June 24, 2026 • 30 mins
Tim Cates welcomes new Concordia University Irvine men's basketball head coach Scott Clark for an in-depth conversation about the next chapter of Eagles basketball. Coach Clark shares what drew him to Concordia, his vision for building a championship culture, and the values that will define his program on and off the court. They discuss recruiting in Southern California, developing student-athletes, navigating today's changing college basketball landscape, and the style of play Eagles fans can expect this season.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
From college basketball player to college basketball coach. For a
dozen years, he was an assistant coach at the Division
one and Division two level, and now he's a first
time head coach at Kincordia University, Irvine. He is Scott
Clark and he joins us now on episode eighty five
of the Masters in Coaching Podcast. Let's go Well, welcome
(00:24):
into episode eighty five of the Masters in Coaching Podcast
here on iHeartRadio or wherever you are watching or listening.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
We certainly appreciate.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
You taking the time. So excited to talk to this
week's guests. He is the new head basketball coach at
Concordia University, Ernivine, a longtime assistant coach, and he has
paid his dues and now he has got his own program,
and I'm excited to talk to him about how the
program is going, his vision for the program moving forward
in the state of college basketball here in twenty twenty six.
(00:53):
He is Scott Clark and he joins us now coach.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
How you doing, Tam doing great? Thanks for taking the time.
Really excited to be on here with you.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I'm excited to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
It's only been about two and a half months now
since you took over as the new head coach at
Kencordia University, Irvine.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
What has that been like for you?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
It's it's been good.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
You know, we had some good familiarity with the program,
with the school, so that's kind of helped. But you know,
anytime you take over a new program, it's you're just
trying to keep your head above water and information overload
for a while and getting the roster and.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Figuring out how things work.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
But luckily here there's there's a lot of good people
here that are super helpful. So we're blessed to be here.
We're excited to get this thing going.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
You take over a program that had a long time
head coach at the helm, what is that like? Do
you got to come in and start over? Do you
embrace what was there before? Do you do a combination
of the both?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
What's that like?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Because you're not taking over for a coach who you
know didn't succeed and was here a few years and
now it's a turnover again.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You took over for a mainstay there Cordia.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
No doubt, no doubt coach Ammon. I mean he did
incredible things here for twenty five years. So I think
It's a bit of kind of a combination, right, because
you want to you want to continue to build off
of the foundation that he built over his time here,
keeping the alumni involved a lot of the great people.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
That played here that are proud.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
But you also want to be yourself too, So I
think it's a combination of both and doing your best
to be yourself but also maintaining that high standard that's
that's been set here.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
You were an assistant coach for a dozen years at
the D one level, the D two level.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Why now, why Why was.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
This opportunity, this job at Concordia the right spot for
you to be a first time head coach?
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I think, you know, there's a lot of the values
that I have in coaching and in life aligned with
the values here from the leadership up top all the
way down through the athletic department, And so I think
there was a lot of alignment with with how I
like to do things, how we like to run our program,
(03:12):
and just with how the school likes to run the
university itself and what's important whether it's student athletes or
or just students on campus.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
So I think that was part of it.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And then and then my familiarity with the West Region
Division two. I haven't played there in the West Region
having coached, and then obviously these last couple of years
back at cal Baptist, you know, it made it. It
made it the right time. It was the right time
for my family. We had an incredible year at CBU
(03:44):
and it was time to kind of spread your wings.
And these things are hard to get and when you
when you can get them, you jump all over them,
especially a good one like this. These these things don't
they don't come along every year. So we're excited.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Before we get in to the program and go back
to kind of how you got into coaching and how
you end up at Concordia.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I just want to go back to last year.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You mentioned at cal Paptis, you guys went on a run,
you make the NCAA tournaments.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
What was that?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
What was that experience like really for that last six
weeks as you guys went on a run and into
March madness.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It was it was incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
And you know, I would say even before that last
six weeks, you know, you're going back to last June
this time last year when we started practice, we had
good veteran leadership, returning leadership in the locker room, and
then we brought in a recruiting class that was just
committed to winning.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
And that's hard to do. You have to get lucky
on it, and we.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Did, and so you can kind of feel it bruin
in the summer, carry that through the fall, and obviously
led to the best year in school history. We just
had we had great players, but we also had great people,
and I think that's that's really what fueled us down
that stretch in the run. And it was an awesome experience.
(05:04):
The families are, are coaching staff, the players. It was
kind of a whirlwind. It moves fast and then it's over.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
But it was.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Incredible as you kind of reflect on it and look
back at what was done and what the players were
able to get done.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Let's go back even further and talk about when your
playing days were done, because you played college basketball, when
they were done at that moment, did you know, coach
you wanted to get into coaching that was the next step.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Was there other.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Avenues maybe you wanted to pursue, or was coaching basketball
what you.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Knew you wanted to do?
