affect the outcome of his game, only your own.

Do you subscribe to Bull's Eye News Magazine, why or why not? What would you like to see more of in a dart magazine or a dart website?
No, I didn't know about it, I think I had better get on that. I would love a magazine that told me about where and when all the tournaments in the country and played, or even province if that is too large of a scale. Maybe this one does that? I really need to find out.

Favorite dart websites?
I frequent the Passionate Darter, my own website of course, Edmonton Pub Darts and lhdl.ai-sports.com.

What are the biggest changes in the dart world in the past?
I haven't been around long enough to know for sure, but from what I hear there is a huge drop off in players. Edmonton alone went from over 100 teams to about 15 in that time, which to me is a sad thing; we need to get more players into this great game.

If you were a visionary, what would the dart world be like in ten years?
Well, at some point people will realize a set of darts is cheaper than a pool cue and playing darts is free as opposed to plugging a pool table. There would be more teams and more players, but more importantly, it would be fun and not overly serious.

What qualities make up a passionate darter?
Someone dedicated to playing the game just because they love to play. I can think of a few people who fit this description and all of them are people I enjoy being around when it is game time, weather they on my team or against me. Having the ability to enjoy a 180 as much as a 26 is also a pretty important quality, because it isn’t just about the scores, it is also about just sticking sharp pointy things into the big round wall mount.

What are three things that darters generally do not know about you?
#1 I don’t often lose back-to-back games to anybody. It does happen, and I have yet to have a lot of back-to-back games against the best players in this city, but I am looking forward to making this my reputation.

#2 I try to shoot a 180 a day, and most days I can do it but I want to get up to 2 or 3 at some point, and then, who knows?

#3 I don't work, I spend the vast majority of my time just playing darts, doing housework and playing on my computer. I play at least an hour a day at darts.

What are you doing when you are not playing darts?
Taking care of my wife and playing on my computer. She totally supports my dart passion!

Favorite hobbies?
Other than darts? Watching movies and playing video games.

What three words describe you best?
Loyal, dedicated and resilient.

Do you have a picture or two or three to include in this interview?
Certainly, but none playing darts, but standing in the vicinity of darts!

~ I really also wanted to add to your call on captains. I started just playing for a great captain, but in order to help our pub and our league I agreed to take over a team of my own. I think a lot of people are afraid to be a captain, but I believe if we had more captains we would have more teams. There is a lot of players out there who want to play but there are no players to lead them. Running a team is not very hard work and it is barely time consuming at all. I would really like to see more leaders step up and take initiative in running a team at their local pub. I love being a captain, and I would happily help anyone who wanted to become one.

Note from the Editor: I wrote back to Tie and asked him what his goals with regard to darts are, and suggested he subscribe to Bull's Eye News Magazine (BEN), look at the tournament listings and get outside his town to play competitively - to do his best to get up there in Canadian and later world rankings! Here is his note back...

"I am working on becoming a ranked player in my province, this fall I will be trying out for the provincial team. I am not at a level to make money yet but that is a goal. I have no idea if I can ever make the world level, I just want to be in the best leagues in my province first and I am starting to keep up with the best this city has to offer, but not quite as good yet. We have a very high caliber in Alberta and I am certain I won't make the provincial team on my first try, but I will never know until I go and give it a shot.

As for travel, I do not own a vehicle of my own, so I rely on friends and teammates for transport, this makes it tough to get to big tournaments unless they are in my city, but the provincial tryouts will involve some travel and I have made arrangements to travel with a friend who is also in the circuit.

My abilities are not consistent enough to be a top level player yet. I hit a 180 a day when I can, and do on most days. I play in 4 leagues and practice on non-league nights at home. I have no lack of dedication and stamina, but I am working on consistency. What I am doing to get to the next level is starting to become active in every shoot and league I can get. The highest level league in Edmonton is called the City League and I will be a member of that league this fall for the first time.

It's a long road, but I just love to play, every day.

Tie."