Team USPA sends 3 young players to Argentina for a season of training, check back for exclusive updates from Zach Grob,
Our Argentine mentor, Gaston Lahule, is a very talented player and instructor. He is able to identify a player’s strengths and weaknesses and find what position on the field is most natural for them. But his greatest gift is the way he approaches your weaknesses.
He starts with presenting seemingly small tasks for you to complete while playing, once these are mastered he moves on to asking for something more complex. From there he keeps building you up as a player until you can see the big picture. All these small tasks begin to become second nature and it is hard to understand how one did not think of them before. It is a very simple yet very effective method of teaching.
Why more polo teams don’t employ coaches is a mystery to us. Playing alone is difficult enough at times, but organizing an entire team and acting as the brains of the operation can prove even more time consuming and demanding. This is another aspect of the game that Gaston handles admiringly. Our polo here has been very well organized from day one. He makes sure to understand everything from how specific horses are going for us, what our plans for stick and balling are, to how our individual understanding of certain plays is progressing.
There are many types of team captains – the screamer, – the nice guy, – the quiet guy, etcetera… It takes a very cerebral type to understand what a team needs to do and how to convey that message. Gato is very good at being positive when the moment calls for it, yet he is not afraid to put pressure on his teammates if they are underachieving. He knows how to ask for what is needed out of each player using terms they understand. However complex the play may be, he can simplify it to the point that it makes sense to the most amateur of players.
In our next blog we will cover our recent tournament!
From Argentina,
Will, Jorge and Zach