"You can’t play the game" - Joe Cullen uncertain about the rise of coaching in darts

As a new wave of younger darters are set to take the darting world by storm, they are getting advice by a number of darts coaches, overseeing their progress to the top level. It is something that Joe Cullen is very uncertain about, naming just Wayne Mardle as the only standout figure offering out guidance.

He was unconvinced around a number of names in this area of the sport. As more young people start to take the sport seriously, coaching becomes necessary to get that extra level on the oche, mastering that technique and dishing out the best advice needed for the darters.

This is an opportunity for many people in the darting world to have a go advising and directing players in the right direction. From Cullen's perspective, not many of them have the credentials or experience to take on this role. While not against it, the former Masters champion believed that the right people need to be handing out the tips and tricks.

Speaking to Winmau, Cullen said: “I wouldn’t be against it. But I think it is only Wayne [Mardle] the sort of reputable one at the minute. There are so many people trying to come through and do certain things. Maybe Glen [Durrant] but I have not seen much of his stuff. But I have seen a few of Wayne’s."

'The Rockstar' felt that coaches had to have the experience behind them from competing on the big stage to back up their knowledge of the sport set to be passed down. "I think it is difficult and there are people doing coaching courses but I am like, you can’t play the game. But then the other side of it, Roger Federer’s coach can’t play tennis, can he? There must be some sort of logic to it somewhere.”

Away from coaching, Cullen also admitted his dislike against playing against tall players. “It sounds weird actually, but I don’t like playing tall players. If I am playing Jonny [Clayton] I can see straight over his head." he stated.

He named a few examples. “So, Jimmy van Schie, Mensur [Suljovic] is a big guy. Boris [Krcmar] there is a few big guys so you have to lurch to see what they are hitting. I don’t know. I think them players will say you don’t play the player you just play the board. It is so difficult to do."

Cullen prefers to see what his opponents score on stage, sensing an opportunity when it comes. His focus can be impacted at the same time.

“I remember when I was first coming through, the few big names if I drew Phil Taylor, you know you are playing Phil Taylor. You can say you are just playing the board but when a big chance comes, you know who you are playing. I think that is the biggest challenge in darts, the mental side of it far more than the technical side.”

Cullen is currently competing at the Slovak Darts Open. He got past Hungarian Peter Kelemen 6-3 in his opening match and will take on Ross Smith. While not the tallest opponent, 'Smudger' still has a bit of height which may impact Cullen on stage in Bratislava.