Clinton Community's Donna Dixon moves on from coaching
Mar. 4—PLATTSBURGH — Ask anyone who the most influential coach in Clinton Community College's athletic history is, chances are they'd say Donna Dixon.
And for good reason.
She's responsible for the school's only national championship, in 2010 with the women's soccer team, as well as the success with the women's basketball program over the years. She's been a key figure in the Seton Catholic girls basketball program for a few years as well.
However, all good things must come to an end.
After almost 30 years, Dixon has decided to officially retire from coaching. While she'll still be at Clinton working in admissions and as an instructor, in November she decided to retire from coaching to spend time with her daughter, Addison.
COACHING HISTORY
Dixon started at Clinton Community College in 1995 as a part-time basketball coach until 2000, when she was brought on to coach full-time. From 1999 to 2012, she worked with both the basketball and soccer teams, spending 19 years with the basketball program, 13 years with soccer, and seven years for softball.
"I coached until 2012, and then I stopped coaching for a while. I just needed a break," Dixon said. "Then I coached at Seton Catholic for three years and then went back to Clinton for two."
When COVID hit, both the men's and women's soccer and basketball programs were put on hold, with the college searching for coaches, and cross country was the only sport left.
"When the season was canceled due to COVID, I knew it was time to pass it on," Dixon said. "I will miss working with the student athletes but will cherish the memories and friends I have made."
Before coaching, she played at Plattsburgh State from 1985 to 1990, where she was selected to the SUNYAC all-star team all four years and named Player-of-the-Year her junior year. In 2004, she was inducted into the Cardinal Hall of Fame.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The height of her coaching success came in 2010, when she led the Clinton Community women's soccer team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III championship.
"It was the first and only national championship at our college," she said. "For being such a small college in our area, it was a great accomplishment, competing against not only the top New York colleges, but we beat a team from Texas and one from Minnesota."
Clinton Community College Athletic Director Kevin Daughterty, who began working with Dixon in 2005 while coaching the men's basketball team, reiterated the idea that Dixon is the most successful coach in Clinton athletic history.
"There's no question about it," Daugherty said. "She had somewhat of a dynasty going with soccer, which resulted in the pinnacle of winning the national championship, and she had some very good basketball teams as well."
Dixon said the success in 2010 did not come easy.
"We started developing this very competitive program which won several Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference championships," she said. "We had gone to, in the younger years, the regional championship a few years and we weren't able to get to that next level until 2010."
In the later years of her soccer coaching career, they had more success, including several more MVCC championships.
"We were never expected to play at that level and we just had a super group of kids who played really well and we went down there and won the championship," Dixon said. "It was a great accomplishment for anybody at that level to get there, but for us it was really important because we're such a small area."
KEY TO SUCCESS
Patience.
The one word Dixon had when asked what a coach needs to be successful at the collegiate level.
"You have to be really invested in your players and have to want to develop them, not only as players but as people," she said. "The life lessons of coaching student-athletes are sometimes more important than wins and losses. Wins and losses are okay, but it's the development of the student-athletes that really is important."
That patience was very present in her years as the basketball coach as well, from starting with a small program to making it to the Final Four and winning a conference championship.
"When I first started, we barely had enough for a basketball program," Dixon said. "Recruiting in this area is a little challenging, but we were able to slowly develop our basketball program. Having a consistent coach there, I was there for a long time, so you get to know the local coaches, the local kids start to know who you are and you can establish some stability and then develop into a really good basketball program."
"A COACH THAT CARED"
Coaching over 500 students over her years at Clinton and Seton, Dixon said it is important to know players on a personal level.
"To see them become who they are today is just a wonderful feeling," she said. "I do keep in contact with a lot of them. You help them navigate their college life and get them where they want to go. To me, my biggest accomplishment was to see them develop."
Daugherty also said he was always impressed with the relationships Dixon had with her players.
"I think at this level, you tend to spend a lot more time with your players, and when I started coaching with Donna, a lot of times we would travel together, the men's and women's basketball teams, and I was extremely impressed with the way she dealt with her players," he said. "They always had great respect for her."
As for Dixon's legacy at Clinton, although already cemented as one of the best in the college's history, she'd just like to be remembered as a coach that cared.
"To see that many kids go through college and see how they are today and how they turned into great community members and professionals, it's just such a great feeling to see how they accomplish what they wanted to accomplish," Dixon said. "For me to be a part of them getting to their final goal is very satisfying."
Even with all of Dixon's success, she stated it was not necessarily about wins or losses, but making long-lasting friendships and helping students reach their goals.
Email Jessica Collins
Twitter: @JCollinsSports
