From left, Hayden Moodley, from Portland, Kendrick Koordom, from Macassar and Jayden Moodley will take part in next week’s JDC world championship in Gibraltar.
Portland siblings Jayden Moodley, 15, and his younger brother Hayden, 13, along with Kendrick Koordom,17, from Macassar, are gearing up to compete in next week’s Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) World Championships, in Gibraltar.
The trio, all members of the Devon Petersen Darts Academy in Goodwood, will be joined by two players from Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape, on their journey to the British territory located on the southern end of the Iberian peninsula, next to Spain.
Keen to pack their bags, the youngsters popped in at Racketlon Sports Store in Salt River at the weekend, to pick up much-needed supplies, extra darts flights and other goodies that might come in handy at the championships.
The youngsters were selected following rigorous evaluation sessions at the academy, finishing in the top 3.
The academy was established earlier this year by Petersen, formerly from Portland, now living in England and plying his trade on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) European circuit.
Over the years he has established quite a reputation on the pro circuit and is the highest ranked African player on the Euro tour.
In 2020, Petersen was crowned German darts champion, becoming the first player from the continent to win a PDC ranking event when he beat Welshman Jonny Clayton 8-3 in the final in Hildesheim.
Petersen said the academy was established to prepare young players like the Moodley brothers to play on the world stage and offer them an opportunity to compete with the best of the best.
“The boys trip came about when I wanted to give our youth an opportunity to dream big and experience more. We want to create an environment that will help develop their skills and potential that will unlock the darting world for them. The academy set out to create this opportunity and we achieved this through sacrifice and team work,” said Petersen, who funded the trip with help from Shot Darts in New Zealand and Fitzdares in the United Kingdom and various fundraising initiatives.
While the boys can hardly wait to have a go at the board, they will certainly have their work cut out in Gibraltar.
Their competitive nature should stand them in good stead, as both have confidence in their ability to take on any one, including each other, when it comes to playing darts.
As things stand, Hayden is the newly-crowned Mitchell’s PLain Recreation Association men’s Division A champion and Jayden a member of the Mitchell’s Plain men’s team selected to take part at the national championships in Johannesburg earlier this year.
When asked what they like best about the sport, the brothers answered in unison, “It increases our concentration span, it’s also nice to meet new people all the time and develops quick thinking capacity,” All of the above will certainly be put to the test in Gibraltar.
Clearly the boys have a knack for hitting the mark as both also love playing basketball, with Hayden saying he has the edge over his older brother when it comes to shooting hoops. Jayden on the other hand, reckons his baby brother is no match for him when it comes to playing chess.
“For me the best thing about playing darts,” said teammate Kendrick, a Grade 10 pupil at Zandvlei High, “is that this game can change your life and you can achieve a lot of things by playing this sport. I wont change this sport for any other sport.”