Online Darts Coaching vs In Person: Which Works Better?
- Matt Tizzard
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Here is the honest answer, and I will give it before the article rather than making you scroll for it.
For most players, online coaching works just as well as in person, and for ongoing work it often works better.
In person wins in three specific situations, which I will come to. Everything else is either a tie or a win for online, and the reason is not what most people expect.
I coach both ways. I have a studio in Worcester where players come to me, and I coach players online across the UK and abroad. So I have watched the same problems get solved both ways, hundreds of times, and I have a fairly clear view of where each format earns its money.
Why people ask this question in the first place
Almost nobody chooses online coaching because they prefer it. They choose it because there is no coach within a sensible drive.
Darts has a coaching shortage. The PDPA Level 1 qualification only launched in 2025, and the first cohort was 113 people for the whole country. Even now, most players in Britain do not have a qualified coach within an hour of their house.
If you live in the Highlands, mid Wales, Cornwall or half of Lincolnshire, online is not a compromise, it is the only option on the table.
So the real question is not "which is better in theory". It is "am I getting a worse deal by going online". And the answer, mostly, is no.
What actually happens in a coaching session
Worth setting out, because the comparison only makes sense once you know what the work consists of.
A good session is roughly the same in both formats:
Assessment. I watch you throw, normally and then under a bit of pressure, and find out what your game actually looks like rather than what you think it looks like.
Video capture. Slow motion, from at least two angles.
Review together. You watch your own throw back, usually for the first time, and see the thing I am describing.
One or two changes. Not six. You leave with a small number of things you can actually hold.
A practice plan. Structured, measurable, built around your specific faults.
Look at that list and notice something. Four of those five steps are identical online. The core diagnostic tool in modern darts coaching is slow motion video, and video does not care whether I am stood next to you or watching from Worcester.
That is the point most people miss when they assume in person must be better.
Where online coaching genuinely wins
You throw on your own board, in your own room. This one is underrated and it is my strongest argument for online. In my studio you throw on my board, in my light, at my height, in a room you have never been in. That is not where your problem lives. Your problem lives in your garage, on your board, in your lighting, in the room you actually practise in. Online, I see your real conditions, and I have lost count of the number of faults that turned out to be a board hung 4 cm low or a light casting a shadow across the treble 20.
Frequency, which matters more than intensity. A two hour in person session followed by nothing for six months achieves very little. Six half hour online check ins over three months achieves a great deal, because I can catch a change going wrong at week two rather than finding out at month six that you have drifted. Online makes that cadence affordable and practical. In person almost never does.
Cost, honestly. No travel for either of us, no fuel, no half day off work, and shorter sessions become viable. A 30 minute online review is a sensible thing to buy. A 30 minute in person session, after a 90 minute drive each way, is not.
You keep the recordings. Every online session leaves you with video and notes you can go back to. In person you leave with a memory of what I said, which fades faster than you would like.
Reach. I have coached players in Ireland, the Netherlands and Australia. None of that happens in a studio in Worcester.
Where in person genuinely wins
I said there were three situations, and here they are.
First, physical positioning and balance. Stance, weight distribution and how you load your front foot are things I can sometimes feel better than I can see. If your balance is subtly wrong, being able to stand beside you, move your foot two inches and have you feel the difference is quicker than any amount of describing it down a camera. I can fix balance online. It just takes longer.
Second, juniors and complete beginners. A twelve year old picking up darts for the first time needs a different kind of attention, and holding a young player's focus through a screen is hard work for both of you. If you are looking for coaching for a junior, I would push you towards in person if it is at all possible.
Third, pressure and playing. Nothing on a video call replicates the feeling of somebody stood next to you, watching, while you throw at a double you need. Playing against your coach, being watched in the room, having a session where the pressure is real, is a genuinely different experience. This is why the in person events matter, and why I run DartsMatt Live as an in person day rather than a webinar.
There is a fourth thing, and it is not really about coaching. Some people simply get more out of being in a room with somebody. If that is you, you know it about yourself already, and you should factor it in.
Head to head
Online | In person | |
Video analysis quality | Same | Same |
Sees your real practice setup | Yes | No |
Physical adjustment of stance | Slower | Faster |
Practical session frequency | High | Low |
Cost per session | Lower | Higher |
Travel time | None | Often significant |
Recordings to keep | Yes, standard | Sometimes |
Suits juniors and beginners | Workable | Better |
Pressure and match play | Limited | Better |
Available wherever you live | Yes | Only if local |
My honest opinion, as somebody who sells both
If money and geography were no object, I would do this: one in person session to start, then online from there.
The first session is where the physical stuff gets sorted, where I get a proper look at your balance and alignment in the room, and where the relationship gets built. After that, the ongoing work is genuinely better online, because what you need at that stage is regular, short, cheap check ins on your own board, and that is exactly what online does best.
