August 20, 2011, Dallas, TX — When the final American Polocrosse Association USA team roster was announced in November, 2010, there was nothing short of serious dedication by the four men and four women as they prepared for the 2011 World Cup, which took place in July in Rugby, UK. Coach Jane Cooper, a two-time member of the Australian World Cup Champion team, expected nothing less and was an excellent motivator for team USA. The team members were expected to use their racquets on a daily basis, work on their physical fitness levels, ride as much as possible, and attend numerous tournaments. There were also many required team training camps along the way. Jane also stressed how important it was not only for the team members to be positive and united, but believe in themselves that they can win the World Cup. As the days grew closer to the commencement of the World Cup, the team’s main focus was to hit the ground running, by beating the 2007 World Cup Reserve Champions, the UK team, in the first game of the World Cup, and that they did! In the pouring down rain, the USA team pulled a huge upset for the home team with a final score of 17-12. After the game, many compliments from the polocrosse community were made to coach Cooper about the team’s ability to play smart polocrosse.
On the second day of the World Cup, the USA team faced off against South Africa, the 2007 World Cup third ranked team. The African style of play was too much for the USA team to handle. The USA lost to the South Africans with a final score of 7- 18. With a 1-1 win/loss record, the USA team knew how crucial their next game would be against Ireland to not only secure them a top four spot, but put them into the semi-final the following weekend. With their chins up and heads held high, that was all that the team was focused on going into the third day of competition.
The USA vs. Ireland game was very intense as the score remained close the entire game. At the end of the final chukka, the Irish men scored what would have been their winning goal just milliseconds after the buzzer had already sounded. The crowd was cheering so loudly that the umpires didn’t hear the buzzer and had to converse with each other and the tournament umpire to determine if the final goal was good or not. They came to the correct conclusion and the game went into golden goal (aka sudden death).
In overtime, the Irish women caught the ball out of the line-up and quickly turned it over to the USA women, who played it safe and took as much time as they needed to score the winning goal. Their patience paid off and the USA beat Ireland 17-16! After securing a spot in the top four for the first time in history, the USA team turned a lot of heads and gained more respect from the worldwide polocrosse community.
There was a break in the World Cup action during the week following the first three rounds of play. The USA team took the opportunity to reenergize and further assess their horses in preparation for the semi-final game against Zimbabwe. The USA team members also supported the US Pony Club polocrosse team that competed in the International Pony Club competition during the week.
On the second weekend of play, the USA team battled Zimbabwe for a spot in the World Cup finals, but to no avail. During the game, there was a clerical error made by the Zimbabwe team manager when they declared their player/horse combination line-ups for the third chukka. That error would have disqualified them, but, respectfully, the USA team wanted merit to determine who went into the finals match. The Zimbabwe team was deserving of a spot in the final after winning the semi-final over the USA 24-10.
The USA team had the honor of playing against the two-time reigning World Champions, Australia, for third place in the 2011 World Cup. The USA team members started the game with confidence and the will to do coach Cooper proud, by beating her home country, but that was quickly overshadowed by the Australian’s hunger and quickness to the ball that was unmatched by the USA team. The Australian’s earned the third ranked position in the 2011 World Cup by defeating the USA 31-8. The USA was, however, pleased to earn the fourth ranked position. The 2011 World Cup final rankings were as follows:
1. South Africa
2. Zimbabwe
3. Australia
4. USA
5. New Zealand
6. UK
7. Ireland
8. Zambia
For more information and to order a video of the 2011 World Cup, visit the event Website at polocrosse2011.com. Also, to view and order photographs from the event, visit mmainphotography.com, one of team USA’s sponsors. There is also a Facebook page called ‘Polocrosse World Cup 2011 Updates’, which has play-by-play posts about most of the 2011 World Cup games.
The USA team members were very proud to have represented the United States of America at the 2011 World Cup. Their dedication, talent and team unity was unmatched by any other team that has represented the USA in the past. They set the international standard for the future of USA polocrosse and are dedicated to helping the sport of polocrosse continue to improve and grow in the USA. They would like to improve their ranking at the 2015 World Cup, which will take place in South Africa. Over the next four years there will be numerous opportunities for the USA to compete internationally, including the Quadrangular that will allow the top four ranked countries to battle it out once again in 2013. Go USA!
The success of the 2011 USA World Cup team would not have been possible without the support of many individuals and businesses throughout their journey. Head coach Jane Cooper was an excellent leader for the team. She created a team culture of giving it your all and that played a huge part in the team’s success. Assistant coach Renee Thompson brought a lot of experience to the team and played a key role in coaching the team stateside when coach Cooper was at home in Australia. Manager Jessie Reed sacrificed many hours keeping the team organized and played a large part, along with Coach Cooper, in raising funds and finding sponsors for the team. USA World Cup Chair and horse manager Kiki Pantaze represented the interests of the USA team on the American Polocrosse Association Board and was the mastermind behind recruiting Jane Cooper as head coach. Kiki was also very valuable to the team when it came to the care of the horses at the World Cup. Prissy Rumel was in the hearts and minds of the USA team at the World Cup. She took the reins as Manager when it was needed early on, but was unable to complete the task as Manager due to health reasons. Other individuals that deserve a special thank you are the English horse helpers that took care of team USA’s horses during the World Cup: Vicki, Rosie, Mike and Jazz, the World Cup horse owners, Trent Cooper, for being the USA representative umpire at the World Cup, Trish Jones and the USA Pony Club team, for taking excellent care of the horses during the USA games, Patti Cifelli, for being a very efficient and reliable bookkeeper for the team, and Ty Cardwell, for jumpstarting the team’s fitness program leading up the World Cup. The team would also like to thank the American Polocrosse Association membership for not only their monetary donations, but also for lending horses to team members for training camps and their support at tournaments which helped the USA team members prepare for the World Cup.
The USA team is very grateful for the support of its business sponsors: B2B, Mountain Horse, Professional’s Choice, Bridlebrook, McArthur Farms Australian Stock Horses, U.S. Animal of Vermont, DoRide, M. Main Photography, Dover Saddlery, Alkapellet, Europa Saddlery, Allstock stores, Horsemen’s Outlet, Tito’s Vodka, Lakota Trailers, Gator Tail Trailers, The Buddy Bag, Cactus Jacks Trail Rides, LLC, and US Rider. More information and links to these sponsors’ Websites can be found on the USA team’s Website, usapolocrosse2011.com.
Written by Erin Smoyer
2011 World Cup USA Team Roster:
Captain: Robby Shuttles
Vice Captain: Erin Smoyer
Seth Alcott Dori Johnson
Ryan Murphy Rachael Gayler
Ryan Strider Heather Shuttles
About Polocrosse
Polocrosse is a team sport as well as a family sport. Players of all ages participate at their own skill level. Players ride one-handed and carry racquets that are similar to Lacrosse racquets with a net at the end in their opposite hand. The soft rubber polocrosse ball is not only carried down the field, but also picked up off of the ground, passed, bounced and thrown through the goal posts at a fast pace throughout the game. Players are required to use only one horse, which is why Polocrosse is called the “King of the One Horse Sports.” A full team consists of six players (with up to two reserve players) divided into two sections. The first section plays a six to eight-minute chukka (time period) while the second section sits out. At the end of the first chukka, the second section takes the field while the first section sits out. The sections alternate play for the entire game, which may be four to eight chukkas long. The winner of the game is the team that throws the most balls through the goal posts. Visit americanpolocrosse.org to learn more about polocrosse in the U.S.
Aug 222011
