STOP THROWING DARTS!

The phrase "Throwing Darts" is a common way of describing our sport, but it is an inaccurate description.  However, "Stroke" would be a much more accurate description of how darts should be "thrown".

Other sports have similar problems with descriptions, such as "hitting a golf ball".  Golf pros will tell you that one should never try to "hit" a golf ball.. instead, the golf swing should be a stroke which continues through the ball.

In billiards, the same applies:  don't try to "hit" the cue ball.  Instead, there should be a smooth stroke of the cue, extending a visual line through & past the cue ball.  Professional pool players often say that one should aim at the back side of the cue ball, not the front of it. 

In darts, try to visualize the dartboard as a window, through which you reach with your hand, extending the stroke far past the physical dartboard.

Why?  It has to do with one's perception of distance and how much power to apply to a thrown object.  

If you look directly at a dartboard (or golf ball, cue ball), then the subconscious mind will estimate how much power is needed to reach that object, and will prompt the body to only apply that much energy.  This leads to the dart dropping into a low-power and inaccurate arc as it nears the board.

However, looking past the dartboard will result in more power applied smoothly to the dart, and it will reach the board while still in the flat part of the trajectory.  The flat trajectory is far more accurate than having the dart drop into an unpredictable arc at the end of its power curve.

This follow-through, which can be described as an extended stroke, is universal to all types of sports.

So, stop Throwing Darts at the dartboard, and start Stroking through the target!