Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

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a massive zebra
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Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by a massive zebra » Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:56 pm

I would have thought anyone with the ability to become one of the worlds leading darts players must always have possessed a great level of ability in order to be able to compete at that level. Talent and ability is not something that appears out of nowhere in the middle of someone's life; you either have it or you don't. Also, humans reach their physical peak in their 20s and attributes like strength, co-ordination, concentration and reaction time have been shown to decline gradually from the 30s onwards.

So why do some players, such as Dennis Priestley, Peter Wright, Glenn Durrant, Martin Adams and Terry Jenkins suddenly become world class players in their 40s having done sod all in the game in their 20s and 30s?

Did they not play at younger ages? Not practice enough to make the most of their ability? Lack the self confidence to compete competitively? Lack bottle at younger ages? Did the BDO guys like Adams and Durrant really improve or did they simply no longer have to face up to quality opposition?

I would be interested to hear what you think...
Last edited by a massive zebra on Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Randall
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Re: Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by Randall » Sun Jan 13, 2019 11:21 pm

In the case of old timers like Dennis, even Taylor, they came late to the game, presumably due to money. Taylor was a known entity before he went on tour.
Wright was playing years back and packed In before being tempted back by money.
Adams was around trying to qualify for years but had to wait for the split to do do.
Durrant, oshea said he has known him for 20 years but had only recently taking the game seriously, or professionally.
Don't think any of these people suddenly became good.
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PT13
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Re: Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by PT13 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:01 am

Dennis Priestley was a county player for Yorkshire since the 1970s, and his job was a coal merchant and later a newsagent, before he got into the BDO tour properly. I reckon he was always close to being that good, but darts was just a hobby for him for a long time, not his real work. As for Terry Jenkins, he left darts for a few years from 1994-1996, and he was probably the most prominent player (with hindsight) to be banned for associating with WDC players in exhibitions. But yes, Terry Jenkins did seem to up his level considerably in late 2006, but he also had other big interests away from darts, like being an expert in antiques.

a massive zebra
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Re: Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by a massive zebra » Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:24 am

Thanks for your informative replies, Randall and PT13.

I guess if we are going to be inclusive, Lisa Ashton is other to whom this applies. But one could argue it is different for women because if you have children, women are more often than not the primary caregivers. As Lisa has two daughters, she most likely prioritised them over her darts career to an extent most men would not.

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Randall
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Re: Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by Randall » Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:31 am

These people were always good players but opportunities and funds were closed to them.
Don't think this will happen now, certainly not in the pdc.
It's possible there is another durrant playing county who might appear if the top 8 all vanish again.
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Re: Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by SolidSCB » Mon Jan 14, 2019 9:51 am

In the case of Durrant, it's a combination of all the proper players moving across to the PDC years ago and him taking the game seriously so he can maximise his talent in a way few if any of the other guys on the merry old pissup tour do. He's a professional playing amongst amateurs who are happy to be there for a week on the lash.

But it's one of them, darts is one of those 'sports' that requires so little physicality that you can still get better way past your physical peak and is doubly beneficial to these guys in that it requires very little on the mental side either unlike say, snooker. So even when your body is declining and your mind is getting a little slower with age it doesn't hinder your ability to throw a dart accurately. All it takes is a lot of dedication and a dollop of natural talent to begin with.

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Mabbsy
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Re: Why do some players suddenly become good in their 40s?

Post by Mabbsy » Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:39 pm

According to the ardent hardcore Shrooms, Adams matured :lol:

Right place, right time comes to mind too, sometimes players get a lucky break and away they go up the rankings I guess.

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