Believe it or not, Lucas has (I think) five polo bikes.

This is his latest, and by far his most suitable.  He even chose a stem of reasonable proportions.  I built it up for him and managed to scratch the paint in several places (using a vice to tighten the stupid BMX bottom bracket didn’t help) and left his cables too short, but he seems to like it.

Photo – http://hcbp.tumblr.com/

Maybe it’s other people improving rather than me getting worse, but either way the effect is the same.  Far fewer goals, infinitely more mistakes, increasingly poor goalkeeping and some very dodgy passing…  I used to have space and time to dribble around people and I used to score plenty of goals at throw-ins, but now, not so much.  I’m often caught out of position, or stuck waiting for a pass that never arrives (or when it does, I screw up the shot).  Too often my reach exceeds my grasp and some cocky maneuver goes tits-up.  And I don’t know what to do about it.

Maybe I’m not getting worse; just noticing bad habits and focussing on those rather than on the valve-breaking slapshot wheelie-goals of old I used to do.  Maybe this is a phase and I’ll learn to evaluate more and take fewer risks.

On a positive note, my individual performance drop off has been countered by improvements in my team.  We got stronger throughout 2012, so maybe I’m just playing a more generous, team-spirited game.  Or maybe my teammates got better and I stayed the same.  Maybe I’m the weak link whose time is up…

What worries me more though, is that I’m enjoying polo less.  I’d happily lose every game if they were all close and competitive, but there seem to be fewer tight games; less commitment to winning and more dicking around (I’m probably more guilty of this than anyone).  Several key players have recently left or are about to leave, so maybe it’s that I’m frustrated with being pitched back to a new low, struggling to get six people out and battling to hold our courts.

Neil said that winter was to blame, and maybe he’s right.  Slippy courts, cold muscles and ineffective brakes are bound to have a negative influence.  Perhaps it’s a lack of tournament play that’s affected my motivation.

Whatever the cause though, I’m going to keep cracking on.  I’m sure other people feel this way from time to time, and I always hear about professionals ‘playing through’ bad form, so I’m sure either I’ll snap out of it, or come to terms with it, and regain my mojo.

The new WRISTS tee will be available to buy soon from our online shop. As spotted on Tom Cruise here, it will be available as a small pocket print on the breast and as a full print on the back.

Fancy dress was required though some were more enthusiastic than others. The teams were: Vampires, Gore-nacologists, Baseball Furies, Nazgul Surprise, Superheroes, Brides of Chukker, Circus Clowns, Goblins.

It seemed like almost everyone had been out the previous night so there were many bleary eyed halloweeners, but things soon got underway. Teams consisted of between 6 and 7 players while games lasted 30 minutes with no stoppages. A great thing about this event was the fact that it was a draft and there was good cross section of ability in each team.

I was playing for Brides of Chukker and sporting a tres chic little white dress with accompanying wig, although, said wig was discarded during the first game as it kept clogging up my eyes and mouth. Our captain Julia did a great job of rotating players enabling everyone to get a decent amount of court time. The Brides had players from several different cities who had not played with each other before which was evident in our play. It took a little while for us to gel, but we got into our stride for the last game against Baseball Furies. They were a strong team with the likes of Todd (Cosmic) Adam (Spring Break) Tom Bogey (Cream/Tornadoes). It was a goal for goal affair with everyone linking up well and Edd putting in some decent saves too, however the Furies took it in the end.

The final, Nazguls vs Superheroes, was great to watch with great effort from all. Nazguls seemed to gel the best as a team and were reading each others plays, eventually taking it 5-7, well done guys.

[Photos no longer available]