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Chapter 4 - Mentoring/Coordinator
Program
Purpose:
To stabilize interest, stimulate participation, and encourage
growth in the collegiate polo club programs in the USPA Circuits.
To assist with coordination between interested parties, fund
raising, maintaining a presence with the school administration,
and recruitment assistance on a year round basis.
Reasons:
Collegiate Polo Club interest
typically fluctuates on a waxing and waning basis. During certain
years when due to chance a number of active polo players are
attending a school with a polo club, they keep the program strong
and well attended. When those students graduate however, they
are not automatically replaced and often the collegiate polo
club influence is diminished to the point where clubs are sometime
forced to go inactive, jeopardize or lose their funding status,
or in some cases even cease to exist due to the following reasons:
1. Students are in school for
a few short years that are packed with busy schedules competing
for their time and resources.
2. Good polo players (potential students) want to attend a school
with an existing strong and competitive polo program with proper
facilities.
3. Administration officials respond to the programs that are
well attended, well organized, and well funded or capable of
generating enough money and interest to be self-sufficient.
4. Administration funding usually comes with certain requirements
that are not always met on a timely basis by a loosely formed
small group with little or no supervision.
5. Facilities for arena or grass polo are not always available
within easy access to students if competing programs like rodeo,
soccer, or other sports have usurped preexisting facilities.
Recommendations:
1. Establish a Polo Program
Coordinator (Alumnus) "Ambassador":
A responsible USPA member, preferably an alumnus, independent
from school/administration (not a student or faculty member),
living in the area, willing to work as a volunteer year round
both on and off campus, as an "Ambassador" (Coordinator/Mentor)
for the polo club responsible for coordinating and stimulating
the programs. The actual day to day work activities are to be
carried out by the students to the extent of their abilities.
The guidance and mentoring are to be carried out by the polo
program coordinator:
The Polo Program Coordinator's general task is to maintain a
consistent presence through out the year, year after year, as
members of the club or school faculty or administration come
and go. This should be more of an administrative position to
oversee, direct, mentor, and assist, where it is the student's
responsibility to perform the duties.
Job Responsibilities of
the Coordinator/Mentor: (Ambassador)
1. Assist the Circuit Governor's
Office with establishing or promoting an alumni committee to
support the collegiate clubs needs and set up occasional meetings
as are needed.
2. Communicate on a regular basis with the school administration
3. Meet with the polo club members at appropriate times to see
that they are meeting their obligations and lend support or suggestions
when assistance is needed with their programs, problems, etc.
4. Keep open the lines of communications between the students,
alumni committee and school administration
5. Mentor the club and its participants to help them experience
the joy and enrichment that is possible when a club fulfills
its mandate.
6. Oversee and assist the students in the following programs:
A. Goal Setting, short and long range planning (preparing quarterly,
annual, 2 year, 5 year calendars)
B. Budgeting (Estimate costs a bit high, income a bit low)
C. Fundraising ideas what else is available on campus
D. Archiving past projects and revisiting useful projects or
information
E. Archive Horse Inventory
F. Archive Tack Inventory
G. Accessing contributions and support from Charitable foundations
H. Establishing an efficient Horse Donation Program
I. Developing an effective Recruitment Program
J. Developing skiils and techniques of Facility Coordination
K. Scheduling and Coordinating Tournaments
L. Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships
with Alumni Board of Directors or other interested alumni
M. Archiving past membership records
N. Leadership, Character, and Responsibility Guidance
O. Conducting effective Promotional Campaigns
P. USPA membership and benefits
a) Insurance
b) Rules and Regulations
c) PTF Clinics and Tournaments
2. Establish an alumni committee (as many as possible) to assist with
A. Fund Raising
B. Facility Coordination
C. Business and Finance Guidance
D. Stay in contact with influential "School Decision Makers"
to see where polo can benefit their long term planning process
and continue to be a dynamic force in helping to achieve those
goals.
E. Resources
a) field or arena
b) transportation
c) moral support
3. Establish an Alumni Board
of Directors (minimum
of four people) with regular meetings to include as many of the
following people as possible:
1. President or Officer of the Collegiate Polo Club A student
(graduate or under graduate)
2. Advisor Faculty Member (Part or full time Faculty)
3. Polo Program Coordinator/Mentor "Ambassador" (Mature
alumnus)
4. Coach (Faculty or Non Faculty)
5. Veterinarian (where possible)
6. Pony Club and/or Non Profit Organization representative if
one exists supporting their local clubs such as (Collegiate
Equestrian Polo Association (CEPA) or Pacific Coast Youth Polo
Association (PCYPA)
7. As many student members of the club that would like to attend
8. As many alumni backers that would like to attend
4. The club should consider
establishing an "Official Sports Club" with a "Not
for Profit" status
able to accept contributions, and simultaneously access to various
services and funding opportunities. It's important the collegiate
club remain a campus activity however to meet the University
requirements for funding.
5. Communication and co-operation
should be established and open between
the USPA, the Circuit Governor's Office, the school administration,
the collegiate club, alumni committee, non profit agencies or
any other persons or groups that are in a position to work to
the collegiate polo clubs benefit. The inclusion of various faculty
and non faculty responsibilities are also listed in order to
establish proper line of communication from students to the administration,
particularly in the larger schools where proper channels are
more diverse. Smaller schools may incorporate various positions
under one department head. Communication is key to a successful
effort.
