Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

There isn’t an athlete alive who can’t give credit to his or her mother for being such an important part of their lives.

Donnie House is definitely one of those who must thank his mom, Pamela Clark, for being such a positive influence on his life.

The story starts in 2011, when Rutgers-Newark head track and field coach Juan Edney saw Clark, an athlete at Timber Creek High School in southern New Jersey, compete in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.

“He ran a 53.19 in the (400-meter) intermediate hurdles,” Edney said.

“It was actually 53.16, my PR (personal record),” House explained.

Edney figured that he didn’t have a chance to recruit House with a time like the one he posted.

“I didn’t say anything to him that day,” Edney said. “I saw him run, saw his times and figured that was it.”

Clark, who is a professor at Rutgers-Camden and also doubles as a social worker, wanted her son to get a Rutgers education.

“I initially wanted to go to Rutgers in New Brunswick,” House said. “I thought my times (in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles) were good enough.”

But there was a slight problem.

“My grades from high school weren’t good enough,” House said.

So Clark went to work. She e-mailed the track coaches at both Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark (meaning Edney) and told both coaches about her son.

“His Mom e-mailed me and I responded back,” Edney said. “They came up for a visit and liked it. She wanted to have her son in the Rutgers system and after we met, she said she wanted him to come and run for me.”

“I didn’t even know my Mom helped me,” House said. “She did that on her own. I originally thought I was going to Rutgers-Camden, but we went to Newark and I liked it. The campus was nice and it was easy to get around.”

Edney was initially pleased to get someone of House’s talents.

“I felt he had plenty of potential,” Edney said. “But he hadn’t been really pushed yet. He fit right in with the new kids, but he just needed to run hard and practice hard. He caught on pretty quickly, but then he ran into a bit of a problem last year.”

House wasn’t taking his academics seriously enough for his mother’s liking, so she forced House to withdraw from school and return home to Erial.

“I understood it and she was right,” House said. “I wasn’t disciplined enough. I understand what she had to do. It was a big wakeup call for me. I had to set my priorities straight.”

House took a job at a local Shop-Rite near his home. He also worked at Timber Creek High School.

After one semester, Clark allowed her son to return to Newark as a sophomore.

“I was very motivated when I came back,” House said. “I wanted to qualify for the nationals. I didn’t want to have any regrets and wanted to run my best. It was difficult coming back, because I lost some of my time. I had a chance to run a little on weekends, but it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t completely out of shape, but I was determined to get back to where I was.”

“He proved to his mother that he could do the necessary work,” Edney said. “He just needed to grow up a little. He had to prove to his mother that he was willing to work. He came back in January a different person. He was a little more focused, not just in the classroom, but on the track. Now, he’s all caught up with everything.”

Edney counts on House to do a lot of things. He runs both hurdles events, some sprints and runs on at least two of the Scarlet Raiders’ relay teams.

“That’s a heck of a load, but he’s able to handle it,” Edney said.

House recently won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at the Roadrunner Invitational at Ramapo College. He’s currently ranked 15th in the nation in that event.

“It’s remarkable how well he’s come back,” Edney said. “He’s ahead of the game right now.”

“It feels especially good to know what I’m doing,” House said. “Last year, at this point, I was doing okay, but I wasn’t great. I knew I had the potential to do even better.”

House credits Edney for his success.

“It’s good to have a coach who believes in me more than I do,” House said of Edney. “He knows what I’m capable of doing.”

“Donnie is a special guy,” Edney said. “He’s a character. I think I can write a book strictly on Donnie. He has tremendous potential. He’s getting to the point where I think he could be in the top five in the nation and possibly win it. I would not be surprised if he came home with a national title. He just needed to love the sport to make it. But anything can happen.”

House is a history major at R-N. He’s unsure of what his future degree may lead him.

“I don’t necessarily know what I want to do when I’m done,” House said. “I have a lot of interests. I just know that I definitely don’t want to work at Shop-Rite.”

And House can definitely thank his mother for setting him on the right track.