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Coaching basketball? It was what I knew.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
My dad was a longtime high school coach, so from
from a young age, I was in the gym, I
was on the bench watching him, and I really didn't
know anything different. So obviously you get done playing and
you can't play anymore, the next best thing to do
stay involved as coaching and just being able to be
around the game, mentor these young men. It's enjoyable, it's
(06:09):
fun competition, having my family involved, so I always knew
I don't know what I would do if if I
wasn't coaching.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
I'd say that often.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I think you're the perfect person to talk to because
you get into coaching and you've worked your way up
to a head coach now, and for those young coaches,
those those players who are just now getting done playing
at whatever level they're at and wanted to get into coaching,
I think you're a perfect person to kind of get
some information from and glean from. What did you do,
What was that first step into getting to coaching, Who
(06:41):
did you reach out to, how did you get that
first job.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I always I get that question every once in a while,
and my answer is always the same, and it's less
about in my opinion, the level you need to be
with the right people, and for me, I was super
fortunate to get my career started at California Baptist as
a graduate assistant for Rick Croy. My college assistant was
(07:07):
on staff there, Hardy Aspria, and he went to bat
for me, he vouched for me, and so I was
able to get my foot in the door there, learn
tons from the whole staff, and then continue on to
Calsa l A with with Jim Siah and then out
to to Denver at Regis University with Brady Bergson. So
I've been super fortunate to be surrounded by coaches that
(07:30):
are that are great men, that value, uh, what it
means to mentor these these players, and they're great basketball
minds as well. But that's what I would That's that's
my advice anytime, Hey, coach, I'm looking to get into coaching,
where do you think I should start? Well, start with
with great people, because at the end of the day,
(07:51):
that's what you're going to fall back on, and you
want to make sure you have those guys in your
corner and you can call them as much as you
want when when you're away from them, and they can
mentor you and help you grow.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Now, certainly head coach leaving can dictate what happens to
a coaching staff.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Where you when, and where you move on to.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
But talk a little bit about that, that that chance
to move on to school to school, and those opportunities
for you to grow as a coach.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
What led to some of those moves?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Was it, you know, at a necessity to go find
another job, was it to grow as a coach?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Was it kind of a combination of all that.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Yeah, you know, when I I did two years at
California Baptist as a as a grad assistant, and when
coach Sai got the cast at LA job, we had
a couple of conversations and that was my first full
time salary job, which again everything's hard to get. It's
hard to get a grad grad grad spot, it's hard
(08:48):
to get a full time spot, it's hard to get
a part time. So I went out to LA with him,
helped get that program off the ground for a couple
of years. He had a lot of success going back
to UCLA and building fres the Pacific in San Marcos,
and he's got an incredible basketball mine, especially on the
offensive side, and just to be able to learn from
him was great. From there, we went out to Denver,
(09:10):
and that was a little bit off the wall.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
At the time.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I was getting ready to get married.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
My wife, she's in sports media, so we were kind
of chasing our careers all over the country and she
ended up in Denver and we're trying to figure out
what's next. And I had a connection out there at
Regis and I had never been to Denver except for
the airport like everyone. And next thing you know, we're
there for six years with with coach Brady Bergson and
(09:38):
built kind of a life out there. Our daughters were
born out there and just had an incredible time. If
you'd have told this we were gonna be there for
six years heading into it, I probably wouldn't have believed it.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
But we loved it out.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
There, and then when coach Kroy came came calling a
couple of years ago to come back to the CBU,
it was just an opportunity that was too good to
pass up up. More challenged at the division IE level,
the programs in a great spot, great familiarity with the
staff and how things were going, and then obviously we
(10:12):
landed here. So it's been a journey, but we've enjoyed
every every part of it. The good times, and you
know there's a rough patch here and there, but you
got to focus on the on the good stuff and
and continue to grow.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Scott Clark is our guest here on the Master's and
Coaching podcast here on iHeartRadio, the new basketball coach at
Concordia University, Irvine.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
When you get the job and you're introduced at the
press conference, Uh, I imagine a lot of things are
going through your mind, a lot of flashbacks in your
career growing up playing coaching. We were some mentors, were
some coaches with your dad? Were some of those those
flashes in your mind of those people who helped get
you here? And who are some of those people that
(10:54):
when you think about how you got to this point
in your coaching career, have really been instrumental in helping you.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah, no doubt, and they did a great job with
that press conference here. But you kind of get to
those moments and you don't really quite know what to expect.
You don't know the thoughts that are always gonna come
through your mind. But I just kept coming back to,
like you, you wouldn't I wouldn't be here without the
people that have poured into my life and my career
(11:22):
and started with my dad and then my junior college coach,
John Peterson, and then those those three guys I mentioned,
Rick Kroi, Brady Bergerson, Jim Siah. You don't get to
where you want to go without people poor in India,
and you can't do it alone. We take that motto
here in our program with the way we serve our players,
(11:43):
helping them achieve their goals and just pouring into their
lives on the court and off the court. So it
is cool to kind of have that moment to reflect.
You know, for a lot of those guys, it was
cool moment for them to watch and to see that happening.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
So it was good. But you always you think about
the people in the path that that led you there.
For sure.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Now, Scott Clark the basketball coach, how much is their
coaching philosophies things you may be kind of taken from
and and use it now as your own. And if
you kind of had a plan all along, like Okay,
when I get when I take over my program, when
I when I get my own program, this is kind
of what we're going to do, and these are my
(12:28):
ideas and I'm going to kind of use some of
their ideas and some other people's ideas. And now that
you're the head coach, do you have that kind of
plan formulated.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, of course, you take bits and pieces from all
your stops, you know, and and for for here, the
way we like to do things. We're going to be
a hyper competitive program. And at the end of the day,
like basketball is, it's a competition and it's not always
(12:56):
going to look pretty. It's not a computer game. You
have to have it or you have to have a plan,
you have to have structure and all that stuff. But
our goal is to put the most competitive basketball team
on the court every single night. And that's built from
our first day, once we start at the end at
the end of August with our guys on campus, and
all the way through our last game whenever that is
(13:17):
in March. So yeah, you kind of take bits and pieces,
and I think in today's game you kind of have
to adjust to your personnel with higher roster turnover now
than there was five years ago, ten years ago, and
so you do spend a good chunk of the fall
(13:38):
learning your team and then learning each other. And obviously
this year it's going to be an even steeper climb
with everyone being in, everyone being new, so many new
players and new coaching staff. So we'll spend a good
amount of time in the fall just figuring out what
we have, what what our team looks like, where we're good,
where we're not good, what guys do well, where we
(13:58):
need to improve on, and then roll from there and
play to our strengths and really focus on that.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
I want to get into culture, roster and leadership with
you and to kind of individually here and you talked
about it, and that's the new way of college athletics.
