Meadowbrook Polo Club

Polo Clinic for Rules and Umpires.
Meadowbrook 2008
By James Brodie

Seldom will a player forget a foul against him. Seldom will a player forget the penalty shots that cost their team a game. Seldom will a player pick up the rule book of polo and not become frustrated with its complexity.
All players learn the basic maxim, the line of the ball [LOB] and the right of way. It seems that the man, the line and ball theory is a basic strategy and who needs anymore? In reality, most pros study all the rules carefully and achieve a superior understanding, while club players [especially lower goal players] could use a more thorough grounding in the rules. Meadowbrook recently hosted a clinic that addressed the rules for both the pro and the club player.

Meadowbrook Polo Club along with The Polo Training Foundation [PTF] hosted a rules and umpire’s clinic, which spanned over three days of Labor Day weekend at the PTF owned Hickox playing fields on Whitney Lane. The clinic dealt solely with the rules of outdoor polo from the perspective of the player and umpire.

USPA “By –Laws, Rules of Outdoor and Arena Polo, Tournament Conditions and Umpire Guide” published by The PTF epitomizes dryness. The PTF sent Bob Stuerzebecher, a seasoned instructor and umpire to head the rules clinic. He is a big man near 75 years of age with an easy smile. He spoke slowly and carefully and the first impression was that this ‘rules’ clinic would be tedious, however, it soon became clear he had a unique perspective into the arcane world of the rules of the game.

The clinic started on Friday the 31st of August; there were 6 people present as well as the Club Manager Mauricio Devrient. Attendance varied each day because of the holiday weekend. It seems knowledge is pleasure; players who could only stay for single session remarked that they found the instruction both useful and entertaining.

On day one Bob Stuerzebecher covered several areas often misunderstood regarding the interruption of play and the resumption of play. He also covered some basic matters like the line of the ball [LOB] and the right of way. Several times the discussion became lively when dealing with the terms and results of the umpire’s interpretations. Mauricio Devrient, who is Argentine, noted that while the US seems to codify the rules and seeks to be exact, the Argentine players and umpires seem to approach the rules for the ‘spirit of the rules’ allowing a looser application of the playing rules according to the ability of the players.

As the program proceeded, it became obvious that Bob knew hundreds of players past and present of any distinction what so ever. He related many excellent stories pertaining to the rules and people’s interpretations or violations. Most anecdotes were quite funny but on the rare occasions the ending was tragic. His story telling ability made the material fun in spite of the inherent dryness.

Saturday morning, the second day of the clinic started at 9:00am with coffee and muffins. Bob went right into the rules and more about the right of way, especially when it is one rider approaching two riders and other head-on riding situations where players attempt to gain control of the play. He drew numerous white board examples which at one point became so extreme one person stood up and snapped a picture to prove how bizarre an explanation of a rule could be! Early Saturday afternoon the session concluded for the day since many had family or other game plans [read: Bridgehampton polo].

Sunday morning at 9:00 am the clinic resumed. The first topics covered were reckless riding and penalties. The group was lead through a discussion of penalty ‘one’ which is seldom used and the reasons why it was created and why it is seldom used. The audience had little experience here, however the attendees now know why this penalty remains on the books. [full details on request!]

As the discussions progressed, the attendees sought more information on the role and the ability of the umpires. Of course, the umpires are there to protect the game, the players and their mounts but the umpires cannot enforce every rule, all the time. Clearly it becomes the responsibility of the player to play in a manner that is safe both for him and the others. Bob took the time to give a quick overview of the following items pertaining to umpires:

On field positioning to be safe and to see the play from the best perspective.
Anticipate the direction of the next play to maintain the best view.
Recognize and concentrate on the LOB at all times.
Understand what to do next after the whistle has sounded in every situation.
Communicate verbally and non-verbally with the other Umpire.
Ability to deal with players in a courteous, confident and firm manner.
Announce the foul and penalty correctly.
Remember which way the teams are going both during and at the start of the chukker.
Correct placement of the ball for the penalty hit.
Correct positioning for penalty hits and knock-ins.
Knowing when to call a foul and when not to call a foul.
Developing quick and decisive judgment in the saddle.

The next phase of the clinic called for everyone including Bob Stuerzebecher to mount up. The object was to do drills and provide instruction on the ‘knock ins’, the penalty shots and the throw in. It happened that Sunday’s clinic had exactly 8 people forming two teams. Martin Estrada, the club pro who was in attendance and he provided jerseys and extra mounts for the group. Bob donned the striped shirt and everyone soon found themselves under his direction.

There was nearly an hour of drills and many of the lower goal players expressed enthusiasm for the drills. Martine Estrada provided additional insights along with Bob’s directions. It seemed to help everyone to gain better understanding about the effectiveness and the importance of these aspects of the game. This was time well spent.

The clinic then adjourned for the morning. Anyone who was not playing at Bethpage State Park later that afternoon was asked if they would like to sit with Bob in the bleachers at Bethpage; he would give a running commentary [no pun intended] on the umpire and the game. In other words, we will go watch and can pick his brain as to what, when and why of the polo match and the rules.

In conclusion, after three days of instruction, there are about ½ dozen of newly minted disciples of Bob Stuerzebecher. He proved to be a wonderful capable teacher faced with explaining some complex material. Yes each attendee knew polo was dangerous but now some of the mystery of the complexity of the rules is within their grasp. This will surely make better for players, umpires and even spectators.
Meadowbrook expects to produce another clinic on rules and umpires in June 2008 and requests that those interested to please contact Peter Daly or the club. It will be open to members, players, professionals and umpires and umpire hopefuls and will be reasonably priced.

Looking forward to seeing ya’ll!