There's a sweetheart of a person in Alea Dahlgren, the outrageous dart player who resides in Lynnwood, WA.

Alea has been throwing her darts for a lot longer than you may think and she's got darts and winning in her blood. Sit down and join us as we chat with Alea and find out what makes her tick.


Alea, What steps have you taken to elevate your game?

I watch people play the game all the time. I have also shot with a lot of high-rated players. Lots of people give me ideas on how to make my game better. I try to learn as much as I can from every dart player. I mix ideas I get from different people and apply them to myself in ways it will work for me.


Are you superstitious before a big event?

No, I am not superstitious.


What has been your greatest achievement so far?

I really don't have a number one greatest achievement. I do have a couple things I am proud of. Last state I took 5th place in CCC doubles with Deborah Hansen. A couple States before that I took 9th place in CC doubles with Mischelle Christenson. There was also one time when I beat a lady named Lori Verrier. I was 11 or 12 years old. She was in the top 5 in the United States. My mom had not beaten her before. I played her a singles match and won. But my mom did beat her the same day. It was just a great feeling to beat someone that good.


Who do you credit for your skill progression?

I credit my mother for everything. She is the one who taught me how to hold the dart and play the game. She also taught me patience and how to take my time.


Which are your favorite dart houses and why?

I like Catcus Moon Saloon in Everett. I always have fun and there is always good competition there in tournaments and league. Plus Jimmie, the Dart Coordinator, is a great person.


What inspires you?

When I see how good the higher-rated players are. I know I have it in me to be that good too. Just have to practice more.


If you could make any changes anywhere in the sport, what would you do?

I would change it to where if the dart bounces out of the board it doesn't count unless it sticks. The reason being is because sometimes the dart will hit one spot but flight into another spot because of the way it bounces off of the board.


Are you doing anything to attract new players to the sport?

I do tell people I meet that I play darts and most people always want to play. A couple people I work with want to start playing darts.


Who are your favorite partners for leagues or tournaments?

Deborah Hansen; Shon Irving; Mike Williams; David Foster; and my mother, Terry Anderson. These are people I am most relaxed shooting with.


Do you have short term and long term goals in the sport and what are they?

Eventually I would like to make it to the Pit at state. And also, in the future, I would like to be at least rated an 8.


Alea, what is your sign?

Scorpio.


Have you ever eaten a worm?

Yes, If you are including gummy worms.


What's your favorite animal?

Black Panther


Favorite Alcohol Beverage?

Tarantula Tequila with lime


My Story ...

I was nine years old when I was first introduced to the game of darts. I am twenty-three now. My mother, Terry Anderson started playing darts in 1988. Back then, we lived in California, where I was born.

My mother started playing steel tip darts. She liked it so much that she bought a board to play with at the house. So I actually started playing at home with mom. But I had lots of rules, because of the sharp tips. I'd watched my mom play lots of times before I was able to do it. But it interested me so much that I had to learn how to play the game. It just looked fun and challenging. I even had to use a step stool to get my darts out of the board when I hit something at the top of the board.

I picked up the game pretty quick and learned how to keep my own score. I was always good at math; I think darts had a lot to do with that. My routine was go to school, come home and do homework, have a snack, play darts for about 2-3 hours, then go play with the kids outside. I just really wanted to get good at the game.

In 1990 we moved to here to Washington. I really didn't want to move here, but my mom said it was greener here and there were more jobs. It didn't take long for my mom to start going to big steel tip tournaments. The tournaments were for the whole weekend, kinda like state. Most of the time, the tournaments were held in bowling alleys or hotels so kids could be there also. My mom had to bring my little brother and I. We went all over the place: Yakima, Tri-Cities, Whidbey Island, Bremerton, Lynnwood, Portland, and Sacramento. It was so much fun.

When I learned how to play, everybody played each other straight up, no handicap. I don't think there were ratings for each player back then. The adults were rated 1-50 in regions and in the United States. I am not sure exactly how that worked. I know that I didn't have a rating back then. The people I liked to shoot with back then were David Foster, his cousin, Kevin Luke, my mom, and Naomi Bentz. Of course David and Kevin were better than me, but they were just a couple years older and I had to play them in the youth tournaments. I didn't like losing to them all the time, but shooting against them put pressure on me to win and get better.

I have always been really competitive. My mom and I would actually win money together most of the time we shot in tournaments. But that wasn't the goal of going to the tournaments. It was all about having fun. My mom wouldn't let me play darts if I was a poor loser so I always had to make it fun to shoot darts. Just make it so it isn't so serious.

It was funny when my mom took me to my first soft tip youth tournament. We walked into the building with a couple of soft tip boards. I turned to my mom and asked, "What is a dartboard doing on a machine? Why are all the triples and doubles so big? Oh, and mom, the bull is huge! Is this some kind of joke or something?" She just looked at me and laughed and explained that these were soft tip. The first couple of darts I threw at the board went way too high. I was so used to throwing with a heavier dart. After I had adjusted to the darts, I couldn't miss anything most of the day. But I noticed in the '01 games, the kids were going for the bulls and I was going for the triple 20 for more points. I kept on hitting it all day too. I took 2nd place that day. That was the first trophy I won. Most of the steel tip youth tournaments, they would give us plaques instead. I have a lot of those.

A lot of people that played darts back then still do play darts now. But now they play soft tip, Massey Bentz, Mike Luke, Pineapple, Brian Smith, Corey Linville, Shannon, and lots of others that were playing darts when I first started.

I probably stopped going to tournaments when I was 13 years old. I would just play every now and again but not often at all. The summer before I turned 22, I started coming to tournaments with my mom. They brought me in as a Temp 2. I played maybe two tournaments and was in the finals both times. People started to not be happy with me they thought I was a Sandbagger. But I didn't know anything about the ratings. After playing league for the first time I was a 3 at the end of the season. Currently I am a 4 and that's my story... so far.