Even college baseball just ended with the College Baseball World
Series and guys are in the transfer portal and roster
turnover is just everywhere in college athletics. And you know,
players want to get paid and whatever. But you talk
(14:25):
about building a culture. Can you build a culture on
a year to year basis? How hard is that to
bring a fresh group of guys in really, as you
mentioned in August, feel them out, figure everybody out, and
fall and go win basketball games in the winter and spring.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Can you establish culture that quickly? I believe you can.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
And it may be a little bit more difficult than
it has been in the past, but I think a
large part.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Of that starts in the recruiting process. And the recruiting
process can be fast.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Now with the portal, but you still have to do
your due diligence to make sure you're getting guys that
fit fit the university, fit our locker room, because if
you kind of if you screw that up, you know,
it only takes one or two guys, So you and
you do have to get lucky. I mean, you're not
gonna go fifteen for fifteen every single year, but you
(15:24):
you got to do your best in the recruiting process
to really drill down of hey, what do you.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Want out of this, what are your goals? Why do
you want to be here? Where can we help you?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
And things like that, and then once you get once
you get the group together, it's a slow process. It
doesn't happen overnight. But I think a large part of
the culture building is just the relationships guys on a
team with each other, the coaching staff, people on campus here.
It's a magnitude of a bunch of different things, and
(15:58):
it takes time. But I do think you can build
a great culture and I've been around great culture builders
in my career, so that's one thing that I will
be able to take just the things I've learned at
those different stops.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
And take it. Take it here and we'll run.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Talk a little bit about that roster building, coach, because
it's different at every level, certainly for you at Concordia.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
What was the roster that you got a couple of
months ago? What does it look like now? And kind
of take us behind the scenes.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You know, maybe a dad or son watching that wants
to play for you or thinking about playing at the
next level.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
What's that recruiting process like for you?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, I mean when we when we got here, there's
five guys left, so well, well, if ten you guys
were almost done. It's been a it's been a long
couple of months of piecing it together. But I think
our staff's done an incredible job of we didn't want
to take character risks, and as we kind of lay
our foundation and build our culture here, we weren't gonna
(17:05):
take a risk on that end, and we've been a
little bit more methodical, maybe than some other programs would be,
but for me, that was important.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
I think that that's important for the university itself.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
We need to make sure we get the right people
on this campus and in this program as we build
this thing.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Back to.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
The recruiting process, if you're here watching with your son,
I would I always encourage parents and when when we
go speak at practices or au clubs or high schools,
like you need to have a feel of of what
each level is and and what's around you. You know,
you could watch the games on TV during the season
(17:50):
on ESPN on primetime, but there's so much good basketball
outside of that, and you got to kind of a
feel about where can you be successful and where you
want it. I think that can get lost a little
bit these days.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
You need to you need to go.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Somewhere where you want it, where they're going to pour
into you to help you achieve your goals. And that
might not be the the name on the sweatshirt, it
doesn't it doesn't matter at the end of the day.
It's it's about their relationships and the experience that you have.
Whether that's high major, Division one, whether it's low major,
whether it's Division two, Division three.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
There's there's so much good basketball. There are so many
great coaches.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
You got to be at a place where you're going
to continue to develop and bring a priority within that program.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Is that hard sometimes for kids you think maybe humbling
that they're they're thinking one thing. In reality, their spot
is at a different level, at a different school maybe in.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Than they envision.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
And and how do you how do you tell a
kid that that you know is maybe always think in
the back of his mind he wants to be somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Is that something that you have to think about with
these players?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
It's yeah, you do, you know, And obviously you got
the social media stuff, you know, and there's there's so
much good that comes from the social media, but you know,
the comparison thing is real, you know. And at the
end of the day, they're eighteen to twenty two year
old young men and they're not always going to have
(19:14):
a clear vision of where they're going and what they're doing.
And that's our job is to mentor them and lead
them through that. And so when they're done here, whether
that's two years, whether that's four years, they're grateful for
this experience and they feel like they have real relationships
with their teammates and their coaches, and they have a
place to call home and it might look a little
(19:37):
different than it did five, seven, ten years ago, but
it still can be done, and it's important for us
to do our best to make sure that we are
building that here at Concordia.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Talk about it.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
I want to mention leadership as well, because you touched
upon it as well. You had it at cal Baptist.
Great leadership and sometimes, as you mentioned, maybe it's bringing
the recruiting class and you get lucky because a couple
of guys emerge as a leader. Is that something that
you look upon your players to establish for somebody to
kind of raise their hand and be that leader.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Is that expected when you recruit them? That? All right?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
This guy was a leader somewhere else. This guy was
a leader in high school. Wherever he was at, he
was a leader. How do you how do you establish
leadership well within your program?
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I think Parv it's the recruiting and you know, just
getting to know him, talking to their high school coaches,
their parents, and you can get a feel just even
by watching them play throughout the summer during the season
kind of their their their presence on the basketball court,
the way they care themselves, the way they talk, you know,
and then you get here. You put guys in leadership
positions and some guys won't like it. Some guys will,
(20:45):
but it's an opportunity to grow. And then like, at
the end of the day, your leaders. I could we
could sit here and say, hey, you're the captain.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
You're the captain. You're the captain.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
But at the end of the day, the leaders on
the team are where the eyes going pressure and so
I could say, hey, man, this is our leader. But
if our team's not looking at this guy under pressure,
it doesn't really matter. So you got to do your
best to kind of build those leadership skills and putting
guys in uncomfortable positions, whether that's speaking, whether that's talking
(21:19):
to the team, whether it's different events in the community
on campus, and just kind of keep growing that stuff.
And at the end of the day, everyone the goals
for everyone to lead, and it looks a little bit
different one through fifteen, but everyone's got leadership capabilities and
you just kind of have to dig them out and
put them in those positions and help them grow from there.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
All right, you're almost got your roster put together.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
You mentioned August is when you're all going to come together,
when you finally can kind of exhale and take a
break here and kind of get ready to now coach.
What are you most looking forward to as a head coach?
Getting out to that first practice, that first drill, that
first game.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Are are you anxious? Are you excited? Can that get
here fast? In for you?
Speaker 4 (22:01):
It can't, And you know it's we're excited.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I know I am, and our staff is because when
we got here it was finals week and so we
haven't been on the floor with the five returns that
we have, we haven't been on the floor with them.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Obviously, we have a bunch of new guys, So just
getting on.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
The floor and coaching basketball and learning these guys, like
you kind of forget, like you get to this time
of year, there's so much going on and then you forget. Man,
we got the basketball team, like competition, it's time to
drive it.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
So we're looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
That's what I love the most is just being on
the on the floor with these guys, being the weight room,
sitting in the film, the meetings, just building the team.
I love team, and I love the kind of the
formation that takes what it looks like from from day
one to the end and kind of seeing the growth.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
So we're excited to get to get to get there.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
We're slowly getting there, but it'll be here before we
know it and we'll hit ground running.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
For I was listening and you want to get into
coaching and or thinking about it or want to take
that next step.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
We talked about how you pursued.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Getting in and as assistant and your journeys to take
you to different spots. Now, as a head coach, what
are you looking for for an assistant coach? How did
you put this staff together and moving forward for future staffs?
What are you looking for if somebody wants to be
an assistant coach under you?
Speaker 3 (23:26):
For the first thing is the first thing is the
relationships and just someone that can build real relationships and
help mentor these guys on the court and off the
court and trust. So relationships and trust were at the
top of my list. And I was fortunate to find
Mark Carbone. He's a former player at California Baptist. He's
(23:48):
coach at different levels, so he's kind of grinded his
way up and he's awesome. He's been great so far.
Then we're able to add a graduate assistant, Kobe Sanders,
who is actually a lum here was a great player.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I knew him from high school.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Out in Denver, recruit him out out out to Regis
University for his final grad year. And then we have
Jeff McDaniel on staff as well, who was here in
the early days of the coach am And era in
the early two thousands, and he's he's been incredible.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
He knows uh Concordia.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
He's got a great heart for Concordia, a great passion,
a great great mind from mentoring the young men and
just kind of a different approach from us young guys.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
He provides great perspective and he's so connected with with
the alumni here. So we've been fortunate to kind of
piece together and we we wanted guys that are driven
by competition and value a lot of the same stuff
that I that I value, and I was fortunate to
be able to find those guys. And it wasn't my
(24:52):
first go around. When I was going through the hiring
process of those guys, I had a background with them.
I knew him a little bit.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Though.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We're excited for those who are wondering where is Concordia University, Irvine,
where's it located, what's the campus?
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Like?
Speaker 2 (25:08):
What would I be interested in going there?
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Let me tell you, coach, you have a great recruiting
tool in the geographical location of where the school is at.
For those who don't know, the rolling hills behind the
campus there at Concordia University, Irvine when you get off
the freeway in the beautiful area. And oh yeah, not
to mention, you're like five to ten minutes away from
the ocean in Newport, and Orange County is just sprawling.
(25:30):
I mean it is a place to go to go
to school, to play, and certainly to be around. So
you got that nice little recruiting tool in your back
pocket there. Of the geographical location of the school.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
There's no doubt this is a destination and and I
call that for myself when I was going through the
interview process here. It's a destination job. It's a destination
university for student athletes.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
I mean, you hit it on the head.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
You're in the heart of Orange County's seventy five degrees
and sunny every day every day, beautiful. You got great
people on this campus. You're close to the beaches. It's
it's hard to find a better place than this. I'll
tell you that we've enjoyed our first couple of months here.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Yeah, you don't have to tell a kid about snow
and what it's going to be like to hike in
the snow and the fridging temperatures because as you said,
it's seventy five and sunny and sometimes gloomy in June.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
But that's outside of that, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
One file thing for you, coach, the recruiting in southern California.
How active do you want to be in recruiting that
talent base that's already here and built in in Orange
County right around even further in southern California Because there's
a lot of talent out there.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
There's a lot of talent, there's a lot of great coaches,
a lot of great players, a lot of great programs.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
And we've been kind of spending these last weekend and
this upcoming weekend just going to different high school events
and you know, making sure that we're out there and
building those relationships with you know, high school kids, whether
they class twenty seven, twenty eight and beyond. But it's
important for us. We want to find guys that want
to be here. And you know, Concordia has got a
(27:11):
great brand. People know of it, they know of this program,
and we want to take advantage of that, and you know,
you can get a lot of good players out here,
and families are close and they can come watch and play,
and away games are close and things like that. So
it's gonna be a big priority for US Southern California
and even going up north a little bit, but the
(27:35):
most majority of our rosters from the West Coast, so
we're excited about that.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Well, we're excited to see you get going here, coach.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I know it's been a whirlwind couple of months for you,
establishing yourself, getting the roster put together. As you mentioned, though,
there's a light at the end of the tunnel here
with your first practices coming up at the end of
the summer, and then fall begins, and before you know what,
basketball will be here at the end of October early no,
and you'll be off and running in your first year.
So excited to see you and your staff and your
(28:05):
team here in year one do what you're gonna do.
And really, it just cannot express how excited we were
to talk to you kind of pick your brain, see
how the experience has been for you through the coaching
cycles and coaching career, and thank you so much for
kind of talking about your journey and helping out people
who want to get into coaching.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Absolutely, I appreciate you taking the time. We'll have to
do this again once we hit ground running and no
doubt midway through the season or whatever. But this has
been great.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Well there he goes Scott Clark, new head basketball coach
at Concordia University Irvine.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
What a great story.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
He got done playing college basketball, got into coaching Division two,
Division one. Last year, was an assistant coach at cal
Baptist and they went to the NCAA tournament. And now
the new head coach at Concordia University Irvine, his first
head coaching job. He's excited, the school is excited, and
we're certainly excited to see him take that next and
(29:00):
see what this program can do here in twenty twenty
six and twenty twenty seven. If you want to take
that next step in your coaching or administrative career, find
out more about Concordia University, Irvines Masters in Coaching and
Athletics Administration program. Go to CUI dot edu slash coaching
again CUI dot edu slash coaching. If your first time student,
(29:21):
find out about their scholarship program. They got so many
different avenues you can pursue. You can do online, you
can do a blend of online and in class. Find
out more about the program if it's a fit for you,
even if you're a working professional full time, they can
make it work into your busy schedule and get you
that Masters in Coaching and Athletics Administration Again CUI dot
(29:42):
edu slash coaching. Thank you so much to head coach
Scott Clark. Cannot wait to see what the basketball program
does in his first season, and thank you to you
for listening and watching episode eighty five of the Masters
in Coaching podcast. Now in the books. Until next time,
Tim Kaine saying so long everybody.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Mm hm
From college basketball player to college basketball coach. For a
dozen years, he was an assistant coach at the Division
one and Division two level, and now he's a first
time head coach at Kincordia University, Irvine. He is Scott
Clark and he joins us now on episode eighty five
of the Masters in Coaching Podcast. Let's go Well, welcome
(00:24):
into episode eighty five of the Masters in Coaching Podcast
here on iHeartRadio or wherever you are watching or listening.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
We certainly appreciate.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
You taking the time. So excited to talk to this
week's guests. He is the new head basketball coach at
Concordia University, Ernivine, a longtime assistant coach, and he has
paid his dues and now he has got his own program,
and I'm excited to talk to him about how the
program is going, his vision for the program moving forward
in the state of college basketball here in twenty twenty six.
