Coach Clyde Hart Golf Classic Changing Lives Forever

Coach Clyde Hart drove to Gatesville in the late spring of 1972 to sign me to a track and football scholarship at Baylor University. Baylor was one of the only schools in the country that would let me do both. I was prepared to sign with another SWC school at the time, but not very many people could say no to Clyde Hart. Me included! 

Little did I know at the time that I was about to be coached by the premier college track coach in the country. Baylor would go on to be known as Quarter Miler U, but Coach Hart studied all events and was much more than a coach just for the guys running the 400. I was a long jumper and Coach Hart, along with Danny Brabham (senior when I was a freshman) taught me how to long jump. I thought I knew, but they let me know that I really didn’t. 

I credit both with allowing me to win four SWC long jump championships along with an AAU Junior National Championship. It would not have happened at any other school with any other coach!

Coach Hart was a competitor and hated to lose. When we finished second to Texas with a questionable call at the 1975 SWC indoor Championships, Coach Hart let us know that night that we would be back the next year and we would win the championship. Guess what … that’s exactly what happened. The Coach Hart-led Baylor Bears were the 1976 SWC Indoor Track Champions! He had no doubt and instilled that confidence in every one of us. What an incredible role model!!

Many athletes over the last 50 years can tell very similar stories about how Coach Hart changed their lives. I know that for a fact because we just recently had a reunion of that 1976 Championship team and had nearly 30 members come back to Waco to celebrate. 

Some came from as far away as Oregon and California because we were a true team and Coach Hart made sure of it. He would accept nothing less. The only thing that could have made the weekend better would have been having Coach Hart there with us one more time!!! He would have still been coaching and telling us how to do it. No matter what it was we were doing!!!!!

I’m fortunate that I was able to run track for a man like Clyde Hart. He was a true legion and will forever be remembered in that regard. But I was even more fortunate that I could call that legend a life- long friend!! Who could have imagined that as a high school senior in 1972?

Running for Coach Clyde Hart was one of the greatest blessings of my life. He didn’t just coach me; he believed in me, invested in me, and cared about me in a way that went far beyond the track. He saw potential in a small-town high school runner before I fully saw it in myself. He pushed me with both toughness and heart (and that beeper system!), and he did it with a wit that could stop you in your tracks and make his point in just a few words.

I’ll never forget one of the hardest workouts of my life: ten 400s in 70 seconds, with only 90 seconds rest between each. It was late in the season, and in the middle of it, with tears in my eyes, I asked him why we were doing something so hard at that point. Without missing a beat, he looked at me and said, “What do you think the UT girls are doing right now?” That was it. No long speech – just perspective, expectation, and belief. And I finished the workout.

Because of him and the opportunity to run at Baylor, I became an All-American, helped our 4×800 relay place 4th at the NCAA Indoor Championships as part of the first women’s All-Americans in program history, and won the outdoor 1991 Southwest Conference Championship in the 800 meters. I actually have a picture in my office from that race – crossing the finish line in first, with two UT runners right behind me in second and third. Every time I see it, I think back to that workout and his words, and then smile. 

But what I carry with me most is not the titles: it’s the life lessons, the confidence, and the deep love and respect I have for him and my teammates. His commitment to changing lives through track is why so many of us carry the drive and character we do today. He truly changed my life, and his legacy will live on in all of us.

Different perspective, lasting impact. Walk-on 1975-1976. Early season practices especially brutal. 

One beautiful fall afternoon as I was throwing up and near death Coach Hart came over to comfort (I imagined). Softly placed his hand on my shoulder, looking up at him anticipating  wisdom/wit/compassion he dead panned, “These quarter-miler workouts are tough on sprinters.”

That’s it? Meaning, there is a PRICE to PAY. Are you willing to work, struggle, endure and never give up? 

As the season progressed, I did my best but realized I was not willing in the long term to “pay”. Instead, the following fall I found another activity more in line with me physically/mentally. Golden Gloves boxing, a very fulfilling success. Bonus, training, and the war in the ring were a piece of cake compared to trying to keep up the Collins, Carters, and Sims on that team. 

God bless Coach, I loved him for that lesson, passed it along to my sons, and grandchildren. 

Forty years ago, Coach Hart took a chance on a small-town Missouri girl that was untrained and unproven. He changed my life!  He gave me confidence. He gave me encouragement and guidance. Coach Hart pushed me to be better than I knew I could be.  He helped shape me into who I am today.

3x SWC 600m indoor champion, 3x SWC 4x400m indoor champion, 2x NCAA 4x400m indoor champion, 2x NCAA 4x400m outdoor champion

Coach Hart recruited me in 1990 out of a small East Texas town, Laneville.

He told my mother and grandmother that he would look after me and would give me a great opportunity to get a college degree. Nearly every time I saw him, he encouraged me, gave me confidence and assured me that I was worthy. 

He genuinely cared for hundreds of athletes, but he had a way to make you feel like you were just as important as the next. He is one of the most respectable people I’ve known. I will forever be grateful for his presence in my life.

Coach Hart impacted my life in ways that went far beyond running. He was my cross country and track coach, but more importantly, he was someone who believed in me before I fully believed in myself. Being his first full-scholarship female athlete was something he took great pride in, and I always felt the weight of that responsibility in a positive way. Over time, he became much more than a coach to me — he was like a father.

Coach Hart was known for being overly protective, and one funny memory perfectly captures that side of him. I once asked him if I could play intramural football, and without hesitation he said, “You certainly cannot.” Now, I was not always the best rule follower, so of course I ended up playing anyway. In the middle of the game, I looked over to the sideline and there stood Coach Hart with his arms crossed, staring right at me. In that moment, I knew I was in trouble. Looking back now, it makes me laugh, but it also reminds me how much he cared. He was never trying to control us — he was simply looking out for our best interests.

Like a father, Coach Hart protected, guided, encouraged, and challenged me to become the best version of myself. He taught me discipline, perseverance, accountability, and confidence. More importantly, he showed me what it meant to genuinely invest in people.

The lessons he taught me have stayed with me far beyond the track. I will always be grateful for his influence on my life and for the love and care he showed all of his athletes.