For Jules van Dongen, his professional darts career ended just as it was taking off. The Netherlands-born darter, now living in Parkville, USA, lost his hospitality job during the COVID pandemic in 2021 and turned his hobby into a profession. After two successful years on the American circuit, he secured a Tour Card at Q-School in 2022, with the highlight being his appearance at the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in early 2024. After losing his pro status later that year, he fought back through Q-School, but a mysterious injury was unfolding.
Van Dongen struggled to hold his darts. “Initially, I thought it was a grip issue,” he told The Kansas City Star. “I twist the dart onto my thumb before I throw it, and I couldn’t twist it anymore. My thumb basically wouldn’t cooperate.” Despite seeing an orthopedic specialist, getting physical therapy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and working with a sports psychologist, nothing helped. He eventually diagnosed himself via a late-night internet search: task-specific dystonia, a neurological disorder causing muscle cramps during specific actions. A neurologist confirmed the diagnosis. “Acceptance was the hardest part,” he said. “I felt my career was on the rise. All of a sudden, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you.”
With his career effectively over, Van Dongen needed a new goal. He found it in cycling, a longtime hobby. He planned a coast-to-coast ride from Santa Monica, California to Yorktown, Virginia – over 4,800 kilometers. His wife Linda initially said, “You’re crazy. It’s not happening,” but quickly got on board. The project, named Pedals and Points, aimed to raise awareness for dystonia, which affects nearly 300,000 Americans according to the Cleveland Clinic. Along the way, he visited darts venues, played exhibition matches, and documented everything on social media, also working on a documentary.
The 76-day journey was grueling. “The first day went well, but then Days 2, 3 and 4, a lot went wrong,” van Dongen said. He faced road closures in California, highways in New Mexico, aggressive wild dogs in Kentucky, and fourteen punctures – which he later commemorated with a tattoo. He slept in an RV, rationing water and electricity. The finish in Yorktown was anticlimactic: pouring rain, his family in cars, only one journalist present. But along the way, he rediscovered joy in darts, playing relaxed matches free from pressure. “I definitely learned how to have fun again playing darts and not just have my mood be dictated by results,” he said.
Although his right hand is still limited by dystonia, Van Dongen has started learning to play left-handed, hoping to become the first professional darter to compete at a high level both right- and left-handed. After nine months of training, he acknowledges it will take years. Through Pedals and Points, he has raised $14,500 for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. “I hope through raising awareness that we can spread the word and get people on the right track,” he said. Looking back, he credits his wife Linda’s support and his own relentlessness. “I have to have something to strive for in life,” he said. “Things could be so much worse, even for me. It’s not nice, but I’m still healthy, and I’m still here.”