(00:53):
He is Scott Clark and he joins us now coach.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
How you doing, Tam doing great? Thanks for taking the time.
Really excited to be on here with you.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I'm excited to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
It's only been about two and a half months now
since you took over as the new head coach at
Kencordia University, Irvine.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
What has that been like for you?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
It's it's been good.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
You know, we had some good familiarity with the program,
with the school, so that's kind of helped. But you know,
anytime you take over a new program, it's you're just
trying to keep your head above water and information overload
for a while and getting the roster and.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Figuring out how things work.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
But luckily here there's there's a lot of good people
here that are super helpful. So we're blessed to be here.
We're excited to get this thing going.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
You take over a program that had a long time
head coach at the helm, what is that like? Do
you got to come in and start over? Do you
embrace what was there before? Do you do a combination
of the both?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
What's that like?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Because you're not taking over for a coach who you
know didn't succeed and was here a few years and
now it's a turnover again.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You took over for a mainstay there Cordia.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
No doubt, no doubt coach Ammon. I mean he did
incredible things here for twenty five years. So I think
It's a bit of kind of a combination, right, because
you want to you want to continue to build off
of the foundation that he built over his time here,
keeping the alumni involved a lot of the great people.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
That played here that are proud.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
But you also want to be yourself too, So I
think it's a combination of both and doing your best
to be yourself but also maintaining that high standard that's
that's been set here.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
You were an assistant coach for a dozen years at
the D one level, the D two level.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Why now, why Why was.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
This opportunity, this job at Concordia the right spot for
you to be a first time head coach?
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I think, you know, there's a lot of the values
that I have in coaching and in life aligned with
the values here from the leadership up top all the
way down through the athletic department, And so I think
there was a lot of alignment with with how I
like to do things, how we like to run our program,
(03:12):
and just with how the school likes to run the
university itself and what's important whether it's student athletes or
or just students on campus.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
So I think that was part of it.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And then and then my familiarity with the West Region
Division two. I haven't played there in the West Region
having coached, and then obviously these last couple of years
back at cal Baptist, you know, it made it. It
made it the right time. It was the right time
for my family. We had an incredible year at CBU
(03:44):
and it was time to kind of spread your wings.
And these things are hard to get and when you
when you can get them, you jump all over them,
especially a good one like this. These these things don't
they don't come along every year. So we're excited.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Before we get in to the program and go back
to kind of how you got into coaching and how
you end up at Concordia.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I just want to go back to last year.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You mentioned at cal Paptis, you guys went on a run,
you make the NCAA tournaments.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
What was that?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
What was that experience like really for that last six
weeks as you guys went on a run and into
March madness.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It was it was incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
And you know, I would say even before that last
six weeks, you know, you're going back to last June
this time last year when we started practice, we had
good veteran leadership, returning leadership in the locker room, and
then we brought in a recruiting class that was just
committed to winning.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
And that's hard to do. You have to get lucky
on it, and we.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Did, and so you can kind of feel it bruin
in the summer, carry that through the fall, and obviously
led to the best year in school history. We just
had we had great players, but we also had great people,
and I think that's that's really what fueled us down
that stretch in the run. And it was an awesome experience.
(05:04):
The families are, are coaching staff, the players. It was
kind of a whirlwind. It moves fast and then it's over.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
But it was.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Incredible as you kind of reflect on it and look
back at what was done and what the players were
able to get done.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Let's go back even further and talk about when your
playing days were done, because you played college basketball, when
they were done at that moment, did you know, coach
you wanted to get into coaching that was the next step.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Was there other.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Avenues maybe you wanted to pursue, or was coaching basketball
what you.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Knew you wanted to do?
