MILWAUKEE – Mount Mary University has announced the hiring of Perry Clark as the next head golf coach. The news comes shortly after previous coach, Ron Elliott, announced he will be leaving his position to pursue other coaching opportunities. Meanwhile, the Blue Angels give coach Clark a combo title of head softball coach/head golf coach/assistant athletic director/facilities technician effective immediately.
"We are very excited to bring Coach Perry aboard as a full-time member of our staff," said Mount Mary Director of Athletics Marc Heidorf. "His wealth of experience and desire to be a part of Mount Mary were evident soon after he took over the softball program last year in a part-time capacity. We believe this move brings stability and added credibility to both programs."
In an interview with coach Clark, the newly appointed golf coach talked about his personal experiences with golf and the work he has done with youths at his local park district to learn and develop the skills of young area golfers.
Coach Clark also talked about his three-year plan for the golf program, "Year one: establish a solid and consistent schedule." After the Blue Angels had battled with bad stretches of inclement weather and thus scheduling in their first few seasons, coach Clark hopes to take care of that right away.
Coach Clark battled with the NCAA minimum for games played in his first season as head softball coach at MMU due to the continuous cancelling from inclement weather and opponent scheduling conflicts. In his second season, coach Clark stacked his schedule, and although had over 14 games postponed or cancelled in 2019, his team played 29 games.
After his first season, coach Clark will focus on bringing in recruits with previous competitive golfing experience. After his goal of recruits will double in his third season at the helm, coach Clark also has a clear long-term vision for the program. "I want to hand over the program to someone who has coached at the high school, college or professional level," said Clark. "Someone who knows the game and has a professional level of technical expertise. And someone who can help improve play of the student-athletes that are brought into Mount Mary to play golf."
Coach Clark has already hit the ground running with his new position and is already working on the 2019-20 season. The Blue Angels look forward to the next steps the golf program will take in the years to come under the guidance of the very experienced coach Clark.
