After 43-year career, Clark announces retirement from coaching

Jill Clark has coached in the Capital City since the 1990s but announced that she will retire at the end of the school year but continue teaching at Catholic. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

A 43-year coaching career finally caught up to Catholic girls’ basketball coach Jill Clark, who announced her retirement to her players on Monday so she could spend more time with her family.

“I think it’s time,” Clark said. “My mom has had some health issues lately and I’d like to spend a little more time with her. I’ve got four grandchildren -- and one on the way -- under the age of 3 and my daughter fosters medically fragile children, so I felt pulled to help them out a lot more than I’ve been doing. 

“Sometimes, it’s just time for a change. I think it’s just time for new blood in there.”

Her career spanned parts of five decades and the foundation she built with the Montgomery Academy girls basketball program in the 1990s set the tone for that sport in the Capital City, forcing upgrades in other programs that would challenge her in later years when she returned to Catholic.    

“Coach Clark has been an integral part of a very successful athletic program and we are very grateful for her dedication and selfless service,” said Catholic president Justin Castanza. “Personally, I am so happy for the time she will not have to focus on family and enjoy her grandchildren.”

 Clark, a Jeff Davis graduate, was still in college when she earned her first coaching position in basketball at Catholic in 1983.

“I just really enjoyed it,” she said. “I knew I didn’t want to work the 8 to 5 desk job. I wanted to do something fun. I’ve always played sports and just enjoyed it. I think sports can teach kids a lot of things.”

She coached the first softball team at Catholic, a slow pitch version, along with basketball and other girls sports, then took a job at Montgomery Academy in 1988-89. She was at Montgomery Academy for 16 years, then returned to Catholic for her last 20 years as the girls’ basketball coach.

“We are all so appreciative of Coach Clark’s dedication to generations of Montgomery Catholic athletes,” said Catholic athletic director Daniel Veres. “The lives she has touched and the positive impact she has had is immeasurable. I have enjoyed our 11 years together and wish her nothing but the best.”

At Montgomery Academy, her 16-year career as the girls basketball coach included five area championships, 10 playoff appearances, three trips to the state tournament and a state championship in 1999.

She also coached girls tennis during those years, finishing as the Class 1A-3A state champion seven times in an eight-year span and as the runner-up in 2003. Her tennis teams featuring Daisy Humphrey and future Alabama tennis star Ashley Bentley were some of the best in the city’s history.

Clark recalled the 1999 season as one of her best.

“That year, we won tennis state and basketball state, so winning two state championships in the same year is pretty cool,” she said. “But for me, it’s about the kids and the relationships you build with those kids. I’m still in contact with those kids. Players who have played for me, I’ve coached their kids.”

The 1998-99 season was also memorable for another reason. Private schools broke through with championships in football (Briarwood Christian), boys basketball (Catholic), girls basketball (Montgomery Academy), boys tennis (Montgomery Academy), girls tennis (Montgomery Academy), baseball (UMS-Wright), girls soccer (Briarwood Christian), boys soccer (John Carroll), slow pitch softball (Houston Academy) and fast pitch softball (Alabama Christian), forcing the addition of a 1.35 multiplier to all private schools the following school year.

 “That’s when the multiplier rule went into effect,” Clark recalled. “You’re welcome for my part. Three private schools from Montgomery win state championships, then boom, the next year 1.35. They didn’t care if we won tennis or golf, but when we started messing with basketball, it was over.”

She returned to Catholic as the girls basketball coach in 2005, coaching the Knights to four area championships, nine playoff appearances and two regional finals (2017 and 2025) over the last 20 years.

She will retire from coaching, but plans to continue in her role as a teacher.

“I still want to teach, but that depends on how it goes with the hiring and whoever comes in (as the next girls’ basketball coach),” Clark said.

Clark dedicated much of her life to Catholic, with her husband Jeff coaching football and baseball at the school (1986-92) and each of her three children -- Josh, Jake and Jessie -- growing up at the school. While there are some regrets everyone faces in a long career, Clark tends to focus more on the players she affected over the years. 

“Obviously, there are some games that stick out that you would love to play those games again,” she said. “How in the world did we let that one get away from us? There are some games that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget, nightmares that wait for me sometimes. But I remember the players more.”