Clark has been at the top of his game for a long time, a demanding coach who churns out athletes for the national team. Wikipedia reports, "Jack Clark has served as the University of California’s varsity rugby head coach since 1984 (assistant coach 1982-83), compiling an overall Cal record of 680-90-5 (.877), a career that includes both 15s and 7s, and has yielded 22 National Collegiate Championships in 15s, including 12 in a row from 1991-2002 and five straight from 2004-2008, and three national titles in 7s at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Collegiate Rugby Championships." What makes him and his program tick?
Former Cal staffer and Providence AD Bob Driscoll gushed, “There is an unconditional belief in him. When he says something, it is absolutely authentic and believable.”
In an interview with California magazine Clark noted something more amazing, "we’re a non-scholarship team. Actually we pay into the University just under one million dollars in fees and tuition; that is, the parents of my players do."
His players say he excels at motivation "to get every ounce of potential from every player." Coach Clark says, "I think they leave with a Ph.D. in team...they understand those type of values that high performance teams carry with them."
Jen Sinkler discussed Clark and Cal values. Here are some highlights and comments.
We develop players. You come in and we get you from where you are to where you want to be.”
We have a performance culture where the byproduct is winning, versus ‘We’re all about winning.’
1. LOVE CONDITIONALLY. Clark says family means unconditional love. He relies on people and execution. He adds a quote from Bo Schembechler, “On the other hand, if you get the wrong guy on your team, he’ll beat you every day.”
2. BE THOROUGHLY ACCOUNTABLE. After games he and his team make a granular review of what went well and what didn't. "Spend so much more time on your strengths." That's a key component of Cal's 'performance culture.' Clark also emphasizes transparency. That makes sense when analyzing the type of gifted students present at Cal.
3. SHARE A VOCABULARY. Clark keeps it simple and emphasizes what players must know and do.
4. PRACTICE RESILIENCY. "We say our mindset is “entitled to nothing, grateful for everything.” Note that in another post recently, LA Clippers' VP of Basketball Operations Kevin Eastman described being "resolute" as being able to do the same thing over and over again. It's more than consistency, it's about persistence within performance. He also described, "The ability to focus on the next most important thing all the time."
5. EXPECT EVERYONE TO LEAD.
"We say that the definition of leadership is the ability to make those around you better and more productive." Even at our level, players should want shared leadership. I remind them that they're not playing for the city, the school, their parents, or me, you're here for each other. It's your team.
Clark believes that leadership as a skill can be developed, shared, and embraced by everyone on their club. But it's about team. “You’re going to ask me what’s best for the team, aren’t you?” And I say, “Of course.” That’s the first lens that comes down on every decision we make...on a day-to-day operational basis, what are we doing and why are we doing it and who’s doing it and who’s being asked to do what?"
6. IMPROVE RELENTLESSLY.
Clark says, "It turns out there are two kinds of teams. There are teams that are getting better and there are teams that are getting worse. There really isn’t that much in between. We kid ourselves that there are plateaus somewhere, but really, if you’re not getting better you’re most likely getting worse."
7. GET A GREAT COACH.
Clark opines "There’s a term in coaching called fence-posting. If you can imagine building a fence, you dig a hole and you put the post in there and you walk about 10 feet and you dig another hole, you walk another 10 feet and dig another hole. That’s kind of what you do in coaching. You’ve got to consistently talk about checkpoints in a collaborative fashion with the team."
What he's talking about is benchmarking, performance metrics, trending, and demanding players and the team to hold themselves to a high standard. Great coaching takes players to where they can't get by themselves. Too often we allow politics to interfere with progress.
8. VALUE TEAM.
Clark bubbles over with the appreciation of team within the rugby program. He believes it to be distinct within the university.
Princeton's Pete Carril shares, "How do you know if your team has camaraderie? I can tell by the way they walk off the floor at the end of practice. You can feel their happiness vibrating; you can see how they work out together; you can watch it in the shower room — what they’re talking about, the level of excitement. There are many ways you can feel it, and it’s better to feel it than to hear it. The camaraderie practically comes out of their bodies."
Our middle school culture last season was about TEAMWORK, IMPROVEMENT, and ACCOUNTABILITY. The players really owned that, played to that. Winning isn't part of that definition because winning isn't the process mandate. But as you elevate your process, results improve and 'the score takes care of itself' as Bill Walsh used to say.