Sewickley youth one of nation’s top polo players
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Jack McLean is too young to contend for the title of “The Most Interesting Man In the World,” given he has yet to parallel park a train or give his father “the talk” (as the character in the beer ads boldly claims).
Still, the kid from Sewickley has built a sparkling reputation (an interesting one, even) for a 17-year-old high school senior.
McLean speaks Spanish fluently; he has sung the national anthem at numerous events; he has been to New Zealand, England and Guatemala; he’s a straight-A student.
And, oh by the way, he is among the top youth polo players in the nation.
Just last month, he led his prep team, the Maryland Boys, to a second consecutive undefeated season and a second consecutive U.S. Polo Association National Interscholastic Arena Championship.
A relentless competitor who stands a shade over 5 feet 5, McLean was an all-tournament selection at the event, played March 23-25 at Cornell University.
“Polo,” said McLean, who is educated online by the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School to accommodate his traveling demands, “is exhilarating.”
The honor at the scholastic championships was yet another in a long line earned by McLean, who began riding at age 6 and competing at 11 (when his father discovered the sport during a vacation in Florida).
McLean’s six-year odyssey has seen him earn more Youth All-Star Awards than any player in the nation since the inception of USPA National Youth Tournament Series in 2013. In 2016 and 2017, he represented the Mid-States All-Stars at the national championships, earning the Sportsmanship Award at the 2016 event.
He has also represented the U.S. throughout the world and is well-known on the youth polo circuit.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but well worth it,” McLean said.
To say McLean stands alone in the sport, particularly in Western Pennsylvania, is not a stretch. He is the only scholastic competitor from the region. No WPIAL member school offers the sport ... for obvious reasons.
Polo requires space (the outdoor game is played on a 300-by160-yard field with four players per side; the indoor game on a 100-yard footing arena with three players per side) and horses (you won’t find many running around the Pine-Richland, Clairton or Avonworth school districts).
Consequently, McLean travels to Ohio to compete scholastically, and does much of his training in Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Given the time demands, he has been educated online since his freshman year.
Asked how it feels to be the only youth polo player in the region, McLean, who described the sport as hockey on horseback, said it is challenging, yet exciting.
“It just makes my achievements all the more special, as it is kind of unlikely that a kid from Pittsburgh is able to have success in a sport that is largely dominated by Argentines and South Americans,” he said. “The path that I have chosen, leaving a regular school and living away from home may not be traditional, but the opportunities to travel and to meet some incredible players who share my passion for polo has been amazing. In fact, in Florida there are lots of teen boys and girls equestrians [polo, show jumping, Grand Prix and dressage], tennis players and golfers who are dedicated to sports. Most are hard workers who sacrifice in order to focus to achieve success.”
Those sacrifices have led him to the University of Virginia, where he will compete next season. McLean had considered several Ivy League schools, but the combination of Virginia’s top-tier polo program, its great academic reputation and the fact he trains in Virginia, made the decision a relatively easy one.
“I found UVA had strong academics as well as it offered the best polo program in the United States,” said McLean, a certified umpire who has called more than 200 outdoor matches and 60 arena games. “I attended clinics and played Interscholastic polo at the University of Virginia Polo Center throughout high school so it was very familiar. Their facility is the finest in the nation with indoor and outdoor arenas as well as a grass field. Plus, UVA has a string of 75 great horses . ... I have been working in Upperville, Virginia, for the past four summers so Virginia is very familiar and like a second home to me.”