Editor's note:
“Outside the Huddle” showcases the often unsung, off-the-field supporters who make high school football special in Akron. Follow us for the next 10 weeks as we showcase everyday heroes who keep the ball in play.
“If you keep your head on straight, you’re gonna make it a long way in life.”
Senior quarterback Stevie Diamond can still recall the advice that Gregory Clark shared three years ago — words that inspired him to continue training and keep growing after Buchtel Community Learning Center experienced a tough loss to Chardon High School.
“It’s one thing I’ll always remember,” Diamond said.
The moment underscores Clark’s decades-long role as one of the unsung heroes of high school football in Akron. While his current title is equipment manager, his impact goes far beyond jerseys, socks and shoulder pads.
After all, Clark, 64, connects generations of Griffins: For 33 years, he’s mentored hundreds of boys and young men on multiple levels of the sport — many of whom look like him. He’s even coached most of the current Buchtel football staff, including head coach Bryan Williams, who played for Clark from 2002-05.
“Coach Clark is a staple of this place,” said Williams, who is in his fourth season as head coach. “He molded me into the young man I am … and now he’s here coaching with me.”
When former lettermen stop by 1040 Copley Road, Clark is one of the few familiar faces at the school.
And he’s maintaining a West Akron pipeline by remaining connected with the next generation of Buchtel greats and their families.
“He’s a person you can look up to,” said senior linebacker Demetrice Coates, who has played for Clark since the sixth grade.
In 2010, Clark was part of the coaching staff that guided Buchtel to the Division IV football state championship. And last year, he was on the bench as an assistant coach as Buchtel won its first-ever state basketball title.
Williams half jokes that Clark may have softened over the years, but that he still knows how to demand excellence from his players, or, when needed, inspire it.
‘I know what I’m supposed to do here’
Clark, a Buchtel graduate, was coaching pee-wee football in 1992 when he attended his alma mater’s Division II semifinal game against Youngstown Chaney.
Head coach Tim Flossie pulled him onto the field.
“Next year, I want you to come and coach high school football. I think you’d be good for our program.”
That’s how it all started.
“I’ve been coaching at Buchtel ever since,” Clark said.
Clark began as an offensive coordinator for the freshman team but quickly moved to coaching quarterbacks. More than three decades later, he spends part of his time with players and the remainder managing the program’s equipment.
“He really keeps the whole team organized,” Diamond said.
His penchant for offering advice, on and off the field, leaves a lasting impact.
“He helped me push through all the struggles I had in my high school career,” Coates said.
Clark commits himself to playing a positive role in teenagers’ lives: answering phone calls at 2 a.m., supporting them through personal crises and serving as a role model.
“I’ve heard a lot of people tell me that sometimes I care too much,” Clark said. “But that’s just the way I am. I care deeply, I love deeply, and I know what I’m supposed to do here.”
‘We’re fathers, we’re leaders’
Clark lives by a simple coaching philosophy: Listening is part of learning.
“If you can listen, you can learn,” he said. “If you can learn, you can be great. And being great is what we want to teach our kids, because good is not good enough.”
In many ways, Clark considers mentorship his primary job. He spends his days as the school’s lead security guard, bringing an open ear and guiding hand to disciplinary issues. At all times, he strives for a balance of compassion and instruction.
No wonder Williams describes him as part drill sergeant, part family member.
“A lot of people don’t realize that myself and the other coaches are not just coaches,” Clark said. “We’re fathers, we’re leaders, we’re people that they can look up to not just during the season but through all their lives.”
Outside of work, Clark loves spending time with his friends and extended family. His wife, three children, and many siblings keep him busy. But each time he returns to Buchtel’s field and its players, he knows he has found his calling.
Three decades and scoring.
“I’ll continue as long as the good Lord lets me,” he said. “I’m doing what I love to do, making sure all the kids are learning what they need to learn for their life.”