"I’ll look in the mirror and go, come on, Nath, 20 grand, come on": Nathan Aspinall has superstition of motivational pep talks before playing

Nathan Aspinall has offered an insight into his pre-match preparation. He revealed that he gives himself a pep talk in the mirror just before walking onto the stage. Rather than shouting or physically hyping himself up to create adrenaline, he relies on a personal mental routine that, according to him, helps him start matches fully focused from the very first dart.

The current World Number 14 has been through a lot of course with his wrist injury hell and dartitis issues as a result but seems to be through it now and is now more stable. He won the German Darts Grand Prix earlier this season and last year thrived on the European Tour but is it down to how he psyches himself up before matches? He spoke to the Double Tops Podcast about it.

“It’s like motivational speaking to myself in the mirror. Like jeeing myself up, pep talk. It’s more, you know, just trying to get… I need adrenaline," he said.

He stressed that his ritual is nowhere near as extreme as some methods used in other sports. He referenced boxer Daniel Dubois, who was recently slapped in the face by his coach before a fight to boost his energy levels.

“If I’m flat, there’s no point in me even going on stage. You know what I mean? So, not to the point where, like, [Daniel] Dubois’ coach is slapping him the other night in the corner.

“No, I’m not slapping myself or anything, but I am talking to myself in the mirror. Come on, Nath, come on, 10 minutes. Because obviously the games are so quick.

“You know, you can do your three-hour practice, it’s 15 minutes most of the time, it’s best of 11.

According to Aspinall, it also helps to remind himself what is at stake before a match — not just in sporting terms, but financially as well.

“So, before I go on, I’ll look in the mirror and go, come on, Nath, 20 grand, come on, you know, that type of thing. Then if I walk off and win, I’ll go, well done.”

Alongside discussing his personal routines, Aspinall also spoke extensively about how the world of darts has evolved. The image of darts as a typical pub sport is now completely outdated. While he himself started out playing in pubs around fifteen years ago, he now sees a completely different structure developing.

“The kids in it now, like the academies that there is now is unbelievable. You know, even when I first started playing 15 years ago, I practiced in a pub. That’s how I started playing darts in a pub.

Aspinall now is an ambassador and helps to run an academy in Stockport and has noticed how popular the sport has become among young people. Demand for coaching, he says, is bigger than ever.

“We’ve got like a waiting list of about 40 kids because you just physically can’t get the staff."

He also mentioned an initiative launched by Luke Littler in St Helens. The rise of these academies, he believes, is making darts increasingly professional.

“I know there is ones with 300 kids in it, Littler’s got one in St. Helens, and they’re all over the place. So now it’s not a pub sport anymore. People still say it and it grates on me. It’s becoming like football.

However, Aspinall also sees new challenges emerging as the sport continues to grow rapidly. Social media, in particular, plays a major role according to him. He is concerned about the amount of criticism and negativity young players face online.

“It’s just figuring now we’ve got to get to that next step where we train these kids for media, because social media is a vile place.

“These kids coming through, they need to learn about this like they do at football. I think it’s in that position now.”