He’s coached student-athletes at Davis, Rio Americano, and Emerson Middle School.įor Clark, coaching is the only thing that makes him feel like a player again. “When I got here, I saw the need for upgrading basketball and being part of that was really a great opportunity for me to grow because that’s always what I wanted to do as a coach,” Clark said.Īside from his involvement with the Hot Shots, Clark has held several different basketball positions across the Greater Sacramento Area. He eventually brought his passion for basketball to the Davis community, creating the city’s first AAU team with the Hot Shots in 1994. Once he graduated from college, Clark competed on the Pro-Am teams of the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers. “I worked very hard at every level I played in so every time I played basketball, it was always a challenge for me to get better and better.”Ĭlark played high school basketball at Burbank High of Sacramento before continuing his career at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento and Cal State East Bay. “When I picked that ball up, it was like God gave me a gift,” Clark said. But when my mom moved to Oakland and I spent time there, I started playing basketball.”Īfter joining his eighth-grade basketball team, Clark realized he had a natural talent. “My dad and brothers were professional baseball players. “I come from a baseball family,” Clark said. While Clark has spent nearly 48 years in basketball, he admits it wasn’t his first love. “We have them work on skills over and over until they get it right.” “With the older camp we strictly went to the fundamentals and if they didn’t do it the right way, we corrected them,” Clark said. The same values were instilled into the older kids, but Clark coached them with more intensity and detailed instruction. “We teach players the fundamentals of basketball and life.” “My basketball program teaches life skills,” Clark said. “He’s really good at that because he’s a lot younger than me and he makes the energy higher,” Clark said of Nickell.įor the younger players, there was an emphasis placed on listening and following directions, which follows the Hot Shots’ philosophy of helping kids on-and-off the court. “I think that’s the most important thing.”Ĭlark praised Nickell for his ability to lead younger athletes. “I like to just make sure the kids have fun,” Nickell said. However, making kids into good basketball players isn’t Nickell’s top priority as a coach. “It’s important for kids to learn the fundamentals when they’re seven, eight, and nine years old.”
“I think it’s great for kids just to have the opportunity to come and learn the game, especially at a young age,” Nickell said. The kids participated in drills, competitions and scrimmages.Īlso running the camp was Romero Nickell, a student at UC Davis and an assistant coach under Clark for the Davis High junior varsity Boys Basketball team. Grades third through sixth went for the first 90 minutes before grades seventh through ninth took over for an equal amount of the time. The basketball camp was divided up into two sessions. The latest opportunity for kids to learn from Clark came last week, as the Hot Shots held their annual basketball camp on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Harper Junior High School. President of the Hot Shots basketball program, Clark has spent nearly three decades sharing his wealth of basketball and life knowledge with kids from Davis and the surrounding areas. Rachel Kreager/Enterprise photoĭino Clark (right) shows a group of boys how to pass and defend the basketball at the Hot Shots’ camp at Harper Junior High on Friday. Rachel Kreager/Enterprise photoĭino Clark watches a youngster going through a drill during the Hot Shots Basketball’s camp at Harper Junior High on Friday. Rachel Kreager/Enterprise photoĭino Clark (left) high-fives a youngster Friday during the Hot Shots’ basketball camp at Harper Junior High. Dino Clark (right) watches a youngster go through a drill during the Hot Shots’ basketball camp at Harper Junior High on Friday.
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