TEAM USPA TRYOUTS 2016

TEAM USPA TRYOUTS 2016

Some of the top young American players in the country met in Wellington, Florida this past week to participate in the 2016 Team USPA Tryouts, hosted by USPA Polo Development, LLC Player Development. Selected from a large pool of applicants, nine hopefuls were invited to showcase their abilities during the three-day tryout. Audry Persano (0.5), Pierce Alworth (1), Wesley Finlayson (3), Nick Johnson (2), Rob Jornayvaz (1), Anna Winslow (0), Tomy Alberdi (3), Costi Caset (4), and Geronimo Obregon (4) participated in a range of activities to address the professional demands of polo on and off the field.  

Day one started with swing analytics at Marathon Farms, led by Hall of Famer’s Charles Smith and Adam Snow. Each of the players had their swings filmed and analyzed. Many of the players had never seen their swing on video and learned a lot about the small intricacies of a swing that can make a huge difference. The players met to have lunch with polo legend Memo Gracida, who talked to the group about how to effectively prepare a team for competition. Gracida, who held a ten goal handicap for an impressive 21 years, discussed some of his experiences in putting teams together and enabling each player on a team to play above their handicap. Adam Snow then spoke to the players about his outlook on the mental aspects of polo. He spoke about his experiences with a sports psychologist and various techniques he used that helped him achieve a 10-goal handicap.

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Caption: Left to right: Nine young talented players tried out for Team USPA in Wellington January 17th-20th- Anna Winslow, Wes Finlayson, Tomy Alberdi, Pierce Alworth, Rob Jornayvaz, Costi Caset, Audry Persano, Nick Johnson and Geronimo Obregon.

After the players had time to reflect on their goals in the sport and how they would like to achieve them, they had some time to work on the physical aspect of the sport. They met with physical trainer Ryan Leeton who went through exercises, stretches and nutrition with the players to give them the tools to maximize their fitness and conditioning for competition. After the meeting with Ryan, Justin Powers gave a lecture on managing finances and contingency planning in the professional world of polo. That evening, a panel of Team USPA members who have been in the program for several years spoke to the players about their personal experiences with the program, how it has helped them achieve various goals, supported them during ups and downs during their careers, and what has been required of them as Team USPA members. The players who were trying out were able to ask questions and seek advice on their polo endeavors and how Team USPA can help them achieve their goals.

The next day, Sara Rotman, polo player/founder and Chief Creative Officer of NYC based advertising agency MODCo gave a presentation on branding. She spoke about the importance of a social media presence as well as how to conduct oneself on and off the field to promote a personal brand. Following this interesting talk, the players then began to prepare for the 3:00pm game they were playing at Neil Hirsch’s Blackwatch field. The game was organized using a three team round robin format. Each team was captained by a senior Team USPA mentor including Patrick Uretz (4), Felipe Viana (5) and Jesse Bray (5). Jeff Hall (7), Adam Snow (6) and former 9-goal player, Julian Hipwood each coached a team to help organize them and give pointers throughout the game. Following the game, the players reviewed the game tape with the coaches and discussed what each of the players could work on for the future. After the game tape review, Adam Snow and Carlucho Arellano (5) discussed professionalism in polo.

The final day of the clinic included a presentation by the USPA Global Licensing Director of Broadcasting and Events, Shannon Stilson as well as Phelps Media Group. The candidates learned how to conduct themselves in an interview and on film. The three days were a great reflection of the challenges that professional polo players must master in today’s polo world.

Many thanks to the International Polo Club, Neil Hirsch, Charles Smith, Jimmy Newman, Adam Snow, Memo Gracida, Jeff Hall, Julian Hipwood, Sara Rotman, Shannon Stilson, Chip McKenney, Phelps Media Group, Ryan Leeton, Carlucho Arellano, Kaylee Wroe Photography, Hector Galindo, Sergio Corro, Marathon Farms, Team USPA players Jesse Bray, Felipe Viana, Steve Krueger, Patrick Uretz, Mason Wroe, Branden Van Loon and many others for making this weekend a great success.

Team USPA looks forward to announcing the newest Team USPA members in the upcoming week.