Coach Rush Hixon was once the head coach at Pike Liberal Arts School, but like many other high school coaches, he decided to try his hand at the college game. The Chipola College baseball coach is our guest for this week’s ITG Next Alabama 4 Questions with the Coach spotlight.
Q. Coach Hixon, tell us about your time at the high school level – when and where did your coaching career begin?
A. I actually began my coaching career in American Legion baseball under coach John Rushing with Post 70 baseball. I coached with Post 70 for seven years in some capacity. As far as my high school career went, I got my first head coaching job at my alma mater, Pike Liberal Arts School in Troy, Alabama, in 2021.
Q. You came in as the interim head football coach at Pike and had immediate success there, leading the team to the Alabama Independent Schools Association Class 3A state championship. In addition to those duties, you were also the school’s athletic director, and you served as the baseball team’s head coach. That’s a load of responsibility! How were you able to manage wearing so many hats?
A. The short answer to that question is that it takes a village to have success. I was fortunate to be surrounded by good assistant coaches, administration, and ultimately good players, which is the most important part. Wearing all of those hats was a lot of responsibility, but having people in place to help certainly lightens that load. I like to operate under the mindset that it’s never really about “me,” it’s about “we,” and in team-related sports or organizations, that’s the only way I feel like success is sustained over time.
Q. How did you arrive at the decision to move to the collegiate ranks? Did the workload factor at Pike factor into your decision, or was it simply time for a new challenge?
A. I loved my time at Pike. It is my alma mater and where most of my family went to school and will go to school. Leaving wasn’t an easy decision; in fact, it’s one of the hardest I’ve ever made. I have always wanted to coach at the college level. After my playing time at Troy University, I was a student assistant with the baseball team for the Covid season. The timing of that and the Pike job opening is what ultimately got me out of college baseball to begin with. I knew I wanted to test the collegiate waters at some point in my career, and I had actually turned down a few other opportunities to stay at Pike before deciding to take the Chipola College baseball job, which is one I felt like I couldn’t pass up. So it wasn’t as much to do with anything going on at Pike as it was me just taking that next step for my personal career.
Q. So you’re now coaching at Chipola College, which is widely recognized as one of the best junior college baseball programs in the country. Is it fair to say that baseball is your No. 1 love among the different coaching responsibilities you’ve had in your career? How have things been there at Chipola College?
A. Baseball has kind of always been number 1 for me. I’ve got the most experience there and I feel like the most knowledge in baseball over the other sports. I definitely miss high school football and loved every second of coaching it, but to maximize what I want my career to be, I feel like baseball is for sure the route I’ll stick with. I also don’t like to speak in absolutes, so I would never say never to getting back into the high school game or even into football.
