POLO-TIP: 10 Ways to Improve your Polo from Home…

Are you also missing polo? The feeling of freedom while galloping towards the goal?
To comfort a bit: you are not alone. And there are a lot of things you can do from home to improve you polo…

Let´s have a look what makes a good polo player, what is the difference between just “playing polo” and being “a good polo player”:
Usually the “just playing polo” player jumps on the horse and plays. He has fun but is one of the weakest players. Meanwhile the good player sparkles with passion, he/she prepares to play polo, knows the rules, cares for the horses, looks after the polo gear, organizes trainings, drinks mate with the grooms, attends tournaments, motivates the team, etc etc etc.

So, let´s use the time to become a better polo player!

HERE 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO:

1) Improve your Hand-Eye-Coordination

One of the most important but most difficult things in polo is the hand-eye-coordination. Obviously: the younger you start the better, but you can improve at any age and you even don´t need a horse for it. Get a foot mallet and practice!
There are many good exercises which make you concentrate on the technique, ask someone to help you.
Tip: buy 2 (or more) mallets and play with a friend or family member – a lot of fun!

2) Prepare your body

There are more than 600 muscles in our body and a good polo performance is simply not possible with a weak body. So let´s get prepared, prevent injuries and get fast and strong!
The main muscle groups to focus on for riding are: abdominal, lower back, hip, glutes, legs. For polo also the upper body is important: upper back, chest, shoulders, arms.
Apart from strength training exercises it is very useful to focus on our overall fitness, adding cardio exercises into the workout routine. And last but not least: overall flexibility is also crucial for being a good player, a proper warming-up before and streching after the workout is a must!

3) Learn some Spanish

Wouldn´t it be good to understand the Argentine pros and groom? Download a Spanish course to get the basics and ask us to send you the free E-Book Polo Vocabulary. Try your new knowledge having a mate with your groom!

4) Prepare the gear

Get what is missing, clean it up, make it nice and put the mallet bag in your car. Having everything nice and prepared is pure motivation to improve your polo!

5) Repeat and learn the rules

Download them at your polo associations website, read, ask and discuss them with your friends. Most associations also offer rules tests – best way to know if you really understood.

6) Help to get the the horses trained

The better we know the horses, the easier it is to play well. Having own polo horses is a great pleasure, but even if you don´t own yours, you can still try to learn about the secrets of horse training and polo horse education, learn the equine language, ask trainers if you can help with the basic work and watch them how they do it. This will give you a great understanding and improve your riding abilities.

7) Learn all about polo tactics

Would you like to go beyond the tactic: “hit the ball in the direction of the goal”? There is a whole science behind a successful polo move, and in a real match there is no time to think about it. Instead of the next movie, watch the Finals of the Argentine Open on Youtube!

8) Book your next polo training

Learning is always more effective with different trainers, so even if is is for any upcoming days, book your next training at your home club, a nice club/polo school nearby or at the Academy. You instantly will get a lot of motivation and for sure come back with profound new input.

9) Concentrate on learning the right technique

There is no good player with a poor technique. So: concentrate on getting the technique right! This can be perfectly done at home, partly even better at home than out there on the polo field, because you´ll be able to concentrate better.
Enroll in an online course, there are a few people who offer one, like GavSays, Colts Polo or the Online Academy here at the Argentina Polo Academy.

10) Achieve your goals

Train how professional athletes train, get your polo goals clear, make a plan and concentrate on realizing and achieving your goals.
There are plenty of Youtube videos about how to achieve goals, watch some and concentrate on your polo goals!

Any questions?