Barry maintains progress
Last year Keane Barry announced himself as a top class darts player with not so much a bright, as a radiant, future in the professional game – and so far this year he has followed it up with the kind of form that backs up that assertion.
In 2019 he practically swept the boards claiming a string of titles including the British Darts Organisation World Youth Masters and the Junior Darts Corporation World title with both triumphs helping to put his name up in lights.
He also won the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay and played in the World Championships in the famous Alexandra Palace, London stepping into the limelight with the kind of calmness that suggests he has that rare temperament required to perform in elite sport.
It might be expected such achievements would inflate any youngsters ego, but Barry, who turned 18 in June, is as level-headed and focused as any seasoned campaigner.
The Duleek youngster took time out last Saturday morning to speak to the Meath Chronicle about how he has fared so far in this extraordinary year which has included some significant personal achievements.
Right up there is the fact that he chalked up a cherished ambition when he earned himself a full PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) ProTour card. The card will ensure he will be regularly playing the big names of professional darts for the first time in 2021.
He earned the precious card by performing consistently well in the 2020 PDC Unicorn Development Tour that was played out in Barnsley in September. He finished second in the order of merit and earned the right to take on the best.
“That was a big ambition of mine, although I wasn’t really thinking about the tour card when I was over in Barnsley. I was just thinking about doing the best I could and get as far as I could,” explained Barry who also won the ‘Young Sportsperson of the Year’ accolade at the Meath Chronicle sports awards last January.
“By the last day I realised I had the card and I could just relax. Getting the card was always something I dreamed of doing. I have it for two years and I think I can keep progressing once I keep putting in the hard work.”
Unlike other elite sports people Barry could enjoy competitive action even during the severe, complete lockdown that was introduced earlier this year.
Because of modern technology the young Duleek man was able to take part in a competition with players from Britian and Ireland. Webcams, laptops, mobile phones were all utilised in ensuring the match-ups could be played with the competition organised by a company in England with some prizemoney available.
“It was just like playing in a normal game except that you were playing in your own environment, in your own house. Some of the lads who took part have professional cards, they are top, top players. It was good because we were getting really top-quality games.
“A lot of players would have struggled without something like that. It would have been so easy to get lazy during the lockdown because you would have had nothing to work towards. I think a lot of players would have struggled but it helped to keep the momentum going. That kept everyone going.”
Barry is not only single-minded he is also confident enough to stick with the routines he feels work for him. He rarely if ever practices more than two hours a day because he says that’s right for him. He also has his own match-day routine he never wavers from.
“I just do my own thing, I don’t worry about anybody beside me and how they are playing, it works for me,” he adds. “Every game is different but I know I have to be on my game from the start, I just have to have my mind focused on what I need to do.”
Looking ahead Barry is due to play in the World Championships again which is due to be played in December but in this extraordinary year nothing is certain.
Yet even that uncertainly doesn’t appear to knock the young Duleek man off course.
“I can’t get bogged down by all that, you just have to be patient and see what is going to happen. We’ll know in the next few weeks I hope. I just have to put in my preparations and then when we find out when it is to be played just go out and do it," he concluded.