Randy Lark has had a long and illustrious career as a high school educator and as a football coach. That career has given him plenty of memories that he can relish as he settles into retirement from both positions at Alma. The fall season closed the door on 30 years of coaching for Lark. He later retire as a physical education instructor.
Lark was born in Gaylord and raised in Wyoming, Michigan. He played football at Michigan State University and was a free agent for the Washington Redskins for a period of time. He was hired as offensive line coach at Ferris State University, a position that he held for three seasons in the 1980s. He later went to Fulton, and then finished his career at Alma. He was assistant coach at Alma the last four years after being head coach there for 15 seasons.
There were plenty of highlights during Lark’s coaching tenure. “Taking both programs over, they were kind of both down in the dumps,” he recalled. “When I came to Fulton, they were 2-7 and 1-8 before I got there. We got to the playoffs three times in the 1990s when I was here. We were Class C back then, and you had to be 8-1 or 9-0 to get into the playoffs back then.”
At Alma, Lark inherited a program with only 16 players and built it to a playoff contender. Alma made the playoffs nine times during his tenure. In 2007, Lark led Alma to the state semifinals.
Lark recalls what it took to get the programs turned around. “A lot of it was just showing a lot of interest and putting your time into it and stressing a weight program,” he said. “The kids bought into it.”
Lark recalls having been a disciplinarian as a coach while using enthusiasm at the same time.
A hereditary muscular disease in his leg was among the motivating issues in Lark’s decision to retire. “It’s not like a wheelchair-bound thing, but I have braces on, and it was kind of hard to stand when I was coaching,” he said. “I put in for disability.”
Lark will miss coaching, “especially the relationship with the kids, having them come back and tell me their days of football were some of the best days of their life,” he said. “And then the coaches. I’ve had a lot of them around for a long time. They were a big part of my life. It’s time to do a few other things like hunting and fishing, which I didn’t have the time to do in the fall.”
Lark’s son, Kyle, finished the 2013 football season playing linebacker at Western Michigan University. Lark coached both his sons, including Brett, who was a running back at Hillsdale College. His daughter, Sarah, played volleyball at Ferris State.
“It was a neat thing to be able to coach the kids all the way through, watch them, and see them mature as athletes,” he said. “I look back and it was a great time.”
He will be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame later this year.