Luke Littler inspires new generation of darts players
Luke Littler is inspiring a new generation of darts players.
“Wow! Do a 180 right now!” Coach Carl Holden yells as 11-year-old Jack Evans throws a ball. “No, 123. Ah, that person takes it.”
“It’s hand-eye coordination. You can’t see what’s going on beyond the corner of your eye. It will happen again. All the best players do it,” he tells the talented Jack, who was born in the Carl St Helens dart shop in Merseyside.
Carl is talking to me via video call from the back room of his favorite store. Behind him, on the wall hang hundreds of photos of the players he has coached over the years. Darts prodigy and St Helens graduate Luke Littler made 15 appearances. He entered his first small shop when he was 11 years old. “When he was 12, he hit 180, or 90 for average 9. Then I realized he was so good,” said Karl, who is also a coach at a local academy.
