When Clark High School football coach Lloyd Alexander announced his retirement last week, I thought of how proud his college coach would have been of him for the strength of character he demonstrated throughout his 35-year career.
Alexander, a 1971 Marshall High School graduate, was in Jim Wacker’s first recruiting class at TLC that year. Alexander chuckled when he recalled the dollar value of the scholarship Wacker offered him.
“He said he had 400 bucks for me,” said Alexander, 57.
So Alexander, a 5-foot-7 defensive end, signed with the Bulldogs. In time, his grit and intensity embodied the indomitable spirit of Wacker’s teams.
Alexander was a senior starter in 1974 when the Bulldogs went 12-0 and won their first of two consecutive NAIA Division II national championships under Wacker, who died from cancer in 2003.
“I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time, and be surrounded by some great people,” Alexander said. “That’s the way it was when I played at TLC and how it was when I coached at Clark.”
Those remarks are vintage Lloyd Alexander. It’s never been about him. Loyal and modest, Alexander preferred to blend into the background even after he succeeded Mike Robbins as Clark head coach in 2002.
But make no mistake: Alexander was a heck of a coach and an exemplary mentor on and off the field.
He worked with some outstanding coaches in 30 seasons at Clark, including Mike Honeycutt, Larry Hill, Carl Gustafson, Danny Padron and Mark Reeve, but Alexander’s imprint on the Cougars’ program is undeniable.
Clark went 66-30 and made the playoffs six times in eight seasons under Alexander. Last year’s team advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in school history, finishing 13-2. The 2008 Cougars also set a school record for most victories in a season.
This year’s squad lost in the state quarterfinals and finished 13-1, setting another school record for consecutive victories in a season.
Alexander’s teams were disciplined, intense and consistent – just like him. They also won and lost with class – just like him.
“He always preached character and how important it was if we wanted to be successful,” said Tim Sanchez, a senior linebacker on this year’s team. “He would always say, ‘You either get better or get worse.’ He would apply that everything, whether it was the classroom or football.”
Like former TLC teammate D.W. Rutledge, who helped build a dynasty at Judson, Alexander reflected Wacker’s passion for helping shape young lives.
“Lloyd has had a tremendous impact,” said Rutledge, now executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association. “Coach Wacker was proud of Lloyd when he played and he would be proud of him now. There’s no doubt about that.
“Lloyd always has been an extremely hard-working person, and he's always done things the right way. His integrity and the caring and concern he had for his kids always shone through. I hate to see that he’s getting out of coaching.”
Alexander left no doubt that Wacker influenced his life in a profound way.
“I learned things from Coach Wacker that go way beyond football,” he said. “I can still remember the great work ethic Coach Wacker and his staff had. We could see that as players and that made us want to work hard, too.
“We had a close-knit team. Coach Wacker always talked about the importance of character and doing the right thing. When I started coaching at Clark, it was the same thing.”
Alexander had his sights set on going to law school when he graduated from TLC with a degree in political science in 1975. He worked as a substitute teacher that fall, but his life and career plans changed with a phone call from Hobby Middle School principal Jay Dubose early in 1976.
Dubose, an assistant principal at Neff Middle School when Alexander was a student there, had heard that Alexander didn’t have a full-time job.
Needing a PE teacher and coach, Dubose encouraged Alexander to apply for the opening at Hobby. Not surprisingly, Alexander was hired.
“I loved it and I never looked back,” Alexander said. “Coaching is a fantastic profession.”
Alexander stayed at Hobby until joining Honeycutt’s coaching staff when Clark opened in 1978. After Honeycutt resigned in 1981, Alexander coached under Robbins for seven seasons before going to Southwest in 1988 for a two-year stint as defensive coordinator.
When Alexander returned to Clark in 1990, he served as the Cougars’ defensive coordinator until succeeding Robbins.
Alexander said he considered retiring last year before he decided to come back for one more season. His retirement is effective at the end of the current school year.
“It was tough to tell the kids because I love them and I know I’ll miss them,” Alexander said. “Your heart is in your throat in a moment like that. It’s easier on the kids than the coach. Kids are pretty resilient. I just felt it was time to get out. They need some new blood. I will miss the Clark community very much because it’s a special place to coach.”
Alexander and his wife, Evelyn, have a daughter, Michelle, a former Clark volleyball player who is now a teacher in McKinney.
“We have one grandchild and another one on the way,” Alexander said. “We plan to travel some and I just want to have fun being a grandpa.”
I’m happy for you, Lloyd, but I’ll miss seeing you on the Clark sideline on Friday nights in the fall.
