Beloved Woodbridge High School teacher and coach has made it public that he will be saying his final goodbyes to WHS. Coach Clarke is planning on soon retiring his spot as an educator, to follow the path of a true musician. All throughout his life, he had been hiding behind textbooks and soccer balls. Masking the inner drive for music of which he has inside.
Barron Perspective sat down with the soon-to-be former educator, and asked him questions to further our information on this sudden decision. We gathered some background information that led us to understand his ultimate choice of joining a rock band.
The Start of a Dream
Starting way back in England, Coach Clarke was a young boy with a dream. A dream for singing, belting, and a love for performing. Though he wished he owned a guitar or mic stand, he knew that tea and education must come first. That was how he was planning on making his family proud.
Coach Clarke has always stood by “family comes first”, which meant he looked past this rock-star dream and took it upon himself to make them proud. He taught himself soccer every Sunday afternoon at a nearby park, just a few blocks away from his childhood home. He did this to distract himself. To lure himself away from the stage.
Nonetheless, in his downtime as a teenager he would sneak off into downtown bars to listen to rock bands perform. Clarke thought this would satisfy him enough, but instead it just made him want to be on the stage even more.
“When I was a young-ling, I would constantly look up to my older friends because they weren’t afraid of following the paths they desired to follow,” Coach Clarke stated. “I on the other hand was utterly gutted about not following my heart.”
New Beginnings
Fast forward, Coach Clarke got his job at WHS as a soccer coach and teacher. He chose never to look back on what could’ve been. Until 2025.
“I’ve decided that now as an adult, I would no longer hide what I truly love… rock music,” Clarke stated. “I’m for once giving in to what I want, and saying goodbye to Woodbridge High School and hello to Oasis.”
Back in the 90’s, Oasis was said to be one of “THE biggest bands.” Naturally, Coach Clarke is a HUGE fan. He informed us that ever since the band split up, he has been waiting and hoping for them to get back together.
It seems like his wishes truly came to life as Oasis will be getting back together for a mammoth tour in summer 2025. This may be mind-blowing, but not as mind-blowing as what comes next.
“I was able to find some a few connections and contacts or what not, through my old mates, and had Oasis’s lead singer Liam Gallagher ring me,” Coach Clarke stated. “That baffled me, but I was completely in utter bewilderment when he proposed I should audition to be an ‘addition to the band.'”
It turns out that one of Coach Clarke’s old friends had a distant cousin give Liam Gallagher, Clarke’s phone number. The distant cousin sent Liam Gallagher one of Clarke’s singing tapes, which inspired the audition invitation.
Though Coach Clarke will still be playing soccer in his free time, he will have to leave teaching behind, for he is now part of a huge English rock band. Seeing as the audition went fabulous, you will be able to see this beloved soon-to-be former WHS staff member in action onstage throughout the UK and Ireland.
“I truly hope all my students understand why I chose to make this ultimate decision,” Clarke stated. “This is my dream, and I can’t hide that part of me any longer. It’s my time.”
