After four seasons at the helm of the Boilermakers, Kewanee boys basketball coach, Matt Clark, has resigned.
“It’s the right time for me, between family and other personal reasons, I would be shorting my family or the program if I tried to do both next year,” said Clark.
During his tenure, Clark accumulated an overall record of 67-36 (0.65) and a TRAC-East record of 36-11 (0.76). Two of his teams won conference championships.
During his first full season in 2021-22, the Boilers were 22-10 and had a conference-winning record of 13-1. During the 2023-24 season, Kewanee was 22-9 and won the TRAC-East with a record of 8-2.
Clark was hired to take over the program after the sudden passing of previous Coach Shaune Lewis. Lewis had approached Clark on two prior occasions about joining his coaching staff, but Clark didn’t feel the time was right for him to make that move.
“I didn’t want to miss my own kids’ events. I had two in junior high at that time,” said Clark.
Prior to accepting the job at KHS, Clark was coaching Visitation Catholic School at the junior high level. The Visitation eighth grade boys’ team (including his son, Brady) advanced to the Class 1A IESA state quarterfinals and finished the season at 20-2.
Clark was then named Coach of the Year by the Illinois Coaches Association for District 11.
Clark was somewhat reluctant to take on a head coaching position at the high school level, but did so knowing it was never going to be for the long haul.
“Once I was hired I wasn’t planning on making it a 10 to 15 year job. At the time (and even after four years of coaching) I can’t say that I enjoyed all of the aspects of being a head coach,” said Clark.
“There are several challenges of being a head coach that are out of my control and in this day and age of coaching there is much more going on than X’s and O’s,” Clark said. “But the goal of any coach is to improve the program and leave it better for the next coach and hopefully we did that.”
Clark was also aware of the unique and sensitive circumstances he was facing.
“With Shaune’s son, Blaise, and my son coming in as freshman, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Add in that my first year was the shortened season due to Covid made it even more challenging,” he said.
“I assume many will say I only coached because my son was playing. That may be somewhat true, but I’d like to think many other parents would do the same if they were in my position.”
All things considered, Clark thought the transition seemed like an easy one for everyone involved.
“I do appreciate the players that bought into accepting their roles — even though they may not have liked the role they were in,” he said. “I’d like to thank my immediate and extended family. The support Kari and my kids gave these past four years has been tremendous.”
Clark also extended his gratitude to his assistant coaches, Jon Henegar, Dayton Ince, Aaron Pratt and Corey Tavares.
“They made my job much easier by their commitment to the program.”
When asked if he had the desire to coach in the future, Clark couldn’t rule out the possibility: “I can see myself coaching again.”
Right now, however, Clark feels the need take some time off. Next year the Clarks will have two children in college (their oldest daughter, Addi, and son, Brady) and their youngest daughter, Laini, will be entering junior high.
“It would take the right situation to coach again, but I think an opportunity will present itself whether it be at the elementary, junior high or high school level.”
Clark also wanted to express his gratitude to his son, Brady, for always showing up and for doing the best he could while navigating a tough situation as the coach’s son.
“Brady was coached hard and had a lot of demands placed on him. He took criticism from many people throughout his four years, but he never let it get to him and I believe he used it as motivation,” said Clark.
“With that said, there were many people throughout the community that did support us (and the program) and I want to thank them for all their encouragement and support. I do hope the next coach and player put in a similar situation will get the support they need to ensure success,” he said.
“I made mistakes, as all coaches do, but I always did what I thought was best for the program, the team and individuals involved. As a coach you want to leave these student-athletes better off than when you started and I think we achieved success, on and off the court, with that approach,” said Clark.
Clark’s four seasons at Kewanee High School
2020-21 (7-3, 6-1 TRAC-East). Season cut short by Covid shutdown.
2021-22 (22-10, 13-1, TRAC-East champs)
2022-23 (16-14, 6-6 in TRAC-East)
2023-24 (22-9, 8-2, TRAC-East champs)
On behalf of the Kewanee School Board and Administration
“The Board and administration appreciates Coach Clark’s efforts over the past four years,” said Dr. Chris Sullens, superintendent of Kewanee schools. “He accepted this position after the tragic passing of Coach Lewis in the summer of 2020. His willingness to include the annual recognition of Coach Lewis provided much needed comfort and compassion to the Boiler team,” Sullens said.
“His competitive edge will be missed as the Boilers won the TRAC-East Conference this year. This year’s team included three All-Conference players. In addition, his son Brady added All-State honors in basketball to his All-State football honors,” said Sullens.
“We appreciate Coach Clark and his family’s sacrifices to the boys’ basketball program. We wish Matt and his family the best as they, proudly, follow their son’s college basketball career and their two daughters’ future endeavors,” said Sullens.
