Whether young people or adults, huge numbers of people are taking up darts and need coaching.

With the recent Luke Littler-inspired surge in darts' popularity, more people want to get into the sport.

Whether young people or adults, huge numbers of people are taking up darts and need coaching.

Brian Ivey is a Level Two PDPA (Professional Darts Player Association) coach, and the director of the Paignton Darts Academy.

According to Ivey, a conversation with a friend about how to get more people playing darts made him want to get into coaching, after playing himself since about 1980 from the age of 10.

"At the time pubs and clubs were removing dart boards and turning into eateries," he said.

"We sat there and decided to start the Paignton darts academy. Something that was a relatively new idea.

"We started with five juniors. After a while I found the JDC, (Junior Darts Corporation,) and with their help we became the only academy south of Bristol.

“Working with the JDC I helped create the JDC level one coaching course.

"Unfortunately, coronavirus >Covid hit and it was two years later before I was able to take the course.

"In the following year I took their level two course. It was then that I started to coach both adults and children.

"I then became one of the first people to take the Sightright coaching course to further my education.

“I was then approached about being one of the first to take the PDPA Level One coaching course in 2025.

"And again, this year I became one of the first four people in the world to achieve a Level Two coaching qualification."

Ivey offered insight into how it felt seeing young talent develop in his academy.

"When we first started the academy it was a club for juniors to play, but then with the JDC, a pathway to play darts at a top level was opened up," he said.

“With the growth of the PDC and darts on telly, juniors wanted some of the action.

"At our little club, we suddenly had juniors who wanted more than just to play.

“We had a young player from near Lands End travel up each weekend, as there wasn’t anything around in Cornwall. His name was Jack Nankervis, who is now one of the best junior players in England.

“Another academy player Pacey Large from Dawlish, who qualified for the 2018 JDC World Championships in Gibraltar.

“The academy also started to feed juniors into the Devon youth team and has since provided them with over 15 players including four girls.”

Ivey has also started his own face-to-face coaching, under the name Poisonivey darts, coaching juniors and adults, with a range of beginners, and players competing at county level.

His dream is: “to coach a professional player and sit in the player’s area as they are on stage," while continuing to pass on his knowledge to the younger generation.