It was all about the youth this weekend at Midland Polo Club! Sixteen junior players from the Southwest and Border Circuit representing competed in the first ever USPA National Youth Tournament Series Zone 2 qualifier. Participants represented Midland, El Conquistador and Houston Polo Clubs, some came by plane, others packed up the whole family (including grandparents!) and hauled over six hours for the opportunity to compete in this competitive tournament.
This weekend we witnessed many of these young men and women play in their first official tournament game, and they were grinning ear to ear as they came off the field. This event was a whole lot more than just a few games for 4 teams of rated juniors. The event kicked off with a very exciting unrated youth exhibition in the arena, which gave many of the younger siblings an opportunity to break in their first pair of whites. Following the unrated chukkers was a mandatory meeting for all teams competing where team assignments were given and tournament conditions were explained. Later that afternoon these kids watched from the sidelines and cheered for their favorite older player compete in the first two games of the tournament.
On Saturday night the Midland Polo Club hosted a very impressive spring season kickoff party. Players and friends of the club mingled, feasted on a delicious catered meal and enjoyed an 8 piece mariachi band as they dined! The next morning all four teams returned to compete in the consolation and finals and to find out who would be named to the NYTS Zone 2 All-Star list of potential candidates for the team that will advance to national championships in Virginia this September.
Carolyn Stimmel, a USPA Youth Polo Committee Member, was the local organizer spearheading this event. Carolyn has been involved with the development of the National Youth Tournament Series for the past year and she really made every effort to ensure this was a memorable experience for everyone involved. From players to parents to spectators to sponsors Carolyn had it all covered…and then some! Another bonus was having veteran polo coach Corky Linfoot in town for a 10-day clinic during the event. Corky coached the teams competing and he served on the All-Star selection committee and the tournament committee for the event. It was really wonderful having him in town, he added a training component to the competition which made it even more beneficial for the developing players.
Carolyn and I made notes throughout the weekend for different ways to improve the existing tournament conditions and how to better prepare clubs for a successful event, we are looking forward to sharing our notes with the rest of the youth polo committee at this Thursday’s meeting.
NYTS MIDLAND TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
FINALS: Tindol Vet defeated Purvis Land & Cattle with a score of 5 to 3
CONSOLATION FINALS: Team Canada defeated Flat Belly with a score of 4 to 2
BPP: Corolla owned by Alanzo Nunez
TOURNAMENT MVP: Alanzo Nunez
CONSOLATION SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Loretto Natividad
CONSOLATION MVP: Irving Silvestre
The following players will be added to the NYTS Zone 2 All-Star list:
- Loretto Natividad, 1.5 goals
- Alanzo Nunez, A goals
- Irving Silvestre, AT goals
- Hudson Purvis, B goals
- Jared Muncy, B goals
- Steven Hagist, -.5 goals
Midland NYTS All-Stars
BPP & Tournament MVP Alonzo Nunez & “Corolla”
Midland NYTS Participants
Amanda,
First of all, allow me to say that the idea of a junior polo tournament and the idea of the USPA organizing same on a national level is, in my opinion, a good idea. I’ve, many times, suggested that the Team USPA program should be starting with younger players. I’ll add that the information you provide makes us aware that this sort of thing is taking place – thank you.
Now let me say that it would be nice if you could include the team line-ups in your articles – did I miss them? There are probably sites to go and find this out, but this forum is the easiest for most people to find. There is no searching involved and many, many people look here for results and information.
At the risk of sounding negative – how much more would it take to let people know all the players involved?
Tony Gregg