We welcomed Coach JD Shaw to campus on Friday and timed his arrival with that of our team who all returned for spring semester last Wednesday. It is a fact that in our business what is done in January through July sets a foundation for success or failure in the fall. Any time as a head coach I get a chance to make a hire, it is never done lightly. It is an opportunity for me to make a good program better. I do not hire people to work "for me," but rather "with me" and I have the responsibility to replace loyal people who have helped me change the image of and expectations for Bridgewater football.
I remember when I was 31 years old and Frank Beamer hired me to be his Defensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech in 1988. He was coming off a 2-9 season and at the time the wide receivers coach at Cincinnati, where we finished 4-7, probably did not do a whole lot to energize the Hokie base. Looking back, it was a gutsy but confident hire. I would like to think the the defense that we built that was the fourth-best in the country in 1989 justified his choice. Although college coaches on the ESPN level are now very wealthy people, we are not in a business where rockets are being built, but rather young men are being developed. You develop them with quality people, and in my searches, that is always my top priority. The people I talked to about this job were all people I knew well and who I thought would bring unquestioned character to the table.
I am well aware in athletics there is a bottom line that has to be met at any level of competition. Knowing that bottom line, I have great confidence in the energy, expertise, and effort JD will bring to the table. I told him he needed to to help us develop a "Second Act" and the "First Act" brought the house down. Now it's time to go to work!
- Coach Clark
I remember when I was 31 years old and Frank Beamer hired me to be his Defensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech in 1988. He was coming off a 2-9 season and at the time the wide receivers coach at Cincinnati, where we finished 4-7, probably did not do a whole lot to energize the Hokie base. Looking back, it was a gutsy but confident hire. I would like to think the the defense that we built that was the fourth-best in the country in 1989 justified his choice. Although college coaches on the ESPN level are now very wealthy people, we are not in a business where rockets are being built, but rather young men are being developed. You develop them with quality people, and in my searches, that is always my top priority. The people I talked to about this job were all people I knew well and who I thought would bring unquestioned character to the table.
I am well aware in athletics there is a bottom line that has to be met at any level of competition. Knowing that bottom line, I have great confidence in the energy, expertise, and effort JD will bring to the table. I told him he needed to to help us develop a "Second Act" and the "First Act" brought the house down. Now it's time to go to work!
- Coach Clark
