My coach thought it would be a great idea for me to attend the Steve Lane polo clinic over the weekend of June 18-19. I know this was a long time ago, and I should have blogged about it back then, but i’ve been super busy. Well, I thought it was a great idea as well, so I signed up for the clinic and then it hit me: i’ve only taken TWO lessons! I’m going to be the only total beginner in this clinic, and i’ll look like a fool! But my coach assured me i’ll be fine.
My "notes"
The clinic started off with classroom instruction, and I got my hands on the USPA rule book and a notepad. Steve had drawn a bunch of diagrams on the whiteboard, and I had no clue whatsoever what they were supposed to be of. Can I just add in here that at the time of the clinic, I had no idea what the rules of the game were? I took down a couple of notes, but most of the stuff that was discussed just flew over my head. I miss the ball 90% of the time, i’m sure I don’t need to know all this stuff yet. I loved how Steve pulled out his model horses to display various fouls. This helped me understand a bit better, but I actually need to go out there and make mistakes in order to learn.
Polo friends!
Then came the dreaded moment. After classroom instruction, came chukkers. Surely I enjoyed listening to Steve’s commentary when the advanced and intermediate players were playing. That guy says some funny things. But…what was he going to say about me when it was my turn? And all those better players would be watching me as I look like a total fool in the arena! I’ve never even played in a lesson scrimmage before, how was I going to fare during a chukker? I was nervous. I felt bad for my teammate, as I had no clue what to do out there, and anytime I even came near the ball, I missed it. I had no idea where I was supposed to be, or what I was supposed to do. But you know what? I had so much fun! All that nervousness went away and was replaced by adrenaline, and I just couldn’t stop smiling. We also played two chukkers the following day, and I even managed to hook my opponent. That’s a major feat for a newbie, if I may say 🙂 The chukkers went by way too quickly and after I got off my mount, I was thirsty for more.
So Steve probably thought I looked like a mess out there, but I don’t care. We all start off somewhere, and the fact that i’m able to start off and get advice from some of the best people in the industry makes it even better. I am totally hooked on polo by the way! Which means…it’s time to purchase some equipment. Find out what I bought in my next post!
Polo Newbie with Steve Lane