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Coaching basketball? It was what I knew.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
My dad was a longtime high school coach, so from
from a young age, I was in the gym, I
was on the bench watching him, and I really didn't
know anything different. So obviously you get done playing and
you can't play anymore, the next best thing to do
stay involved as coaching and just being able to be
around the game, mentor these young men. It's enjoyable, it's
(06:09):
fun competition, having my family involved, so I always knew
I don't know what I would do if if I
wasn't coaching.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
I'd say that often.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I think you're the perfect person to talk to because
you get into coaching and you've worked your way up
to a head coach now, and for those young coaches,
those those players who are just now getting done playing
at whatever level they're at and wanted to get into coaching,
I think you're a perfect person to kind of get
some information from and glean from. What did you do,
What was that first step into getting to coaching, Who
(06:41):
did you reach out to, how did you get that
first job.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I always I get that question every once in a while,
and my answer is always the same, and it's less
about in my opinion, the level you need to be
with the right people, and for me, I was super
fortunate to get my career started at California Baptist as
a graduate assistant for Rick Croy. My college assistant was
(07:07):
on staff there, Hardy Aspria, and he went to bat
for me, he vouched for me, and so I was
able to get my foot in the door there, learn
tons from the whole staff, and then continue on to
Calsa l A with with Jim Siah and then out
to to Denver at Regis University with Brady Bergson. So
I've been super fortunate to be surrounded by coaches that
(07:30):
are that are great men, that value, uh, what it
means to mentor these these players, and they're great basketball
minds as well. But that's what I would That's that's
my advice anytime, Hey, coach, I'm looking to get into coaching,
where do you think I should start? Well, start with
with great people, because at the end of the day,
(07:51):
that's what you're going to fall back on, and you
want to make sure you have those guys in your
corner and you can call them as much as you
want when when you're away from them, and they can
mentor you and help you grow.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Now, certainly head coach leaving can dictate what happens to
a coaching staff.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Where you when, and where you move on to.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
But talk a little bit about that, that that chance
to move on to school to school, and those opportunities
for you to grow as a coach.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
What led to some of those moves?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Was it, you know, at a necessity to go find
another job, was it to grow as a coach?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Was it kind of a combination of all that.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Yeah, you know, when I I did two years at
California Baptist as a as a grad assistant, and when
coach Sai got the cast at LA job, we had
a couple of conversations and that was my first full
time salary job, which again everything's hard to get. It's
hard to get a grad grad grad spot, it's hard
(08:48):
to get a full time spot, it's hard to get
a part time. So I went out to LA with him,
helped get that program off the ground for a couple
of years. He had a lot of success going back
to UCLA and building fres the Pacific in San Marcos,
and he's got an incredible basketball mine, especially on the
offensive side, and just to be able to learn from
him was great. From there, we went out to Denver,
(09:10):
and that was a little bit off the wall.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
At the time.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I was getting ready to get married.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
My wife, she's in sports media, so we were kind
of chasing our careers all over the country and she
ended up in Denver and we're trying to figure out
what's next. And I had a connection out there at
Regis and I had never been to Denver except for
the airport like everyone. And next thing you know, we're
there for six years with with coach Brady Bergson and
(09:38):
built kind of a life out there. Our daughters were
born out there and just had an incredible time. If
you'd have told this we were gonna be there for
six years heading into it, I probably wouldn't have believed it.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
But we loved it out.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
There, and then when coach Kroy came came calling a
couple of years ago to come back to the CBU,
it was just an opportunity that was too good to
pass up up. More challenged at the division IE level,
the programs in a great spot, great familiarity with the
staff and how things were going, and then obviously we
(10:12):
landed here. So it's been a journey, but we've enjoyed
every every part of it. The good times, and you
know there's a rough patch here and there, but you
got to focus on the on the good stuff and
and continue to grow.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Scott Clark is our guest here on the Master's and
Coaching podcast here on iHeartRadio, the new basketball coach at
Concordia University, Irvine.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
When you get the job and you're introduced at the
press conference, Uh, I imagine a lot of things are
going through your mind, a lot of flashbacks in your
career growing up playing coaching. We were some mentors, were
some coaches with your dad? Were some of those those
flashes in your mind of those people who helped get
you here? And who are some of those people that
(10:54):
when you think about how you got to this point
in your coaching career, have really been instrumental in helping you.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah, no doubt, and they did a great job with
that press conference here. But you kind of get to
those moments and you don't really quite know what to expect.
You don't know the thoughts that are always gonna come
through your mind. But I just kept coming back to,
like you, you wouldn't I wouldn't be here without the
people that have poured into my life and my career
(11:22):
and started with my dad and then my junior college coach,
John Peterson, and then those those three guys I mentioned,
Rick Kroi, Brady Bergerson, Jim Siah. You don't get to
where you want to go without people poor in India,
and you can't do it alone. We take that motto
here in our program with the way we serve our players,
(11:43):
helping them achieve their goals and just pouring into their
lives on the court and off the court. So it
is cool to kind of have that moment to reflect.
You know, for a lot of those guys, it was
cool moment for them to watch and to see that happening.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
So it was good. But you always you think about
the people in the path that that led you there.
For sure.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Now, Scott Clark the basketball coach, how much is their
coaching philosophies things you may be kind of taken from
and and use it now as your own. And if
you kind of had a plan all along, like Okay,
when I get when I take over my program, when
I when I get my own program, this is kind
of what we're going to do, and these are my
(12:28):
ideas and I'm going to kind of use some of
their ideas and some other people's ideas. And now that
you're the head coach, do you have that kind of
plan formulated.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, of course, you take bits and pieces from all
your stops, you know, and and for for here, the
way we like to do things. We're going to be
a hyper competitive program. And at the end of the day,
like basketball is, it's a competition and it's not always
(12:56):
going to look pretty. It's not a computer game. You
have to have it or you have to have a plan,
you have to have structure and all that stuff. But
our goal is to put the most competitive basketball team
on the court every single night. And that's built from
our first day, once we start at the end at
the end of August with our guys on campus, and
all the way through our last game whenever that is
(13:17):
in March. So yeah, you kind of take bits and pieces,
and I think in today's game you kind of have
to adjust to your personnel with higher roster turnover now
than there was five years ago, ten years ago, and
so you do spend a good chunk of the fall
(13:38):
learning your team and then learning each other. And obviously
this year it's going to be an even steeper climb
with everyone being in, everyone being new, so many new
players and new coaching staff. So we'll spend a good
amount of time in the fall just figuring out what
we have, what what our team looks like, where we're good,
where we're not good, what guys do well, where we
(13:58):
need to improve on, and then roll from there and
play to our strengths and really focus on that.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
I want to get into culture, roster and leadership with
you and to kind of individually here and you talked
about it, and that's the new way of college athletics.
Even college baseball just ended with the College Baseball World
Series and guys are in the transfer portal and roster
turnover is just everywhere in college athletics. And you know,
players want to get paid and whatever. But you talk
(14:25):
about building a culture. Can you build a culture on
a year to year basis? How hard is that to
bring a fresh group of guys in really, as you
mentioned in August, feel them out, figure everybody out, and
fall and go win basketball games in the winter and spring.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Can you establish culture that quickly? I believe you can.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
And it may be a little bit more difficult than
it has been in the past, but I think a
large part.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Of that starts in the recruiting process. And the recruiting
process can be fast.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Now with the portal, but you still have to do
your due diligence to make sure you're getting guys that
fit fit the university, fit our locker room, because if
you kind of if you screw that up, you know,
it only takes one or two guys, So you and
you do have to get lucky. I mean, you're not
gonna go fifteen for fifteen every single year, but you
(15:24):
you got to do your best in the recruiting process
to really drill down of hey, what do you.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Want out of this, what are your goals? Why do
you want to be here? Where can we help you?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
And things like that, and then once you get once
you get the group together, it's a slow process. It
doesn't happen overnight. But I think a large part of
the culture building is just the relationships guys on a
team with each other, the coaching staff, people on campus here.
