By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
It’s not that Clark Oberle is counting. Well, maybe he is counting. But when he returns to Boyd High School for the start of the spring semester next week, the decorated volleyball coach will only have to work nine more days before his retirement becomes official.
After 32 seasons of grinding through an infinite number of hours off the court that included breaking down opponent film, driving long distances to scout and navigating player matters, you might say he’s entitled to the early dismissal.
Oberle managed to save up 78 days of leave time – unbelievable it can carry over – and will use them to get a head start on the rest of his life.
He is only 58. That’s young to retire. But the chill of sudden loss impacted Oberle’s decision. He doesn’t want to waste another day.
“This [past] spring I knew what I wanted to do,’’ Oberle said. “My brother had lost his wife shortly after he retired. It was unexpected. They had all these plans. I did not want to waste our plans. It was time to do what we wanted to do.’’
The stories of celebrated successful coaches retiring are endless. As hard as it may be for them to walk away, their resolute decision to stop must be as resolute as making an in-game decision.
There is the emotion of the last first day of workouts, the last first non-district match, the last first tournament, the last first district matchup and hopefully, the last first playoff match.
“I told the kids in August,’’ Oberle said. “I wanted them to understand that it wasn’t that I did not love coaching and helping young women. But I didn’t want to miss out on other things. They rallied around it and supported it.’’
Did they ever. Maybe this was or this wasn’t a season of winning one for Ole Clark. He had won two other state championships at Argyle and Decatur. Only the players can reveal their true intentions.
What likely took precedent was what happened in the final match of 2024. Boyd fell in the Class 3A Division II state championship to Stockdale in four sets.
That kind of loss burns for months. To be so close and to miss can cause a sleepless night or two. Oberle challenged his team to chase the standard, chase the title and just let him coach them.
“That’s all it was for us,’’ Oberle said. “That’s what they were focused on. I did not want it to be about me. They just wanted to finish business. I had two seniors who have been with me since they were freshmen. They were captains. They thought hard about what happened last year.’’
By no means was the Boyd 2025 volleyball season perfect. The Lady Jackets endured learning and humbling moments through August. They went 16-9. In five of those nine losses, they were swept.
Then they never lost again. Boyd won its last 20 matches including 60 of 65 games.
However, every march to glory faces a moment of adversity. That was the 3A Region II championship match with District 10-3A rival Paradise on Nov. 11 in Chico. The Lady Jackets had won each of the two district meetings in four games.
Every game in this win-or-go-home contest was won through attrition. Boyd captured the first two. Paradise rallied to win the next two to force a deciding fifth game. The first team to 15 won.
The start could not have gone any worse for Boyd. The Lady Jackets trailed 11-7 when Oberle burned a timeout to settle his team. There was nothing to say except to keep battling.
Players talked in the huddle they were not done. With a freshman serving, Boyd rallied to win, 15-13. It was the ultimate of the playoffs. Survive and advance.
“I kind of thought this was it,’’ Oberle said about the deficit in the fifth set. “But this team had a refuse to lose mentality.’’
The Lady Jackets swept Wall in the state semifinals. They then swept Clifton in the state championship on Nov. 21 in Garland to finish 36-9, storm the court and present Oberle with his storybook ending. No Hollywood script could have done any better.
Oberle concludes his brilliant career with a record of 798-339. He said he has no interest in trying to reach 800 career wins. His career stops included Petrolia (1996-99), Argyle (2000-2016), Decatur (2017-19), Frisco Liberty (2020-21) and Boyd (2022-25).
He is no different from other coaches when it comes to what they will miss the most. While the wins matter, the stories behind the scenes made this vocation worthwhile.
“The thing about volleyball is that every play ends in failure. The game stops,’’ Oberle said. “It’s just about knowing how to overcome failure and adversity. It mirrors life so much.
“If girls are struggling with confidence, I care about them more to find a way to get through it. When I have a kid leave the program, I hope they are strong, confident and independent.’’
The suddenness of this sport compliments how Oberle’s life will change when he drives out of the Boyd High School parking lot for the last time in mid-January.
A myriad of emotions and memories likely will fill his mind as the high school fades in the distance. It’s been a career of probably more than what he could have asked.
Yet every ride has its destination. It’s time for Oberle to pivot into something different.
“It is sad in a way,’’ Oberle said. “But I look forward to the next step.”
