Photo: PDC
Ryan Searle is a professional darts player from England. He is nicknamed 'Heavy Metal' due to his love of rock music. Ryan is known for his powerful throws, consistent performances at the highest level and for having ADOA. Ryan throws unusually heavy darts, weighing 32 grams - much heavier than most professionals use. He is currently ranked 19th on the PDC Order of Merit.
How it started
His parents always watched darts on TV. When he was seven, they bought him a board. Later, when he was thirteen, he had one in his bedroom. He started playing for a local pub team when he was twenty-one, with a friend who was eighteen. They were the youngest in the team – everyone else was older. It wasn’t a professional team, but part of the amateur pub league in England. It wasn’t a preconceived idea, just something he enjoyed. Something that felt natural.
Ryan can’t explain why he’s so good. “Maybe I just have a good feeling for it,” he says. He’s always been competitive, he’s played football and rugby and did some skateboarding. Darts just felt right.
Practice online
The interview takes place over the phone. Despite an appointment, Ryan doesn’t pick up right away. A little later he calls back, apologetic but cheerful. He had to cancel a digital practice match with Damon Heta. “I was just getting into it, I completely forgot about the time,” he says. They train remotely with a smart dartboard that automatically keeps track of the scores. It’s not the same as being on stage, but it keeps him sharp.
Although he had always had poor eyesight, his vision suddenly deteriorated four years ago. This is common with ADOA, but Ryan didn’t know it at the time. He just noticed that driving at night had become difficult. “It felt dangerous,” he says. “I knew I had to do something.” He never wanted to go to an optometrist, but now that he had children and was traveling with them, he felt responsible for them. For years, he thought he simply had astigmatism. Finally, he booked the eye exam that would change everything. When he realized how bad his vision really was, he started wearing contact lenses.
The effect of contact lenses
The lenses don’t fix everything, but they make a big difference. They take away some of the blur. “As soon as I got my contacts, I went from 58th to 13th,” Ryan says. He can’t imagine playing without them. Before he started wearing them, he often had to stop and ask the referee what he had scored. It was especially frustrating because he’s a naturally fast player. Having to ask all the time threw him off his rhythm. Sometimes, his blurry vision also provided some nice surprises. One time, he thought he had scored 60 points, but it turned out to be 180.
His optometrist is always amazed. Every time Ryan comes in, she looks at his test results and can’t believe he’s playing darts professionally, let alone at the world level. “She thinks it’s amazing how good I am at darts,” Ryan says. “She knows how bad my eyesight is.”
Difficult light
Working conditions at tournaments aren’t ideal for Ryan. The warm-up is usually fine, with good lighting at the practice boards. But then the players go backstage, where it’s much darker. Then they walk back onto the stage, with bright lights. These changes are difficult for Ryan. His eyes don’t adjust quickly. “It’s one of the hardest parts for me,” he says. He’s in talks with the PDC to see if anything can be done about it. On TV, the dartboards may look perfectly lit, but in reality, the lighting can be quite dim, especially in certain venues. And dim lighting is difficult for Ryan. “But if the lights are too bright, that doesn’t help either,” he says.
Ryan didn’t find out he had ADOA until after his daughter was diagnosed. That moment led to conversations within the family. The pieces of the puzzle started to come together. It turned out his father had it, and so did his grandmother. His son likely has it, too, although his symptoms are milder. His grandmother can’t remember if anyone else in the family has had similar vision problems.
Positive attitude
Despite everything, Ryan remains positive. “Not being able to see properly is not fun,” he says, “but there are much worse things.” He is coping well in everyday life. “I can handle everyday things,” he says. “I just had another eye test and fortunately my vision is still good enough to drive. That is a relief, otherwise I would have to rely on my wife to take me to my matches.”
Looking back, Ryan thinks it was probably a good thing he didn’t know he had ADOA. “If I had known, I probably wouldn’t have bothered playing darts,” he says. He would have assumed it wasn’t possible. That he didn’t stand a chance. Not knowing gave him the chance to just play and find out what he was capable of at the world level.
