GOODlife Magazine October 2016

Dicky Clark:
Impacting Generations
of Young Athletes
by Autumn Burr
My daughter started middle school this year. She heard about the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes (FCA) at school and asked me if I would drive her in early so she could
attend the meeting last week. I secretly smiled. I had not mentioned FCA or that I was writing
an article about Dicky Clark, the Vice President of Field Ministry for FCA’s Southeast Coastal Region, which includes
all of Georgia and Florida. He had mentioned that in the academic sector, middle school is the age bracket that the
organization aims to start reaching, and I was seeing evidence of that first-hand.
Founded in 1954 by Don McClanen, FCA is a non-profit, interdenominational Christian sports ministry that seeks to
see the world impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. “That vision of reaching out was
the reason I got into this ministry and is still the reason that I’m in it now,” explains Dicky, who has been working for the
organization for 21 years, but has been involved for much longer.
Dicky himself was influenced by the FCA as a student at the University of Georgia while there on a football scholarship
in the 1970s. The small group on campus would travel around the state, speaking at different churches and holding youth
rallies. It was during that time, that he chose to rededicate his life to the Lord.
After graduating, Dicky began coaching football. His first job was with Vanderbilt University, working under head
coach George MacIntyre. While they only won two games in the two years he was there, Dicky was greatly impacted
by the godly way George conducted himself as a coach, and Dicky desired to emulate that in his own coaching career.
He volunteered with FCA on campus, and attended camps at Black Mountain, NC as a huddle leader, along with other
coaches and friends.
Dicky returned to UGA in 1981, this time as a coach. He trained the Bulldogs’ defense for the next 15 years under the
leadership of head coaches Vince Dooley and Ray Goff. During this time, he got married and started a family. FCA had
a great influence on all of their lives. Dicky claims that his children practically grew up on Black Mountain at the camps,
and that he and his wife benefitted tremendously from the couples’ counseling that FCA provides. He recalls that Atlanta
Falcons player Greg Brezina and his wife were some of their first counselors.
While Dicky enjoyed his coaching career, God had different plans for his future. In the mid-1990s, Dicky attended a
Promise Keepers meeting where he met a number of God-seeking men, including Bob Wood, who at the time, held
Dicky’s current position with the FCA. Bob approached him about becoming a State Director for the organization. He
10 goodlifemagazine.org