tornado99 345 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Congratulations to all SWVA teams on a great season. At least we have one team to continue to carry the banner. Go Maroon Tide! Sixcat, or other Galax fans, what has been the key to Galax's consistent success the last several years, besides stellar running backs? Just curious. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Mark Dixon! Galax has had talent all over the place for as long as I can remember and I am 41 years old. They have never had decent coaching much less quality coaching until Dixon moved here to be nearer his children. He has developed the talent already here and brought consistancy. Galax tends to be a place where everyone is an expert on every subject. That mindset stops at the entrance to the school. Dixon isn't pressured or second and third guessed like other coaches here or in other areas. His system is simple but highly effective. To play on his line, you must buy in! That means becoming a part of "The Breakfast Club". Those kids watch film every morning from 6am-7am then lift from 7am-8am, without exception. The results speak for themselves. Steven Peoples was special but he came back with 3,000 yard backs in Joseph Dixon and Charles Harris. His OL's are special. This year, they have 8 kids that would start at most any other school. Dixon has been at Galax for 6 seasons. He has taken Galax to 2 state title games and no less than 2 rounds in the playoffs every year. old_school_blue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 I would agree that the lineplay for Galax is remarkable. Very impressed with their execution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 I should also add, Galax is in a unique position that virtual the entire student body lives within walking distance of the school. That makes things like The Breakfast Club seamless and easily attained. 1inStripes and Deleted Account 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado99 345 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Thanks. I have wondered about the talent richness and if any economic or demographic factors helped, but coaching was my suspicion using Richlands as my example. Congratulations! You are very blessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 We are blessed to have him. If, for whatever reason, he decides to leave, I don't think it will be as difficult to get a quality coach to move here as it was in years past. He has made Galax football known and respected all across the state. I don't think he will leave until his daughters finish high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 I could go on and on about this topic but this will be the end. Dixon has helped change the culture in Galax as well. Since his arrival in 2010, Galax has won state titles in golf (3), baseball (1), soccer (2), tennis (1), cross country (2) and basketball (2). Finished runner-up in football, cross country and wrestling. Reached the state semifinals in volleyball (2), girls basketball (3), boys basketball (2), and football (2). Prior to 2010, Galax had a couple of golf titles from the 70's and 80's and a tennis title in the 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado99 345 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Very impressive. I enjoyed and appreciate your explanations. sixcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtiger 1,740 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 I should also add, Galax is in a unique position that virtual the entire student body lives within walking distance of the school. That makes things like The Breakfast Club seamless and easily attained. Being a city school makes a lot of things possible. The only restricting factors are devotion of the coaching staff and desire of the players. If they want it they can do special things. The play of the offensive line has been THE key at Galax imo. If you know football and you watch the Tide play thats the first thing you will notice. A couple of years ago they seemed to depend more on Peoples ability and gave some things away formation wise. Now the formation from play to play is almost exactly the same so its hard to key on exactly where the ball is going. I passed up a chance last week to watch the defending state champions take on the best team I had seen all season to go watch Galax (mainly the OL) and was not disappointed! sixcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado99 345 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 What did Dixon play? I seem to recall an article about him playing in the NFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 He was an All-American guard at UVA in 1993. Became the starter midway through his freshman year and never relinqueshed it. Played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994 briefly before getting sent to NFL Europe for 2 seasons. He played for the Montreal Allouettes from 1996-1997. He started for the Miami Dolphins from 1998-2003. Not too often you get a resume with Jimmy Johnson, Dan Marino and George Welsh as you refernces. The Galax City School Board called all three. Why not, right? 1inStripes, sportsfan, redtiger and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukey 31 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Sixcat...agree totally with comment concerning success of Galax football/sports teams.....one thing I would add is committment of the Superintendent /SchoolBoard and overall Admin.....they have done good job providing coaches with what they need and incentives to create climate of success. The understand the positive tole athletics plays in total school environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Sixcat...agree totally with comment concerning success of Galax football/sports teams.....one thing I would add is committment of the Superintendent /SchoolBoard and overall Admin.....they have done good job providing coaches with what they need and incentives to create climate of success. The understand the positive tole athletics plays in total school environment. I agree, the support at the administration level has been increased ten fold. As long as it doesn't become more important than the school systems commitment to educational standards, I am fine with it. Other school systems have become a victim of their own success on the athletic front and allowed educational standards to suffer as a result. It is a delicate balance. Educational standards are high at Galax but can stand some improvement, especially in advanced mathematics. But, I am sure that can be said for a lot of school systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,518 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm proud of Galax. I remember the last year of Pocahontas that we played there we hung right with them until halftime when our QB went out and now they're playing for state championships. Also, the fans were some of the nicest people. They were cooking hamburgers outside our locker room and they fed us all before we got back on the bus. Sixcat, were you following Galax around that time? I remember they had a real fast back, #9 I think? Was his last name Sams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm proud of Galax. I remember the last year of Pocahontas that we played there we hung right with them until halftime when our QB went out and now they're playing for state championships. Also, the fans were some of the nicest people. They were cooking hamburgers outside our locker room and they fed us all before we got back on the bus. Sixcat, were you following Galax around that time? I remember they had a real fast back, #9 I think? Was his last name Sams? Aundrey Sams. He played at Union, KY. Several other kids from that team played at the next level. The QB, his name escapes me, played DB at Elon, Tyler Houk played at Emory and Henry. Terrance Mazon played at Bluefield. Kurry Thomas and Jared Brown played at Ferrum. Like I said earlier, Galax has had talent in bunches, never had coaching to bring it all together anywhere near the level they have now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixcat 2,919 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 For those Clintwood fans with good memories, Jacob Fisher (#9) from the 2011 Galax team was a member of the D2 national rurnner-up team at Lenoir Rhyne in 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,518 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Aundrey Sams. He played at Union, KY. Several other kids from that team played at the next level. The QB, his name escapes me, played DB at Elon, Tyler Houk played at Emory and Henry. Terrance Mazon played at Bluefield. Kurry Thomas and Jared Brown played at Ferrum. Like I said earlier, Galax has had talent in bunches, never had coaching to bring it all together anywhere near the level they have now. yeah that was his name, thanks! I'm glad he played somewhere, he was too quick not to sixcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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