A Stoke-on-Trent darts coach has become the second person in the world to achieve an advanced coaching qualification from the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA).

Shaun Rogers, of SWR Darts Coaching, has recently completed the level 2 coaching course, launched by the PDPA this year.

This makes Shaun – who has been a darts coach for eight years - one of only six people in the world to hold the qualification.

Shaun said: "I have been a darts coach for eight years now and it has been my full-time job for the last three and a half, but to get the level 2 qualification was massive for me."

"The PDPA accreditation just gives you that backing of an industry name in darts," he added.

It comes after Shaun became the seventh person to pass the PDPA's level one coaching course last year.

There are now around 190 coaches qualified to this level.

To achieve his level 2, the darts coach had to submit a portfolio, undertake eight weeks of work with a player, and complete an in-person assessment.

Shaun said he is very proud of this latest achievement in his darts career, which began in 2003 due to a cancelled dominoes game.

Having been a member of a dominoes team previously, a friend of Shaun's convinced him to throw some darts after a game got cancelled.

"If you'd have told me back then - when I threw those first darts in the pub - that come 2026 I would be one of the only six PDPA qualified darts coaches, I would have laughed at you straight away," Shaun said.

He added: "I played that first night, and I've never looked back really."

Shaun offers one-to-one coaching for darts players ranging from beginners and amateurs all the way up to professionals at his studio at Blythe Business Park.

The coach, who offers sessions for players aged seven and over, explained that "anyone can throw a dart", but training can help them to throw with accuracy.

He said: "Anyone can throw a dart towards a dart board - that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to hit the dartboard where you want it to.

"You can throw a dart towards the dartboard, but to create that accuracy of getting the three darts in the 20 section, it all comes down to the systems and training.

"It's about making sure that when you're training, that you're doing it right. You are making sure your stance is right, your body's right, your mechanics are there, as well as the mindset of the dart player.

"And that's where, as a coach, I come in massively and help players."

To find out more about SWR Darts Coaching, visit the website here.