With the hiring of Mike Clark at Denison the NCAC West got some new, young blood. Clark comes to Granville from Emory University (GA). In his first head coaching stint, Clark inherits a good program with a track record of recent success.
Some may think it’s rare for a young head coach to be handed the reigns of an established program in his first job, but in the NCAC West it seems to be a trend.
We don’t need to look far to get an idea of what may be in store for the young Big Red skipper.
Just 35 miles northwest of Granville there’s another baby-faced head coach at the helm of the Ohio Wesleyan program. Tyler Mott has already accomplished quite a bit in Delaware.
In his first season as interim Head Coach, Mott guided the 2008 Battling Bishops to a 29 win season, the NCAC
tournament title and a berth in the NCAA regional. The Grove City native collected a NCAC Coach of the Year award just a scant five years after being named the conference’s Pitcher of the Year as a player.
In his second campaign Mott led OWU to the NCAC West division title. The Bishops finished up 24-16. And he did all of these things before the age of 30.
This season OWU returns a talented group that looks to capture another NCAC West division crown. The coaches selected OWU to finish second, so his peers certainly believe Mott has OWU in a position to do just that.
Mott presents a good blueprint for Clark to look at. There are numerous parallels between the two beyond their proximity in age. Both coaches are products of excellent programs from their playing days. Mott played at OWU under the well-respected Roger Ingles. Ingles turned the OWU program into a consistent 30-win program including eight 30-win seasons in the 90′s. Ingles also posted back-to-back 40-win seasons to start the new century. In total he led the Bishops to 15 NCAA regional appearances.
Clark, meanwhile, caught at perennial power Cortland State (NY). He played for Head Coach Joe Brown who has made the NCAA regional in all 10 of his seasons with the Red Dragons. Cortland as also made World Series appearances in five of those seasons highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2005. Brown has posted 362 wins in his 10 seasons in charge of the Red Dragons. Cortland enters 2010 having won five consecutive conference titles.
Both young men also had excellent experience as assistant coaches. Mott served as the pitching coach at in-state rival Marietta for three seasons immediately after the conclusion of his playing days. During that time the Etta Express won a national championship (2006) and Mott had the valuable experience of seeing how another winning program is run. To be honest, calling the Pioneers simply a winning program may be unfair. Marietta is one of the most storied programs in DIII. You’d be hard pressed to find a better program in which to cut your teeth as a young coach.
Likewise, Clark learned from the highly successful Mark Twardoski at Emory University (GA). In the six seasons Clark was an assistant the Eagles posted a winning percentage of .749 and made three NCAA regional appearances, including a runner-up finish at the 2007 World Series. Equally as important for Clark was that he learned firsthand how to recruit and win at an academically demanding school.
It’s these types of pedigrees that allow schools, players and fans to feel confident falling in line behind such young men. Their track records show that they’ve won as players and as coaches. Will Clark lead Denison to an NCAC title as quickly as Mott? That remains to be seen. But Clark knows how to win and he knows it can be done thanks to Mott.
With these two young men guiding two of the top programs in the NCAC it is certainly an exciting time for the conference. While every school strives to improve their program on an annual basis there is an extra ingredient that comes with youth. It’s undeniable that players respond to it. While there are certainly energetic and passionate coaches of all ages, there is something special about a young, passionate head coach. There’s an aura of promise and excitement surrounding things. I just hope that NCAC fans, no matter their allegiance, take a moment to enjoy that because it doesn’t happen often at such high quality programs.
Filed under: Division III
