THE margins at the top in any sport are usually very fine and rarely do they come much finer than in darts.
It's why Mayo darts star Ultan McDyer sought the help of a sports psychologist last year in the hope that it might give him an edge.
And it certainly appears to be paying off, with the Castlebar man making a name for himself with some big achievements on the oche over recent months.
After qualifying for the Modus Super Series through the ADC Ireland regional qualifiers earlier this year, Ultan showed what he was all about as he just missed out on finals night by a whisker on his debut.
That came just weeks after he had made it to the final stages at PDC Q School and is amongst a strong batch of Irish players competing on the PDC Challenge Tour.
With the new INDO ranking season just up and running, McDyer has done well there too, currently sitting in the top eight players in Ireland following the first two ranking events.
Meanwhile, last weekend McDyer picked up an impressive win by claiming the Jordan Lonergan Memorial Trophy in Waterford, beating PDC star Dylan Slevin along the way.
Speaking to Darts In Ireland, McDyer said that win will give him a lot of confidence going into other big competitions in the year ahead.
He said: "It was nice to win that trophy in Waterford, especially as there were so many top players from Ireland in it and some of the players from the PDC too.
"I had a slow enough start after a long drive over but once I got going I played well in the later rounds and that was very pleasing."
There will be a lot more travelling around Ireland in the months ahead for Ultan as he aims to take on all the INDO ranking events this year, with a view to making it onto the Irish international team.
He said playing for Ireland would be special and it's a goal he has now set himself for the year ahead.
The top 13 players in the INDO Rankings at the end of this year will be selected for the Republic of Ireland team for the Islands International tournament next January.
Ultan said he believes that's a realistic goal for him.
He said: "I certainly think I have what it takes to make the Island International team and that will be the aim this year.
"I don't want to say I'm going to finish in the top four or five as even though I could do it, there are so many good players in Ireland now that it would be difficult to finish that high up.
"When you look at those INDO events there are literally 15 to 20 players who could turn up and win them on any given weekend."
However, all the evidence shows that McDyer is certainly one of those players and he is putting his achievements this year down to working with sports psychologist Rob Kelly.
Ultan added: "I went to see Rob in Galway last year and while it might not be for everybody, I've certainly seen the benefits of it.
"It can be difficult at first as your ego takes a bit of a hit to open up to a sports psychologist but Rob was great and helped me on the mental side of the game.
"It's also helped that I've found a new set of darts that really suit me, so hopefully I can keep improving."
FOR ALL THE BEST DARTS BRANDS, CHECK OUT DOUBLE IN DARTS. JUST CLICK ON THE LOGO BELOW:
Add comment
Comments