But I want to be clear, because this is the part where a coach usually hedges: if you cannot get to an in person session, you are not getting a second rate service. The players I have made the biggest difference to in the last two years have mostly been online players, because online players come back every few weeks. The in person ones tend to come once, get a lot from it, and then I do not see them again until something goes wrong.
Frequency beats format. That is the whole answer really.
How to set up for an online session
This is where people leave value on the table. A well set up online session is worth double a badly set up one, and it takes ten minutes to sort.
Two camera angles. This is the single most important thing.
Side on. Position the camera on your throwing arm side, level with your elbow, roughly two metres away. This is the angle that shows elbow drop, backswing length and follow through.
Face on. Camera behind or beside the board looking back at you, or mounted above the board. This shows alignment, head position and whether your dart is travelling straight.
If you only have one device, do side on first, then move it. If you have a phone and a tablet, use both.
Framing. Get your feet, your head and the board in shot. A close up of your hand looks useful and tells me almost nothing, because the fault is usually somewhere else in the chain.
Height. Elbow height, not floor height and not head height. Cameras looking up or down distort the angles I am trying to measure.
Landscape, not portrait. And 60 frames per second if your phone offers it, since slow motion off a 30 fps clip is mush.
Light from the front. Light behind you turns you into a silhouette. If your only window is behind you, close the curtains and use a lamp in front.
A tripod, or something that does the job. A cheap phone tripod is about a tenner and it is the best coaching investment you will make. A stack of books works.
Check your board first. Height 1.73 m to the bullseye, oche at 2.37 m, diagonal 2.93 m. If those are wrong, we will spend the first ten minutes of your session on it, which is a waste of your money when a tape measure would have done it.
Warm up before we start. Twenty minutes of throwing, so I see your game rather than your cold game.
Have your numbers. Your rough three dart average, your checkout percentage if you track it, and an honest sentence about what is going wrong. Bring the problem, not just the darts.
Is online darts coaching any good? Three myths
"You cannot see enough through a camera." You can see more, not less. I can slow your throw to a tenth of speed, freeze it at release, and put two clips side by side. Standing next to you, I am watching something that takes 0.3 seconds at full speed.
"It is a cheap version of the real thing." It is a different delivery of the same work. The diagnosis, the video, the plan and the follow up are identical. What you lose is my hand on your shoulder and the atmosphere of the room.
"I will not be able to do it, I am not technical." Everybody says this and nobody has ever failed to manage it. It is a video call and a phone on a tripod. If you can join a work meeting, you can do this.
Which should you choose?
Choose in person if: you are within a reasonable drive, you are booking for a junior, you have a balance or stance problem you already know about, or you simply learn better in a room with somebody.
Choose online if: there is no coach near you, you want regular ongoing work rather than a one off, you want to be coached on your own board in your own conditions, or budget matters.
Choose both if you can: one in person to start, online to keep it moving.
Frequently asked questions
Is online darts coaching any good?Yes. The core of darts coaching is slow motion video analysis, which works identically online, and coaching on your own board in your own conditions is a genuine advantage. In person is better for physical stance adjustment, juniors, and pressure play.
How does online darts coaching work?You set up a phone or laptop so your coach can see you and your board, throw while they watch, and record short clips from two angles. The coach reviews the video with you, identifies one or two changes, and gives you a practice plan. Sessions run over a standard video call.
What equipment do I need for online darts coaching?A phone or laptop with a camera, a way to stand it up at elbow height, a regulation board setup, decent front lighting and a stable internet connection. A ten pound phone tripod is the only thing most players need to buy.
Is online darts coaching cheaper than in person?Usually, yes, and the bigger saving is in travel and time. It also makes shorter, more frequent sessions practical, which for most players produces better results than one long session.
Can dartitis be treated online?Yes. Dartitis work is largely diagnostic and process based, and it needs frequent short check ins rather than one long session, which suits online well.
What if I do not have a dartboard at home?Then in person is the better option, or set up a board first. Online coaching only works if you can throw during the session and practise between them.
Do I need to be any good to book coaching?No, and this is the most common thing that stops people booking. I coach first season league players and county standard players, and the first session is an assessment, not a test.
Work with me at DartsMatt
I coach both ways, and I will tell you honestly which one suits you rather than which one is easier for me to sell.
I am Sight Right qualified and working through the PDPA coaching programme, which means safeguarding trained, DBS checked and working to a proper code of conduct.
I coach online across the UK and abroad, and in person from my studio in Worcester, from first season league throwers to county standard.
If you are not sure which format is right for you, tell me where you are, what your setup looks like and what is going wrong, and I will tell you straight.
