He was an established player, a respected umpire and an integral part of the polo community. I had not even picked up a mallet when I first saw him. This sport has a professional magic that others cannot offer their amateur players. We should all value that. Pros must remember that the patrons are really trying to contribute to the game, even though they lack the talent of the professional players.
Communication is critical.
In our recent tournament, we won one of our games against an ostensibly stronger opponent because the two pros on the other team were trying to do it all. They had two strong amateur teammates who played the classic Number One and Number Two positions. However, the pros never passed downfield to their Number One nor did they use their Number Two constructively. Throughout the match, the amateurs raced around the field waiting for the ball to arrive so they could make an offensive play. Certainly the two pros were strong players, but they did not use the ability of their teammates and so were no match playing against four riders who all contributed to the plays.