By Jonathan Tremblay & Patrick Boyle
In ninth grade, when Riders Offensive linemen Dan Clark began playing football in the Regina Minor Football League, he told his parents: “I want to be a professional football player for the rest of my life.” His parents thought that it was nothing more than a cute goal of a naive youngster. Little did they know, he would reach his goal right before their very eyes.
“After high school, I had a lot of opportunities in the east, the west, even in the U.S., but I didn’t want to waste my parent’s money on something I hadn’t decided I wanted to go to school for yet,” says Clark. “Staying home was a major choice.” Dan stayed at home and joined the Regina Thunder for four seasons, representing the Queen City in the Canadian Junior Football League. It was during these games that scouts took notice of his ability and luckily, they didn’t have to travel far to recruit him. In 2009, at the age of 21, Dan signed a free agent deal with the Green and White and was put on the practice roster while he was playing for the Thunder: “I was playing Junior Football and all of a sudden I’m at a CFL camp.”
The transition to the big leagues really helped Clark develop. “In 2009, on the Riders practice roster it was an amazing learning experience,” shares Clark. “Everything was bigger, faster, stronger.” It was hard work, and not only on the field. Dan recently participated in the Riders Community Youth Challenge Program, bringing him to speak in schools across the province, discussing life choices with Saskatchewan youth: “It really helped me speak in front of crowds and it really taught me about being a role model.” Dan learned that kids look up to a Roughrider, and there are responsibilities that come with that attention. He was becoming a well-rounded player, with all the tools he needed for a long career.
Today, Dan also looks to future options: “I have to plan for my career when I’m done football, which is hopefully in a long, long time.” Completing night courses and an examination last year, Dan officially became a welder and has worked on many local projects during the off season. “I’ve worked on Emerald Park School out in White City, on the addition to the RCMP barracks in Regina and even on the railings of Mosaic Stadium,” says Clark. “It’s pretty cool I get to say I helped build part of it and then I get to play in it.”
Through all his accomplishments and continued hard work, Dan credits two key people: “My Mom and Dad have been the biggest role models of my life. They’ve pushed me when I needed to be pushed; they’ve picked me up when I’ve been down. I owe pretty much all my success to them.” Dan is committed to his family, his community, his team and to the city in which he chose to grow as a player and as a person. He tells us the highlight of his career so far isn’t a particular play or a specific award, it’s the incredible roar of the crowd at Mosaic Stadium: “Running out of that tunnel on Labour Day was deafening. It was amazing. I’m so lucky.”
Check out Dan and the rest of Riders this Sunday as they take on the B.C Lions.
