Clark was my Priest quorum advisor and church basketball coach at the same time he was head coach at West High. All of us recognized that while church ball is fun and people want to play hard, it's not a particularly high level of competition. However, Clark brought all of his knowledge and passion for the game and really taught us how to play basketball and how to compete. He treated us like real athletes, he wanted us to get better, and he took an interest in each of us.
We made it to the region championship game, but it conflicted with a West High game that Clark obviously had to coach. He expressed to us how sorry he was that couldn't come to the game and he really meant it. We were able to win the game and the region championship. After our game I went to his house to wait for him to get home. Since this was way before cell phones he had no way of knowing what had happened at our game. He barged in his front door, saw me, and asked how it went. I wanted to play a little joke so I looked at the ground and said "We really could have used you there" then slowly looked up at him and said "but we won!"
I think he covered the six or eight feet between us in one step and and with a huge grin gave me a hug that lifted me off the ground like we had won a state championship. His excitement and total joy was genuine and it gave me a bigger rush than actually winning the game had. Then we sat down and he wanted to know everything that happened during the game and we went over it in detail, with him shoing interest in every detail.
I really don't think Clark cared about winning the tournament. He cared about us and he expressed that every time we practiced and especially that night. I don't remember hardly anything about the games we played that year, but I'll never forget the pride and love he expressed that night, and how it made me feel. And I know he made countless others feel the same way.
Dan Andersen
