Dan Dawson on the JDC
DAN Dawson has praised the JDC for taking junior darts into new territories – and said the players coming through the junior system will provide the stories that “carry the game of darts into the next few years and decades”.
The popular commentator is synonymous with the pro game but he keeps a close eye on all levels of darts – and is full of admiration for what the Junior Darts Corporation is doing.
He cited the example of Mongolian teenager Khurelkhuu Tergel as how the JDC is reaching new territories in its quest to unearth new darting talent.
“You look at the number of top players now who have come through the Development Tour and World Youth Championships – that is massive,” Dawson told DartAsylum.
“The next step, of course, is the Junior Darts Corporation, and we can look at Luke Littler as an example of a graduate of that system.
“I can’t say enough good things about the JDC. I think they are brilliant and they too are now expanding into different territories.
“We’ve got Tergel, the lad from Mongolia, for example – there’s so much exciting work going on getting young people interested in this sport and long may it continue.”
Tergel is one of the rising stars of the JDC circuit, and arguably only the tip of the darting iceberg in his home country, where junior darts is being taken very seriously.
Players such as English duo Archie Self and Jack Nankervis are also catching the eye, along with Scottish pair Mitchell Lawrie and Owen Bryceland.
Bryceland gained national media attention – and was name-checked by PDC star James Wade – after throwing a 104.86 average at the age of 10 earlier this year.
“I think you constantly have to have that fresh input of new players, new blood coming through,” said Dawson.
“There always needs to be new stories and those new stories are what’s going to carry the game of darts into the next few years and decades.”