MIDDLE SCHOOL POLO The Magic of Middle School Beth Supik - GFS ‘98 & CSU ‘02
The 2020 Middle School Tournament season kicked
off the weekend of September 19-20 at Marlan Farm in Freeland, Maryland, where four teams competed. It was the first of 13 scheduled nationwide fall tournaments in which USPA members enrolled in an academic program ranging from fifth grade through eighth grade can compete. Students enter a tournament as individuals and teams are decided based on the number of students entered and are balanced based on experience. The Middle School Tournament League began in the fall of 2014 and has continued each fall since. The intent was to provide an opportunity for the growing numbers of the I/I program’s youngest players to gain experience in tournaments, allowing them to play against competitors of the same ability and age. The response to this program has been overwhelming in participation and enthusiasm that expands each year. I have had the opportunity to manage many of these tournaments throughout the years on the East Coast from Maryland to Rhode Island. I have known some of these player's families since before they were born and others I have met in early adolescence. They range variably in polo experience and horse experience, yet all express great enthusiasm to play and learn their way around the barn and the ponies. They also demonstrate such seriousness toward the occasion to play with others on a team participating in a tournament and leave their hearts in the arena at the end of a game. Teaching children not only requires great skill, but it is a gift. The coaches who have connected with children with the curiosity and tenacity to learn polo at such a young age are worthy of praise. It takes great patience and knowledge to provide a safe and productive environment for these young players to learn in. These coaches are such positive role models to these children in their development as players as well as young adults. The polo ponies selected for these young players are truly saints. They travel straight, steady, and ever patiently with the players. I have watched ponies at this level literally
kick a ball forward multiple times the length of an arena to aid a child as they desperately try to connect their mallet with it. They stand like statues as multiple children tirelessly tack them up and/or untack them. These ponies offer so much to the young players: patience, confidence, selflessness, and are critical in solidifying a passion for the ponies as well as the sport. The parents of these players are so supportive of their children as well as the program as a whole. The energy they bring to a tournament is incredible. They are not just parents to their own children, but to all involved at the tournament. Armed with bottled waters, Band-Aids, provisions of all sorts, as well as a smile; they are the heartbeat of a tournament. One very exciting and beneficial act I have witnessed at various Middle School tournaments is the participation of Interscholastic players working with the Middle School players; a strategy executed by a coach who hosts countless Middle School and Interscholastic tournaments. These Interscholastic players put on a black and white striped shirt and carry a whistle along with the designated USPA umpire and learn to officiate. Also, every team in said tournament will have an Interscholastic player as their coach. Many of these coaches and umpires are Middle School polo graduates themselves and it’s amazing to see them give back to the younger generation, many of whom look up to them for their leadership skills and ability in the arena. It is a true testament that the Middle School program continues to be a success when so many players have chosen to stay committed to playing onward to the Interscholastic and Intercollegiate levels. They have honed their mallet skills, team play, sportsmanship, and horsemanship for many years and as a result the quality and depth of I/I polo has soared. I have watched them mature in and out of the arena. I have witnessed many of them win National titles at Interscholastic Championships and I have seen their hearts break in defeat, but with grace. I have relied dearly on many of them as a manager, to help keep I/I MAGAZINE - 2021
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