It's a magnitude of a bunch of different things, and
(15:58):
it takes time. But I do think you can build
a great culture and I've been around great culture builders
in my career, so that's one thing that I will
be able to take just the things I've learned at
those different stops.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
And take it. Take it here and we'll run.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Talk a little bit about that roster building, coach, because
it's different at every level, certainly for you at Concordia.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
What was the roster that you got a couple of
months ago? What does it look like now? And kind
of take us behind the scenes.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You know, maybe a dad or son watching that wants
to play for you or thinking about playing at the
next level.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
What's that recruiting process like for you?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Yeah, I mean when we when we got here, there's
five guys left, so well, well, if ten you guys
were almost done. It's been a it's been a long
couple of months of piecing it together. But I think
our staff's done an incredible job of we didn't want
to take character risks, and as we kind of lay
our foundation and build our culture here, we weren't gonna
(17:05):
take a risk on that end, and we've been a
little bit more methodical, maybe than some other programs would be,
but for me, that was important.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
I think that that's important for the university itself.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
We need to make sure we get the right people
on this campus and in this program as we build
this thing.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Back to.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
The recruiting process, if you're here watching with your son,
I would I always encourage parents and when when we
go speak at practices or au clubs or high schools,
like you need to have a feel of of what
each level is and and what's around you. You know,
you could watch the games on TV during the season
(17:50):
on ESPN on primetime, but there's so much good basketball
outside of that, and you got to kind of a
feel about where can you be successful and where you
want it. I think that can get lost a little
bit these days.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
You need to you need to go.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Somewhere where you want it, where they're going to pour
into you to help you achieve your goals. And that
might not be the the name on the sweatshirt, it
doesn't it doesn't matter at the end of the day.
It's it's about their relationships and the experience that you have.
Whether that's high major, Division one, whether it's low major,
whether it's Division two, Division three.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
There's there's so much good basketball. There are so many
great coaches.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
You got to be at a place where you're going
to continue to develop and bring a priority within that program.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Is that hard sometimes for kids you think maybe humbling
that they're they're thinking one thing. In reality, their spot
is at a different level, at a different school maybe in.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Than they envision.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
And and how do you how do you tell a
kid that that you know is maybe always think in
the back of his mind he wants to be somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Is that something that you have to think about with
these players?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
It's yeah, you do, you know, And obviously you got
the social media stuff, you know, and there's there's so
much good that comes from the social media, but you know,
the comparison thing is real, you know. And at the
end of the day, they're eighteen to twenty two year
old young men and they're not always going to have
(19:14):
a clear vision of where they're going and what they're doing.
And that's our job is to mentor them and lead
them through that. And so when they're done here, whether
that's two years, whether that's four years, they're grateful for
this experience and they feel like they have real relationships
with their teammates and their coaches, and they have a
place to call home and it might look a little
(19:37):
different than it did five, seven, ten years ago, but
it still can be done, and it's important for us
to do our best to make sure that we are
building that here at Concordia.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Talk about it.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
I want to mention leadership as well, because you touched
upon it as well. You had it at cal Baptist.
Great leadership and sometimes, as you mentioned, maybe it's bringing
the recruiting class and you get lucky because a couple
of guys emerge as a leader. Is that something that
you look upon your players to establish for somebody to
kind of raise their hand and be that leader.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Is that expected when you recruit them? That? All right?
Speaker 1 (20:13):
This guy was a leader somewhere else. This guy was
a leader in high school. Wherever he was at, he
was a leader. How do you how do you establish
leadership well within your program?
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I think Parv it's the recruiting and you know, just
getting to know him, talking to their high school coaches,
their parents, and you can get a feel just even
by watching them play throughout the summer during the season
kind of their their their presence on the basketball court,
the way they care themselves, the way they talk, you know,
and then you get here. You put guys in leadership
positions and some guys won't like it. Some guys will,
(20:45):
but it's an opportunity to grow. And then like, at
the end of the day, your leaders. I could we
could sit here and say, hey, you're the captain.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
You're the captain. You're the captain.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
But at the end of the day, the leaders on
the team are where the eyes going pressure and so
I could say, hey, man, this is our leader. But
if our team's not looking at this guy under pressure,
it doesn't really matter. So you got to do your
best to kind of build those leadership skills and putting
guys in uncomfortable positions, whether that's speaking, whether that's talking
(21:19):
to the team, whether it's different events in the community
on campus, and just kind of keep growing that stuff.
And at the end of the day, everyone the goals
for everyone to lead, and it looks a little bit
different one through fifteen, but everyone's got leadership capabilities and
you just kind of have to dig them out and
put them in those positions and help them grow from there.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
All right, you're almost got your roster put together.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
You mentioned August is when you're all going to come together,
when you finally can kind of exhale and take a
break here and kind of get ready to now coach.
What are you most looking forward to as a head coach?
Getting out to that first practice, that first drill, that
first game.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Are are you anxious? Are you excited? Can that get
here fast? In for you?
Speaker 4 (22:01):
It can't, And you know it's we're excited.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I know I am, and our staff is because when
we got here it was finals week and so we
haven't been on the floor with the five returns that
we have, we haven't been on the floor with them.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Obviously, we have a bunch of new guys, So just
getting on.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
The floor and coaching basketball and learning these guys, like
you kind of forget, like you get to this time
of year, there's so much going on and then you forget. Man,
we got the basketball team, like competition, it's time to
drive it.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
So we're looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
That's what I love the most is just being on
the on the floor with these guys, being the weight room,
sitting in the film, the meetings, just building the team.
