Jack Clark, a PCA National Advisory Board Member and member of the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, has over 35 years coaching experience and is head coach for the University of California Varsity Rugby (@CalVarsityRugby) team, where he has won 27 combined national collegiate championships with an all-time collegiate coaching record of 614-78-5 (.880) in 15s and 109-14 (.886) in the Olympic Games version of 7s.

Clark talks about how mental toughness is a player’s ability to focus on the next most important thing, no matter what happened the previous play. It is most important and most difficult to focus on mental toughness when something has gone wrong or an error was made. Clark stresses how in these moments, thinking about the next play is the hardest thing to do, but the right thing to do. It is also crucial to celebrate athletes who show mental toughness because of how challenging it can be.