For many people in Ballarat Howard Clark is instantly recognisable as the leader of one of the most successful school football programs in the state. As the head coach of the St Patrick’s College 1st XVIII team, Howard coached the boys to 14 Ballarat Associated School Sports premiership wins, including a run of 12 back-to-back premierships from 2007-2018, as well as 7 Herald Sun Shield flags, including an unprecedented 6 back-to-back victories between 2005 and 2010. In 2018 Howard was awarded the Allan Jeans Lifetime Achievement Award from AFL Victoria for his outstanding contribution to football. Having since retired as head coach, Howard continues to be a huge part of the football program at St Pats as the Director of Football. But Howard’s journey to success has been a long and difficult one. In 1983, at just 17 years of age, Howard was a young man on the precipice of a hard-earned VFL career with Melbourne Football Club when he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour on his spine. What followed was a harrowing year of treatment including 42 rounds of radiotherapy to his spine that ultimately put an end to his personal football journey. But Howard was not going to let his hardship stop him from moving forward. After attending teaching college in Ballarat and commencing his career at St Francis Xavier Primary School in 1987 a further health setback, including a life threatening hospital acquired infection, would force Howard to remain in hospital for 11 and a half weeks in 1989. Through it all, Howard’s resilience seemingly has known no bounds, coming through the other side and back into teaching after yet another marathon year of treatment. In 1995 Howard was given the opportunity to transfer to St Patrick’s College to teach and, after initially coaching year 10 football in 2001, he was given his rightful place as head coach of the 1st XVIII team in 2002 and has never looked back. With a passion for football, his school, and the boys that he teaches, Howard Clark has positively affected the lives of everybody who has had the good fortune to know him; his unwavering ability to find the blessings in every hardship he has faced is quite remarkable and the legacy he has created at St Pats will be celebrated for many years to come.
