WATERFORD youth darts manager Lewis O'Regan suspected his team had plenty of potential, but little did he expect them to make it to within one throw of being in the INDO Inter Counties final on their debut.
Had it not been for a sensational 154 checkout from Westmeath's Oisin Gilchrist in the very last leg of a hard fought semi-final, that place in the final could very well have been Waterfords.
It was a stunning run for a group of players who had never played at the INDO Inter Counties before.
Speaking to Darts In Ireland, Lewis said they have come a long way since he initially held a Youth darts open night in Waterford with the hope of attracting half a dozen young players.
"We got 25 players along that night and now have up to 38 youth players in Waterford, which is fantastic," Lewis said.
It meant Lewis, with the help of Waterford's Ireland international Dean Finn Forde and Gary Caulfield , B team managers Pat Kiely and Liam Smith, and Billy McGrath and George Fitzgerald, were able to bring three teams to the Inter Counties in Galway over the weekend.
All three teams acquitted themselves very well, with the Waterford C team , made up of Tadgh Murphy, Evan Walsh, Cian Fitzgerald, Ryan Walsh, Kayden Grant and Alex Kiely finishing 4th in Group 7 and making it to the second round of the shield competition on Sunday.
The Waterford B team, made up of TJ Higgins, Eric Reid, Jay Flannery, Lee Earle, Rhys Grant and Jack Kennedy making it out a tough group alongside Cork A and Galway D.
Meanwhile, the Waterford A team, containing Jack Caulfield, Harry Fitzgerald, Jake O'Brien, Cian Walsh Gahan, Johnny Smith and Alex Smith, topped their group after picking up 19 points from five games.
Waterford B were knocked out in the first round of the knockout stages on Sunday after an agonising 3-2 defeat to Kerry, but wins over Leitrim, Limerick and Mayo saw Waterford A storm into the semi-finals.
Their semi-final game against Westmeath was one of the best matches of the entire tournament, going right down to the very last leg between Johnny Smith and Westmeath's Oisin Gilchrist.
That leg was on a knife-edge until Gilchrist smacked in two treble 19s to leave himself on double top, which he duly took out with his last dart in hand.
"That is one of the best checkouts I have ever seen," Dean Finn Forde told Darts In Ireland.
"Obviously our Waterford lads were upset to lose the game but they had played brilliantly all weekend and can be very proud of themselves.
"The great thing for Waterford darts is that the players on that team are all aged between 11 and 16, so they will be around for another few years yet and will get stronger."
Lewis O'Regan said it shows just what can be achieved if youngsters are given the opportunity to play darts.
He has urged others who might be thinking of setting up youth darts in their county to just go for it.
He said: "I've had people say to me that they wouldn't know how to run a youth academy or a trial or a tournament but they should just start with an open night like I did.
"All you need then is a few boards and put it out there to see how many youths are interested in playing.
"We've had unreal interest here in Waterford and with the whole Luke Littler effect I'd be surprised if it's not the same everywhere now."
While playing at the INDO Inter Counties is the pinnacle for the young players, Lewis said there are so many other benefits for them in taking up darts.
He added: "It's a great way for them to get out and socialise. They are making friends and doing something they really enjoy."
Meanwhile, Dean Finn Forde said it was also great to see the competitive streak come out in their players at the tournament.
"They had played at the Munster Championships already and really got the taste for it there," Dean said.
"You can already see that they all have the confidence to get up and play their game and they all have this attitude that they don't like to lose.
"We knew they were good players and when the A team topped their group and were then on the opposite side of the draw to that very good Carlow team we felt they could go far, but to make it to the semi-finals on their debut was a great achievement."
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