Rising Stars

Myopia’s young players laying the groundwork for a strong future. / by Bill Burke

IF IT'S SUNDAY during polo season, you’re likely to find Reed Miller at Gibney Field.

Since he was a toddler, Reed would typically be knocking a ball around the edges of the pitch with a foot mallet with his friend Grace Grotnik. Now, he and Grace are among Myopia Polo’s young rising stars, who, along with others like James and William Grayken, Stephen Burr, Augie Grotnik and Landen and Benji Daniels, are evolving into the next generation of polo players who hone their skills in South Hamilton.

“Myopia has had a strong youth program and a strong youth presence for a long, long time,” says Amanda Snow, director of player development for the United States Polo Association (USPA), the sport’s national governing body. “The culture of the club is so focused on family polo and the youth that it keeps churning out strong players.”

Like Miller, who was named an All-Star during the National Youth Tournament Series (NYTS) qualifier at Myopia last season, and has been a part of the program since his youngest days.

“What I like most about playing polo at Myopia is the community,” Reed Miller says. “I like teaching and helping people move up. I like playing with the juniors—you can really see the difference your coaching makes.”

Miller, an 18-year-old, thirdgeneration polo player who developed under the tutelage of mentor Federico Wulff, followed his father, Kurt, onto the field—something of a natural progression. His father and mother, Jackie, met at Myopia. As he grew up around the sport, Jackie and Kurt Miller decided to see if polo was something Reed wanted to pursue.

After learning the sport in the junior program at Stage Hill Polo, he paired up with his father on his Longmeadow team for the duo’s first tournament together.

This past season, Miller was a part of the NYTS Eastern Region team, under the guidance of coach Nick Snow, which took the championship and earned the Cecil Smith Cup title with a 6-5 win over Florida at New Bridge Polo & Country Club, in Aiken.

“I was very excited to play in the NYTS Championship,” Miller says. “I had played at the regional level for the past four years, and this was the first year I was chosen. The main difference between playing in NYTS and at Myopia is that NYTS is all juniors, 19 and under, and everyone makes a difference on the team. When it’s all kids, every move you make counts. It’s a great opportunity.”

Facing the Eastern Region squad that day was a talented side from Florida, which included a pair of faces familiar to Myopia players—Benji and Landen Daniels. Part of the wellknown polo-playing Daniels family, both scored for the Florida team in the finals. The brothers play often at Grand Champions Polo Club, in Wellington, Fla., but when the summer comes, it’s common to see the Daniels brothers taking to Gibney Field.

“Myopia has always done a fantastic job with youth polo,” says Tom Goodspeed, Benji Daniels’ coach at Southern Methodist University. “They’ve always been a club of great players, great amateur players and with a focus on helping new players come along.” Benji’s strengths? “I coached Benji in the NYTS tournament at Myopia, and what I saw in his outdoor game very quickly was that he had very good hand-toeye,” Goodspeed says. “His strong suit outdoors was playing forward. He’s pretty darned accurate. And I could see his outdoor skills would translate well in the arena.”

Goodspeed says comparing outdoor and arena polo would be like comparing outdoor and indoor soccer. And he says it’s a transition Benji took to quickly.

“It’s a smaller area, there’s much more contact and you use a bigger ball,” he says. “Outdoors is about speed, while arena is about quickness, and Benji has skills that translate well to both. He’s comfortable at-speed, but he’s also quick with a mallet.”

His brother, Landen Daniels, 17, is the youngest of six polo-playing brothers, and has made a name for himself among the polo community in Wellington. Now in his ninth year playing polo, Landen has developed a keen understanding of where to be on the polo field—both defending as well as making key offensive plays.

Myopia’s Grace Grotnik has also taken her game to SMU, playing this season as a freshman on the varsity team. Grace started playing polo at 10 years old and entered her first tournament at 13. Recognition soon followed: She’s played polo on grass, in the arena and on snow, was presented the Dr. Billy Linfoot Award »