Lakewood coach learned early to rely on football

Dixon shares his father's death with his players, helping him heal.

By JOE SMITH
Published November 6, 2006

Lakewood coach Otis Dixon and his players grieved the loss of loved ones in the summer, drawing comfort from one another.
	[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]

ST. PETERSBURG - Otis Dixon had an eerie feeling as his phone rang before dawn one Saturday morning.

The second-year Lakewood High football coach, still giddy over a season-opening 35-0 win over Gibbs the night before - "the most important" of his career - felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"You just don't get good calls at 5 a.m.," he said. "I thought it was either my sister in Iraq, or my daddy was dead."

The call came from a nearby nursing home. Charles Dixon Sr. had died in his sleep, having never seen his son coach.

Friday nights during Otis Dixon's high school days were the few occasions the former Clearwater High and USF star could count on his father being around.

Charles - and his many faults - shaped the 28-year-old.

"I love my dad," Dixon said. "But I want to be a better man, better husband, better father, than he was."

He is, those close to Dixon say.

At the same time, the fun-loving father of two has completely changed the culture of Lakewood's program with his tough-love approach.

"Tough" holds new meaning for Dixon, whose father and uncle died during a three-week span this season. Two of his players also mourned the loss of family members.

One simmering August afternoon, Dixon shared his story with his team; how football has always been his family, his greatest teacher. He urged his players to grow close in tough times, which will pass, and move on to the next challenge.

His embattled Spartans (3-7) might be out of the playoffs, but they realize the tradeoff.

"We're ready for life," senior linebacker Kevin Hartzog said. "We're ready to be young men."

Carrying the football

The letter came when Dixon was 10. So poignant, he remembers it vividly, down to the cursive handwriting.

His older brother, Charles Jr., then a Marine, told Otis, the baby of the family, that he wanted a better life for him; better than his, better than their father's.

One line stood out:

"You're going to college."

Charles Jr., 39, was Otis' main male influence; their father, who had seven children with different women, labored most of the day in construction jobs.

When Otis' mother, Faye, returned home from cleaning houses, she had see his face pressed against the screen door that faced Wood Valley Park.

That's where he played with the big boys, showing off his trademark smile and speed.

Dixon was a fast but fierce fullback, just like his father. Charles Sr. played for the old Pinellas High, an all-black school in Clearwater.

He always bragged to his son that he once ran a 9.7 100 (yards, that is). Legend had it, he never threw a block.

Stubborn and quick-witted, Charles Sr. was a fixture at Dixon's practices at Clearwater, leading longtime football coach Tom Bostic to quip, "Who's that man in the stands?"

Otis Dixon went on to star in baseball and football at USF - setting a then Bulls single-season record for touchdowns (12) in 1998.

Said USF coach Jim Leavitt, "Otis knew what he wanted - and he went after it."

Mostly, Dixon wanted his father around. Soon, through some unfortunate circumstances, he'd get his wish.

Charles suffered the first of many strokes in 2000. As "pig-headed" as he was, according to Otis, he continued to work. That ended two years later, when he was forced to retire and collect disability. His health and finances soon deteriorated to the point where he lost his house and, little by little, his strength.

Once a vibrant, 5-foot-8, 225-pound "MAN," as Otis described him, he became bedridden.

It was his son who came to his rescue. When Dixon took an assistant job at Apopka in 2003, he moved his father in with him.

For several months, he cared for his father - dressing him, carrying him to the bathroom, feeding him his favorite, Chunky soup.

Through the humbling times, the two finally talked. Otis asked his father why he never was there. Charles, who never met his father, was, at times candid, and other times remorseful:

"Be a better man than I was."

A shared strength

Three days after his father's death, Dixon gathered his team in a prepractice huddle.

Two players, juniors Alphonso Turner and Shayon Headley, lost grandparents that week. The Spartans, playing the best they had in years, shed tears and wore heavy hearts.

Dixon decided to "share the pain." He shocked his players by telling them about his father, a revealing moment senior Corey Henderson said "brought us closer."

"The harder things are, that's when you have to draw nearer," he told them in a soft but steady voice. "When life is hard, step up. Do the right thing."

That's the message Dixon constantly instills in his players. From Tidy Tuesdays (players wear shirts and ties) to the Spartan Pledge (recited after each practice), the team has bought in.

Players copy his catch phrases ("It's a great day to be alive") and, more important to Dixon, have earned teachers' praise: Last season, the Spartans' cumulative GPA was above 3.0 for the first time in more than a decade, athletic director Thomas Scott said.

It's all part of Dixon's message to his players to invest themselves in the things they care most about.

As Hartzog says, "Coach is here from sunrise to sunset. ... He's gotta love it."

Love. It's a loaded word. Dixon spells it "T-I-M-E."

In his own way, his father taught him that.

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com or at (727) 893-8129.

Otis Dixon

Age: 28

Family: Wife Brooke, children Trey 19 months and Kayla (6).

Playing career: Clearwater High, USF.

Record: 5-15 (two seasons)

[Last modified November 6, 2006, 05:32:16]