Parker Pearce, who played on a 2022 national championship University of Virginia club polo team and captained the team in 2023, is returning to Virginia Polo, this time as the coach and general manager.
Pearce, manager of the Maryland Polo Club in his hometown of Monkton, is a 2023 University graduate with a management degree from the McIntire School of Commerce and minors in entrepreneurship and studio art.
“It’s a good opportunity for me,” he said of the coaching position. “I have an obviously deep passion and connection to the Virginia Polo program, having served as student president of the club during my time there. I really enjoy everything it gives to the students, but also the whole organization and the structure behind it.”
Pearce brings business and management experience to his new position at Virginia Polo. (Contributed photo by Juan Settino)
Besides his UVA playing career, Pearce also served on the board of directors of Virginia Polo for two years after graduating. When he heard that longtime coach Lou Lopez was retiring, it was a “passion project” for him to find a good coach, until he realized he would be the ideal candidate.
“I already know the program quite well,” he said. “I know the flaws in it, and I have a couple of things that I think need to change, and some things that we definitely want to continue – the traditions, the idea of it, the student-run aspect of it – and it seemed like a perfect fit for me.”
Jenny Germroth, director of development and communications at Virginia Polo, said Pearce was a fitting choice. “He was an especially responsible and dedicated student, so in some ways it feels as though we have already worked together. His eye for detail with horse care, ability to build relationships with those around him, passion for the program, combined with our outstanding alumni, will set him up for success to carry on the legacy of affordable polo for students at Virginia Polo.”
Pearce sees his McIntire degree as a good foundation for his new job.
“I have a good balance of learning the business end, how things need to function, balancing the books and understanding what really goes into an operation like this,” Pearce said. “Combined with my previous experience growing up on a farm, understanding the care that needs to be given to a property of that size and maintaining equipment, everything I’ve learned over the past few years here in Maryland, I feel, has prepared me.”
Pearce returned to Monkton after graduation, continued to develop as a polo player and then spent a month working in Argentina.
“It was an opportunity to see another world and the next level of polo,” he said. “It was a wonderful opportunity there. It allowed me to work on my Spanish, and now being bilingual has been a great advantage to me in this industry we work in.”
Pearce returned to Maryland as the manager of the Maryland Polo Club and has periodically returned to Virginia Polo to practice with some of his old teammates.
