Two local dart players off to youth nationals
By JAMES TUBB on May 13, 2022.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb Two Medicine Hat dart players will be competing on the big stage. Jaliah Kochie and Sofia Mcfarlane will be repressing team Alberta when they compete at the Youth Nationals running May 19-22. The 19-year-old Kochie will be competing in nationals for her third time while Mcfarlane will be making her debut on the national stage. Rob Kochie, president of South East Alberta Youth Darts and the duo’s coach, said he’s proud of both girls in different ways for making it to nationals. “With Jaliah being my daughter, first and foremost, I’m a proud father. But this is her third time going to nationals and it’s her final hurrah because it’s her final year of eligibility, nothing like going out with a bang for her.” Rob said. “I’m also very proud of my niece (Mcfarlane) because she has been close to making prior provincials where she just missed out actually going to nationals as an outright participant. She’s actually been alternate twice now but this time she actually made the team outright and she gets to compete in all the big shoots there, so I’m very proud of her.” Jaliah is competing in the senior division and the 15-year-old Mcfarlane in the junior ranks. Chloe Kequahtooway qualified for nationals as an alternate on the senior team but had a previous commitment. Rob, who won’t be able to travel to Toronto due to work commitments, said if the duo play like they can, he sees them in the finals. “Jaliah been there and done it before, she’s finished third and second, respectively, in the junior girl category in all of Canada. So she knows what it’s like to get on stages,” Rob said. “Sophie’s caught onto this sport so quick and she’s so good. She’s so relaxed when she plays, almost looking like she’s bored when she plays. You can tell that the adrenaline’s going inside of her when she’s hitting big scores, and she’s winning games, she really gets into it.” Rob said they have a group of 15 kids every year that plays out of the Branch 17 Royal Canadian Legion and in non-COVID years have sent at least one or two kids to nationals. He said their aim as a group is not to be a place where kids can be dropped off, but a spot where they can learn the sport of darts. “We don’t let any of the kids throw a dart until they know the safety aspects of darts because they’re sharp, you can hurt somebody if they’re not thrown the right way,” Kochie said. “Once we get that out of the way, it’s all about technique, you have to know how to stand and how to throw the dart. The third step is to hit the dartboard. I want them to know why they’re hitting that dartboard. Not just hitting it, there’s a reason why we’re here. It’s a certain kind of a game we play, you have to hit the biggest score you possibly can in order to win the game, you have to hit a double, which is the outside ring of the dartboard.” Kochie said they also focus not only on darts but how to have good sportsmanship. “We want to teach them how to lose first, before they can learn how to win,” Kochie said. “I would much rather have one of my youth lose with class than win being a jerk. There’s a reason behind this sport and it comes down to respect.” 14-13
