Looking for some tips on How to Improve Polo Skills for Beginners?

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#1

Hey there,

I am relatively new to the game and have been loving it so far but I feel like I have hit a plateau. I have been practicing the basics, like hitting the ball and positioning but I want to take my game to the next level. Does anyone have advice on how to improve specific polo skills, particularly for someone still learning: ?? What drills or exercises helped you the most in becoming more confident on the field: ??

Also, any tips for better horse control during high speed plays would be awesome. I find it challenging to maintain precision when things get intense. Should I focus more on my riding or stick work first: ??

I have also read this thread https://poloverse.net/t/stuff-i-would-love-some-tips-on-tensorflow/ but couldn’t find any help. Appreciate any insights from seasoned players or fellow learners who have gone through this stage !! Looking forward to growing and improving with your help.

Thanks in advance for your advice !!

With Regards,
Derek Theler

#2
#3

I believe you’re talking about solo polo exercises - I won’t be able to name specific drills, more my general idea of how I learn new stuff on the bike. It’s mostly about breaking up a big task into smaller, more specific skills you can practice individually.

Step 1 - identify what you want to learn.
Say for example:

Step 2 - find some sort of progression to get you there. Start with the basics, toss out as many external distracting factors as you can. Start with something that you’re almost already familiar with. In your case that might look something like:

  1. get on your bike on a flat surface and see how fast you can go, both hands on the bars, no mallet.
  2. make some turns at high speed, see how your bike behaves. Feel the grip of the tires on the floor and when you’re starting to loose it. See how far you can lean before a pedal strike.
  3. practice sharp braking at high speed.
  4. try braking and cornering at the same time.
  5. see how precise you can get. Make some marks on the floor, try turn/brake exactly on/around them. Get creative.
  6. now rinse and repeat everything but with mallet.

Step 3 - practice, practice, practice. Stay at each progression for a while until you really feel at home before you continue to the next one. Return to the simpler progressions every now and then even if you feel you’ve moved past them. Build muscle memory until you don’t have to think about it anymore.

As for this question:

Personally I really don’t think it matters what you do first. The important part is to view them as separate skills, train separately, and then recombine. Start with what you feel like, you will notice yourself when one of those skills progresses too much faster than the other one and then just practice the other one more.

And most importantly: ride your bike! A lot! Do jibs! Try stupid shit! Not only specifically polo training, just being out there on any bike and having fun with it helps a lot with confidence and handling in my eyes.

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