I love team, and I love the kind of the
formation that takes what it looks like from from day
one to the end and kind of seeing the growth.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
So we're excited to get to get to get there.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
We're slowly getting there, but it'll be here before we
know it and we'll hit ground running.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
For I was listening and you want to get into
coaching and or thinking about it or want to take
that next step.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
We talked about how you pursued.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Getting in and as assistant and your journeys to take
you to different spots. Now, as a head coach, what
are you looking for for an assistant coach? How did
you put this staff together and moving forward for future staffs?
What are you looking for if somebody wants to be
an assistant coach under you?
Speaker 3 (23:26):
For the first thing is the first thing is the
relationships and just someone that can build real relationships and
help mentor these guys on the court and off the
court and trust. So relationships and trust were at the
top of my list. And I was fortunate to find
Mark Carbone. He's a former player at California Baptist. He's
(23:48):
coach at different levels, so he's kind of grinded his
way up and he's awesome. He's been great so far.
Then we're able to add a graduate assistant, Kobe Sanders,
who is actually a lum here was a great player.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I knew him from high school.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Out in Denver, recruit him out out out to Regis
University for his final grad year. And then we have
Jeff McDaniel on staff as well, who was here in
the early days of the coach am And era in
the early two thousands, and he's he's been incredible.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
He knows uh Concordia.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
He's got a great heart for Concordia, a great passion,
a great great mind from mentoring the young men and
just kind of a different approach from us young guys.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
He provides great perspective and he's so connected with with
the alumni here. So we've been fortunate to kind of
piece together and we we wanted guys that are driven
by competition and value a lot of the same stuff
that I that I value, and I was fortunate to
be able to find those guys. And it wasn't my
(24:52):
first go around. When I was going through the hiring
process of those guys, I had a background with them.
I knew him a little bit.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Though.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We're excited for those who are wondering where is Concordia University, Irvine,
where's it located, what's the campus?
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Like?
Speaker 2 (25:08):
What would I be interested in going there?
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Let me tell you, coach, you have a great recruiting
tool in the geographical location of where the school is at.
For those who don't know, the rolling hills behind the
campus there at Concordia University, Irvine when you get off
the freeway in the beautiful area. And oh yeah, not
to mention, you're like five to ten minutes away from
the ocean in Newport, and Orange County is just sprawling.
(25:30):
I mean it is a place to go to go
to school, to play, and certainly to be around. So
you got that nice little recruiting tool in your back
pocket there. Of the geographical location of the school.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
There's no doubt this is a destination and and I
call that for myself when I was going through the
interview process here. It's a destination job. It's a destination
university for student athletes.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
I mean, you hit it on the head.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
You're in the heart of Orange County's seventy five degrees
and sunny every day every day, beautiful. You got great
people on this campus. You're close to the beaches. It's
it's hard to find a better place than this. I'll
tell you that we've enjoyed our first couple of months here.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Yeah, you don't have to tell a kid about snow
and what it's going to be like to hike in
the snow and the fridging temperatures because as you said,
it's seventy five and sunny and sometimes gloomy in June.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
But that's outside of that, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
One file thing for you, coach, the recruiting in southern California.
How active do you want to be in recruiting that
talent base that's already here and built in in Orange
County right around even further in southern California Because there's
a lot of talent out there.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
There's a lot of talent, there's a lot of great coaches,
a lot of great players, a lot of great programs.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
And we've been kind of spending these last weekend and
this upcoming weekend just going to different high school events
and you know, making sure that we're out there and
building those relationships with you know, high school kids, whether
they class twenty seven, twenty eight and beyond. But it's
important for us. We want to find guys that want
to be here. And you know, Concordia has got a
(27:11):
great brand. People know of it, they know of this program,
and we want to take advantage of that, and you know,
you can get a lot of good players out here,
and families are close and they can come watch and play,
and away games are close and things like that. So
it's gonna be a big priority for US Southern California
and even going up north a little bit, but the
(27:35):
most majority of our rosters from the West Coast, so
we're excited about that.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Well, we're excited to see you get going here, coach.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I know it's been a whirlwind couple of months for you,
establishing yourself, getting the roster put together. As you mentioned, though,
there's a light at the end of the tunnel here
with your first practices coming up at the end of
the summer, and then fall begins, and before you know what,
basketball will be here at the end of October early no,
and you'll be off and running in your first year.
So excited to see you and your staff and your
(28:05):
team here in year one do what you're gonna do.
And really, it just cannot express how excited we were
to talk to you kind of pick your brain, see
how the experience has been for you through the coaching
cycles and coaching career, and thank you so much for
kind of talking about your journey and helping out people
who want to get into coaching.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Absolutely, I appreciate you taking the time. We'll have to
do this again once we hit ground running and no
doubt midway through the season or whatever. But this has
been great.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Well there he goes Scott Clark, new head basketball coach
at Concordia University Irvine.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
What a great story.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
He got done playing college basketball, got into coaching Division two,
Division one. Last year, was an assistant coach at cal
Baptist and they went to the NCAA tournament. And now
the new head coach at Concordia University Irvine, his first
head coaching job. He's excited, the school is excited, and
we're certainly excited to see him take that next and
(29:00):
see what this program can do here in twenty twenty
six and twenty twenty seven. If you want to take
that next step in your coaching or administrative career, find
out more about Concordia University, Irvines Masters in Coaching and
Athletics Administration program. Go to CUI dot edu slash coaching
again CUI dot edu slash coaching. If your first time student,
(29:21):
find out about their scholarship program. They got so many
different avenues you can pursue. You can do online, you
can do a blend of online and in class. Find
out more about the program if it's a fit for you,
even if you're a working professional full time, they can
make it work into your busy schedule and get you
that Masters in Coaching and Athletics Administration Again CUI dot
(29:42):
edu slash coaching. Thank you so much to head coach
Scott Clark. Cannot wait to see what the basketball program
does in his first season, and thank you to you
for listening and watching episode eighty five of the Masters
in Coaching podcast. Now in the books. Until next time,
Tim Kaine saying so long everybody.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Mm hm
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