Nationally-recognized collegiate coach Steve Clark is now in his third season as an assistant coach with the George Fox University men’s tennis program, having helped head coach Neal Ninteman develop the Bruins into a Northwest Conference and NCAA Division III West Region force over the previous two seasons.
In his first head coaching position in 1987, he took Chapman to No. 4 in the nation in Division II. At Texas Tech in 1992, he coached a previously-unknown team to a national ranking and a victory over top-15 NCAA Texas for the first time in 30 years.
His greatest success was at Cal-Irvine (1992-2007), where he led the team to national rankings every year, attaining a high of No. 16. His teams won two Big West Conference titles, reached the finals three times, and made the semifinals eight times. He had players ranked individually as high as No. 5 in the NCAA, and some years had all top six players nationally ranked. His teams earned seven NCAA post-season berths and three individual NCAA Championship berths, posted numerous wins over top 20 teams, and won several titles in their annual UC Irvine 16-team national invitational. Many of his players went on to the ATP tour, some reaching as high as No. 120 in singles and No. 3 in doubles. He also had the most scholar-athletes of any team in the Big West Conference during his tenure at UCI with 99, multiple individuals were voted Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year, and several players won regional sportsmanship awards.
Prior to moving to the Portland area and assisting George Fox, Clark coached men and women collegiate players and top juniors (in addition to all levels of players) in Spokane, Wash., at his home and at a local club. He now works with all levels of players in this area.
Clark has directed numerous camps internationally as well as Nike camps (US Sports, Adidas), FCA camps, and UC Irvine camps. He has spoken for coaching conventions, local student and youth groups, as well as the Mike and Bob Bryans’ Foundation, running clinics and speaking to upcoming juniors on various topics such as goal setting and mental aspects of the game.
Additionally, Clark enjoys working within the community in which he coaches to develop relations for programs and fundraising. He began the first-ever athletic endowment at UC Irvine, fundraising nearly a half million dollars, and his players were involved in community outreach, speaking engagements, radio, and TV opportunities.
Entrenched in collegiate tennis as a coach and player for over 25 years, Clark is well acquainted with all facets of what it takes to coach and mentor young student-athletes toward excellence at the national level and on and off the court academically and personally. As an All-American player and “hands-on” coach, he knows firsthand what the athlete in student-athlete needs. His personal coaching philosophy and passion is to motivate and encourage others to do what they never thought they could do to get them to a place they never thought they would be on or off the court.
As a player, Clark was an All-American at Cal-Davis, making the finals of the NCAA doubles championship and achieving a No. 2 NCAA ranking while leading his team to the NCAA team competition in singles and doubles. He was a member of the Sacramento Capitols World Team Tennis, and while coaching at UC Irvine, went undefeated in Southern California’s Men’s Open doubles, holding the No. 1 ranking in that section. He also won tournaments in southern California featuring numerous professional and former top ATP players while playing with his own players. Over the years, he has enjoyed playing against players such as Scott Davis (No. 1 ATP) as well as playing in charity exhibitions with current and former touring pros and former collegiate standouts. As a consummate competitor and one eager for a challenge, Clark has trained, competed, and won nationally and internationally in the martial art of Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan.
Clark holds a PhD in educational studies from Biola a master’s degree in apologetics from Biola, a master’s Degree in education from Chapman, and two bachelor of arts degrees from UC-Davis in philosophy and economics. He has published numerous research briefs, articles, and reviews in peer review journals and has several articles coming out in upcoming encyclopedia. He and his wife of 24 years, Kelly, a former UC Irvine runner, have three children -Graham (11), Grace (9) and Joy (8) - and currently live in Tualatin.
