Clarke Tabbed as New Head Coach at Limestone
by Jac Coyne |
Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive
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| J.B. Clarke becomes the fifth head coach in the history
of the Limestone program after spending the last 12 years at
Washington College. © John Strohsacker |
Just days after former head coach Mike Cerino relinquished his
head coaching duties at Limestone (S.C.) College, former Washington
College head man J.B. Clarke has been tabbed as his successor,
according to Cerino on Monday afternoon.
“We’ve looked at a bunch of different people and it was
important that we looked at coaches that not only had head coaching
experience, but NCAA experience and had advanced in the
NCAAs,” said Cerino. “Coach Clarke came across as a
wonderful addition for us.”
“This was a great fit from the start. When I was at
Washington College we played Limestone a bunch of times and they
are one of the best teams around," said Clarke on Monday
afternoon. "When Coach Cerino called and we talked about the
opportunity, I didn’t have any hesitation
whatsoever.”
Clarke becomes the fifth head coach in the history of the Limestone
program and joins the Saints after 12 years as the head coach at
Washington College, where he amassed an 138-63 record.
Clarke is bumping up a division, one in which scholarships are
involved, but he's no stranger to that world having coached at Ohio
State, Duke and Loyola.
"I think lacrosse is lacrosse," said Clarke. "The rules are
all the same. It's going to be fun getting back into the
scholarship world. I'm excited to learn how Mike has done it down
there. At each school it is unique, so it's going to take some time
to figure that out, but hopefully we'll be able to figure it
out in the next few weeks without any problems. It's very exciting
for me to get to spend more time with the student-athletes on the
field."
Clarke will be assuming the reins of a tradition Division II power.
While the Gaffeny, S.C., location may seem off the lacrosse grid,
the Saints have won two national championships and been in the
title game six times since 2000.
While he has mostly worked at ground zero of organized lacrosse,
Clarke is making his first foray into an "untraditional"
area. However, in addition to keeping the Limestone
program at a high level, Clarke is looking forward to helping
grow the sport in state with huge potential.
"That's one of my goals and it's something Mike and I talked a lot
about," said Clarke, about participating in the maturation of the
sport at the youth and high school level. "The area is great
down there. I went down to meet the president of the school and
Mike, and we went out to watch a club tournament and there were 80
teams, boys and girls, playing at one venue. I can't wait to get
into an area that is growing."
Cerino knows quite well about Clarke as a coach. He has faced him
as both the coach of Limestone as well as Cerino's five-year stint
at Washington & Lee from 2002-06, when the
Generals went 3-2 against the Shoremen.
"I had some great head-to-head battles with Coach Clarke, but most
importantly, I think he is a great mentor to young men," said
Cerino.
Despite his resignation from Washington College on May 12,
Clarke hasn't been lounging around. He's been attending the camp
circuit in hopes of hitting the ground running in Gaffney.
"I'm not a big vacation guy; I'd rather be working," said Clarke,
with a laugh. "I'll be heading down tomorrow to get started
and I can't wait."
