Women's Field Hockey Head Coach
Converse University
NCAA DII • CC
Would Recommend
As the recruiting process is often hard to navigate and know what is being used to lure your athlete to a university, Valerie Clarke may have told/will tell your athlete the following (so if you have heard it… consider it a red flag):
“You will make an immediate impact on the team” - then does not play
“I don’t have kids, so these are my “kids”- this is a hard no, and quite disturbing- a dog person… not a people person
“Ask for money, you will get an increase” - without understanding an athletic budget or needs versus wants and basic economic principles, empty promises
“I have 2 conference championships” - giving no credit to the athletes, who later transferred, they knew more about hockey than her and coached themselves- The student athletes have 2 championships…kudos to them
While there, your athlete might hear:
“You’re not confident” - when people ask about their lack of playing time
“If you stay I will personally dig into my own funds” - making empty promises and violating NCAA policy (also out of touch with those without a trust fund)
“I care about mental health” - then really doesn’t because she herself needs support, which is often hard to help others when not receiving the necessary support she may need
Questions you should ask before your athlete considers and before entering any agreement with her:
“What has been your team retention rate in the past?” (The track record here is alarming- lots of transferring due to her lack of game knowledge, favoring certain individuals, specifically those from foreign countries, allowable bullying)
-please note that athletes have to uphold the promise to promote the university and cannot tell the actual truth
“Have you ever been investigated in your previous position?” - the answer is yes - at least twice, and then fired before her time was up at the previous school(violating policy)
“What is your strategic plan for the team” - the game is too complicated for her, she really doesn’t understand field hockey, so there is not one (her sister reviews film for her and tries to figure it out, but both present as unathletic)
“What specific/ specialized training will I get for my position” - none, players share drills
“What specialized training did you receive for mental and emotional wellness” - maybe watched a mandated video - profoundly limited
“What is your strategic plan for year 1,2,3?” - probably to remain employed
“What is your emphasis on student success?” She has a knack for making comments about intelligence, but bless her heart (enter southern sarcasm)
The recommendation would be to meet with the AD of the university who is a former football player and likely has little knowledge about field hockey. He’s a hype-man, so he will act like she’s great, but not actually know who she is/what her patterns of behavior are. He had to make a quick hire. He needs to become educated QUICKLY. He is there to promote the programs and will do so because he is an alumni, but buyers beware, duped! It’s kind of like a priest that is being investigated and quickly is relocated to a new church to hide and pretend lie things never happened. What you’ve done never really disappears, and word travels fast.
People look at DI and think of the “bragging rights”, however it is a bottom tier program that needs a knowledgeable coach to help build. There is also conversation in the field hockey community that the team will be removed due to finances. LHU is part of a trio of universities that is now “commonwealth university” because of clear financial strain on the state system and these specific schools. There are plenty of other good hockey schools in that region, that is not one of them, and with the current staffing change it will only become more bleak. She’ll tell you she needed a change, but the truth is that she was running out of options and was let go anyway. Patterns are patterns… be on the lookout.
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