GBR - The many hats of Mark Clark

LONDON (National Team Women) - Mark Clark is the head coach of the Great Britain women’s basketball team and is currently with them on the second leg of the their preparation in Slovenia and Croatia. This article gives some insight information of the man who is charged with the task of putting British women’s basketball back on the international stage.

Mark Clark and his present roles

Question: What’s would you consider to be your favourite role in basketball these days?

Answer: If you had asked me that 12 to 18 months ago I would absolutely guarantee that being head coach of a national team programme would have been my ideal position. Before I used to love the day to day involvement club wise but nowadays working with the best people on a national basis is always a real buzz.

But the role I have had over the last two years as Director at the academy at Barking has been good because firstly we have the financial support to make it as close as we can to European programmes and secondly I have been able to bring in people to work with our players. And to add the icing on the cake we have now graduated our first group of players and the payback already is that we have got some of our players into the States and others are been looked at by professional programmes.

This youth programme at Barking is something I believe can have an impact on the game in the United Kingdom. We do not have enough of these scenarios. For example the Hackney Community College Basketball Academy Programme run by Tony Garbelotto is really doing a good job with his programme (HCCA). But if you remove his and ours, I am not really sure of how many programmes we have that totally integrate education and that many hours on the basketball court.

I love the role at Barking without a question of doubt and because of what it entails I believe that in combination with my duties as senior national team coach as well - to be quite honest - I am in my ideal position at the moment.

2. The children of Mark Clark

Question: How do you feel being in the shadow of your two children these days?

Answer: Well, today I am the dad of … (Mark is laughing.)

Question: So how did you cope with being labelled as the father of two basketball players?

Answer: Actually it opened some doors. I am quite happy but I do not think that being the son of Claire and I opened too many doors for them. But being Dan’s father certainly opened some door for me and being Ella’s father is opening other doors for me and is giving me some new contacts etc.

It is interesting when people talk about this but we have always been conscious for the kids to have their own identity and I think for Ella it has been a little more difficult because she has had the additional factor of coming after Dan. And now I can understand how my children feel because today when people come up to me and say: "oh you’re Dan’s dad or you’re Ella’s dad." Anyway it is an interesting way of being pigeon holed and giving you a little bit of a label. But no I am proud of the fact that people recognise my kids as something noteworthy that I can be their father I suppose. The ultimate - if I may say so - is that it has got to a stage that I am recognised through them, so it’s great.

3. What lies ahead of Mark Clark’s basketball career

Question: With everything that you have been involved with in Basketball in the United Kingdom do you see the 2012 Olympics as a possible end to your career?

Answer: I would not say that 2012 will be the end as such. Let me explain why:

I went to the Olympic qualifiers in 1988 as the assistant coach, which was a proud moment, because GB came around once every four years then. And then when we won the Commonwealth championships in 1991 with England, I thought at the time it does not get any better than that. We had won an international tournament.

I know that it is a question of raising the bar and because I have already been as assistant coach on an Olympic team, I do not want to just go to 2012 as a participant, obviously that is a big honour and everything. I want GB to be as competitive as possible. I do not know if in 2012 we will be ready to get out of the groups and all those sort of things. For me it is beyond 2012 that is the most exciting thing. 2012 has to be the real catalyst in British basketball because it is the one chance we have. If we can do well enough in the men’s programme in 2012 and generate some interest, attract some money and some profile and media profile and if we can use that then after 2012 British basketball should be even more exciting because we have already all the natural talents we need. And it is just a case of putting all the processes and systems in place. If 2012 does all that then great, for me on a personal level I do not know if it is the end for me. I might become just Dan’s and Ella’s dad full time, but I do not know yet.

Leslie Anderson