Danny Clark graduated from West Branch in 2005, where he played basketball, ran cross country, and track. He was also a part of the varsity club and the tennis club. After high school, Clark attended Penn State Altoona for two years, then transferred to Penn State University Park for the final two years of his major. He majored in kinesiology, with a concentration in health and physical education. Clark also gained a certification in special education from IUP. He was very active in intramurals in college, where you could find him playing in any league during the semester. Clark says, “I have always had a passion for sports and fitness, and a desire to help students and athletes grow and develop a healthy lifestyle. I want to make a positive impact on their lives, and seeing them build confidence and achieve their individual and team goals is pure joy for me.”
Clark started teaching at West Branch in 2022, but his journey back to his alma mater began at Cen-Clear Child Services, where he worked as a therapeutic support staff teacher for 2 years. During the 2012-2013 school year, Clark served as a long-term substitute for Mrs. Gay, who teaches chemistry at West Branch. The following year, he was the elementary computer teacher. Three years later, he worked at Soaring Heights School, where he served as their floating health and PE teacher. Clark finally got his first public school teaching job at Brookville Area Jr./Sr. High School in 2018, teaching junior high health and PE. Clark returned to West Branch in 2022 as a special education teacher. He then took the girls’ health and PE teacher, Deborah Gomola’s job once she retired in 2023, and now has taken over for the boys’ health and PE teacher, Lester Smeal, who retired last school year.
Before this year, Clark was the boys’ varsity basketball coach, a position which he held for 13 years. Clark has three daughters, Ally, Brinley, and Carly, who keep him on the go with all their sports and activities. Clark added, “I will have a lot more time during those long winter months to spend time with them and my wife, Crissy.” He is also an active runner who likes running local 5 Ks throughout the year, and he is a PIAA basketball referee.
