About

Mark Speckman

Mark Speckman has been coaching football at Willamette University for the past eleven years. He was the Bearcats offensive coordinator for three years and the head coach for the last eight seasons.

Prior to Mark moving to Willamette University he had spent 14 seasons as a high school head football coach. He had coached his teams to a sparkling 113-48-3 record (.689) winning percentage.

At Merced High where he coached for eight seasons Speckman led them to national prominence. His 1989 and 1990 teams each enjoyed a perfect season going 14-0 each year. Additionally, the 1990 team was voted the best high school team in California and was ranked number 5 in the nation by ESPN and number 10 in the country by USA Today.

The Willamette Bearcats record during Speckman's tenure is a sterling 74-35-1 mark (.678) winning percentage. He was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1999 after coaching the team to the NWC title. He has twice led the Bearcats to the NCAA Division III national playoffs.

Mark Speckman is so much more than a football coach. He is a teacher, a motivational speaker, and a man who has learned to turn the adversity that life has dealt him into a positive affirmation. His life speaks volumes about never giving up, always doing the very best you can regardless of the circumstances, and how you can use your difficult (some would call it impossible situation) to help others. Mark Speckman was born without hands, a situation which might ultimately destroy the strongest of us. Mark has taken his physical liability and turned it into a positive. He has touched many thousands with his uplifting story.

Mark taught high school social studies and coached football for 17 years at the high school level. In addition to his teaching and coaching duties, he developed and implemented a program for identifying and working with at risk youth at the California high school he taught at for eight years.

He has been listed in the prestigious Who's Who among American High School Teachers. Mark was also selected a Mentor teacher in the state of California.

Mark has spoken at over fifty football coaching clinics and given numerous motivational talks to business, community, and educational organizations throughout the United States.

He is frequently the keynote speaker at leadership conferences held by various business's across the country. One such conference held by Xplor International, a worldwide association of service providers in the customized information and document technologies field, had Mark as its keynote speaker.

The Chairman of Xplor International, Skip Henk, caught the essence of Mark Speckman when he said, "Mark, the Head Football Coach for Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, a former high school teacher and coach, spoke about overcoming obstacles. Mark was born with no hands. This inspiring and entertaining speech put many things in perspective for me. It not only exemplified the power of the human spirit, but that overcoming obstacles is a state of mind."

One can only hope those who have been fortunate enough to have met, heard or been involved with Mark Speckman realize how fortunate they were.

Some of his accomplishments are: