polo_pro
01-21-2008, 11:38 PM
NorCal polo has reached new heights! Yesterday we had 20 segways on 2 fields with easily another 20 friends, family and non-polo playing (you know...they just haven't seen the light yet) gliders watching. The sky was overcast and as our convoy of polo players drove in from Sac, we encountered showers here and there.
Macgeek gave me a call on the way for last minute directions, and our drivers chattered between the cars on the handheld radios stopping at Don's favorite sandwich shop. The avocado smoothy was damn good...yes, I know it sounds odd, but like polo you gotta just taste/try it first before you pass judgement. As we rolled up, George and SLong were laying out 2 fields. The park was small, but it looked like it was going to work.
For some reason, polo never quite starts on time. But that gives us time to talk and socialize, because once the balls start flying, few polo players are going to be chatting, eh? Mr L and Drew dickered over some segway parts. Lots of new players to meet. jgbackes was showing off his new acquisition, Tippsy (which he goalied with that day). And jgbackes' wife, Madeline, kindly passed around home made cookies!
A few friends of mine and I clustered together with our matching jerseys and unveiled our new team....the California Gold Rush! We've been practicing for several months now, and since this match was going to be video, it seemed like the right time to go up against the Aftershocks.
We were hoping for first blood, but the Aftershocks scored first. Being our first REAL match, some of the strategies just weren't working as well as they had in practice. By half time we were down 0-2. At least the spectators got to see some spectacular spills (and as always no one was hurt...sheesh). One of the Aftershocks who'd just recently switched to Gen 2 lost it at top speed (probably due to a dip in the field as I remember), but the results were amazing. The segway swerved off to the right, his mallet came off to wrist and went to the left and he ended up having to run 40 feet between them to collect everything and jump back into play! A few of our more skilled players came off as we pushed the limits too.
The second half went slightly better. We changed strategies, and the results started to show. We still gave up 2 (maybe 3?) more goals, but clearly things were coming together based on the number of shots we took at their goal. We ended up playing 2 more chukkers and scored 3 goals. SLong was on fire! Well, it was either that or the Aftershocks were taking it easy on us so it didn't look so much like a blow out, eh? 8^) 8^) 8^)
Eeyore got onnery in the middle of the match. He started pulling up, and I looked down to see one of the tires had deflated completely! Thankfully, I hadn't lost the bead, so I ran over to the sidelines and pumped up it up in record time. Remember, my team was down one man while I "talked" to Eeyore explaining the importance of this match. 8^) 8^) 8^)
I really enjoyed seeing so many familar faces and meeting the friends and family of my fellow polo players. We all went out after lunch and it was non-stop yakking about Segfest 2008, Woz World Cup, the Alcan long distance glide and lots of post-game discussion about what strategies worked (or didn't). If it hadn't been so cold (for California...to put it in perspective), I group glide would have made the afternoon complete. Of course, with all our batteries drained from the match, it would have had to be a short glide!
ps - To put this all in perspective, we may be maxing out what Sunnyvale can provide when it comes to polo. We had 5 segways on each team and 2 fields. The parks where we play aren't so large that we can easily squeeze in a third field. And 6 people on a team gets really hectic.
Given how good a turnout we had through the holidays (and what is now the rainy season) I have high hopes for 2008. By the end of the year, we may have to organize/schedule teams just because otherwise we have too many people playing! NOW that's the kind of problems I'd like us to have!!
Macgeek gave me a call on the way for last minute directions, and our drivers chattered between the cars on the handheld radios stopping at Don's favorite sandwich shop. The avocado smoothy was damn good...yes, I know it sounds odd, but like polo you gotta just taste/try it first before you pass judgement. As we rolled up, George and SLong were laying out 2 fields. The park was small, but it looked like it was going to work.
For some reason, polo never quite starts on time. But that gives us time to talk and socialize, because once the balls start flying, few polo players are going to be chatting, eh? Mr L and Drew dickered over some segway parts. Lots of new players to meet. jgbackes was showing off his new acquisition, Tippsy (which he goalied with that day). And jgbackes' wife, Madeline, kindly passed around home made cookies!
A few friends of mine and I clustered together with our matching jerseys and unveiled our new team....the California Gold Rush! We've been practicing for several months now, and since this match was going to be video, it seemed like the right time to go up against the Aftershocks.
We were hoping for first blood, but the Aftershocks scored first. Being our first REAL match, some of the strategies just weren't working as well as they had in practice. By half time we were down 0-2. At least the spectators got to see some spectacular spills (and as always no one was hurt...sheesh). One of the Aftershocks who'd just recently switched to Gen 2 lost it at top speed (probably due to a dip in the field as I remember), but the results were amazing. The segway swerved off to the right, his mallet came off to wrist and went to the left and he ended up having to run 40 feet between them to collect everything and jump back into play! A few of our more skilled players came off as we pushed the limits too.
The second half went slightly better. We changed strategies, and the results started to show. We still gave up 2 (maybe 3?) more goals, but clearly things were coming together based on the number of shots we took at their goal. We ended up playing 2 more chukkers and scored 3 goals. SLong was on fire! Well, it was either that or the Aftershocks were taking it easy on us so it didn't look so much like a blow out, eh? 8^) 8^) 8^)
Eeyore got onnery in the middle of the match. He started pulling up, and I looked down to see one of the tires had deflated completely! Thankfully, I hadn't lost the bead, so I ran over to the sidelines and pumped up it up in record time. Remember, my team was down one man while I "talked" to Eeyore explaining the importance of this match. 8^) 8^) 8^)
I really enjoyed seeing so many familar faces and meeting the friends and family of my fellow polo players. We all went out after lunch and it was non-stop yakking about Segfest 2008, Woz World Cup, the Alcan long distance glide and lots of post-game discussion about what strategies worked (or didn't). If it hadn't been so cold (for California...to put it in perspective), I group glide would have made the afternoon complete. Of course, with all our batteries drained from the match, it would have had to be a short glide!
ps - To put this all in perspective, we may be maxing out what Sunnyvale can provide when it comes to polo. We had 5 segways on each team and 2 fields. The parks where we play aren't so large that we can easily squeeze in a third field. And 6 people on a team gets really hectic.
Given how good a turnout we had through the holidays (and what is now the rainy season) I have high hopes for 2008. By the end of the year, we may have to organize/schedule teams just because otherwise we have too many people playing! NOW that's the kind of problems I'd like us to have!!