A. Athletic Director (Faculty
Member): Responsible
to the administration for Sports Clubs
1. Non varsity University sports
2. Varsity University sports (NCAA Varsity Rules)
David Eldridge, contact from Cornell This is the only school
where polo is a Varsity Sport.
B. Team Coordinator (Student): May be President of the Polo Club.
Responsible for providing the interface between the polo club
and the Administration.
B. Sports Manager (Student): May be the Team Captain. Responsible
to the club for the following:
1. Tournament eligibility and
compliance with school and USPA policies.
2. Parents funding with dues to sustain polo programs
3. News briefings, fund raisers, stimulate parent participation
A. Provide invitations to the parents
B. Provide schedules of play
4. Oversee eligibility requirements
A. Sign-off official documents
B. 2.0 average
C. Under 26 years of age
D. Full time student
5. Send documentation to sports club Director or Registrar
6. Club Booklet (It is noted that these do not exist in most
of the Pacific Coast Circuit Collegiate Clubs so a generic hand
book is currently being produced in "draft" mode for
circulation before printing.)
A. General Information
B. Club Officers and Duties
C. Face masks requirements
D. USPA Forms
E. Welcoming letter
F. Promote Interscholastic (High School) integration into Collegiate
(Colleges and Universities)
In smaller schools, the (student)
Team Coordinator, Sport's Manager, and Club Officer may all be
the same person. The coach could also be the Polo Program Coordinator,
but in any event this "Ambassador" is to be a conduit
to keep information flowing between all of the participants and
"look over the shoulder" of the Collegiate Polo Club
Program. There is an emphasis on "mentoring"
not "running" the program for the students.
Any and all of these people plus the school administration need
to kept "in the loop." It is felt that one person,
without the assistance and support of other polo advocates runs
the risk of burn-out and/or resignation due to illness or relocation.
Consequently a recommendation for a committee is noted above.
The Program Coordinator/Mentor "Ambassador" could be
a position for students to aspire to after graduation and is
appointed by the USPA Governor of the Circuit.
6. A "Win-Win"
Philosophy
With strong (USPA) organizational
support such as the Circuit Governor's Office mentoring and lending
aid by "looking over the shoulder of the Ambassador",
that designee can in turn mentor and lend guidance and support
to the club. By keeping the channels of communication open, meeting
regularly with supporters within the "Committee" and
lending ideas and energy to the program, various factions can
pool their resources for the greater good. Solutions should be
looked for, supporting the College or University's mandate as
well as working within the system to promote cooperation and
integration with other related programs such as the agricultural
school, recreation department, and other sports clubs.
7. Thinking "Outside
of the Box"
Fresh ideas can be
incorporated into a master plan to become more than just a polo
club. By adopting a mind-set of running the polo club as a business
(even as a social club) opens up a new way of thinking about
shaping the club. It lends itself to incorporating more than
just polo playing members. A polo club in addition to players,
needs business management, marketing, advertising, and accounting
services. A successful club will need to work with veterinarians,
ferriers, agronomists, party planners, and hopefully lots of
social members. So bearing that in mind, consider the recruitment
of all of these specialists into your membership.
Work with other equestrian
clubs such as rodeo, horse showing, hunters and jumpers, cutting,
and calf roping, cowboy polo; anything at all that is related.
Try to partner with other clubs and activities on the school
calendar that can use help and are willing to share in the benefits.
Cooperation and coordination could pay great rewards from sponsorship,
administration, and related clubs on and off campus.
8. An additional line of
support could come from a USPA representative to
call on every high school and college or university in the area
that incorporates a polo or equestrian program in their curriculum.
The idea is to sell the school on the business plan of promoting
a strong presence of polo in their program for the following
reasons:
1. Benefits of the USPA
2. PTF and AIPF financial assistance
3. Horse Donation Program
4. Sustaining organizational support
5. Scholarships
6. International student recruitment
7. Ticket sales, tournament, and related event income
8. A niche market appeal to prospective students
9. Positive Community Economic Impact
10. Interactive support from neighboring polo clubs
9. Establishing a Regional
Polo Center
High school or college facilities usually do not have the ability
or interest to sustain their own horse program on or immediately
adjacent to the campus. Look for he nearest polo club that would
be willing to support an entry level polo training program for
students. An existing polo club running a commercial operation
may already have facilities to sustain a youth program when a
number of schools in the area do not have enough students individually
to make individual horse operations practical. If the donated
horses can also be used in regular service for a commercially
operated polo school, the income produced could then help defer
some of the maintenance and expense of the Interscholastic/Intercollegiate
programs. With enough participation, a covered arena could then
be a more practical reality so play could be extended year round.
In any case, a full curriculum includes lessons in a classroom
setting, particularly for foul weather days. Training videos,
grooming, game rules and regulations, strategy, and occasional
guest lectures by professional players, veterinarians, and farriers
are important to include in a dynamic program. It is important
to establish and publish this format in advance so as to meet
the expectations of the participants.
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Revised 11-20-01
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