Shawn Dixon was already a starter.
But the team needed a boost, and he was willing to make a huge change.
Dixon is a senior at Archbishop Ryan High School, and two years ago he was a starting winger on a soccer team that was hanging around the middle of the pack in an always-competitive Catholic League.
Toward the end of the regular season, the Raiders had some injury problems that zapped the depth of their defense. Dixon was asked to make a move.
“We were one defender down because of injuries, someone got hurt, so coach (Ryan Haney) asked me if I wanted to play in the back,” said Dixon, who lives in Port Richmond. “I didn’t know, he didn’t switch me until the playoff game against Wood. We had a great defense, but it was difficult in the beginning.
“In the beginning, I was just learning and listening. Frank Monaco pretty much directed me what to do and taught me how to play the position. Now I love it. It’s been great for me.”
And even better for the Raiders.
A few games after Ryan made that change, the Raiders were hoisting the Catholic League championship around Northeast’s field.
And this year, Dixon was named the Catholic League Defensive Player of the Year.
“It felt good, it was a real shock, I wasn’t expecting it at all,” said Dixon, who was also selected as a First-Team All-Catholic selection. “I was in school and Coach texted me and told me to call him. He said congrats you got Defensive Player of the Year. It was a short call because I had class, but I was really happy. I didn’t tell anyone, I just waited for it to be announced. Once it was announced, everyone was reposting it and all. It felt good.”
Dixon certainly deserved it.
This year, he helped Ryan once again advance to the Catholic League championship game. The Raiders also won the District 12 championship and won a game in the state playoffs before falling in the second round.
By any metric, it was a good season for the young Raiders, who return most of the team. And this year it learned a lot from its senior captain, who joined fellow senior Peyton Barton and junior Jack Stackhouse as the team’s leaders.
“I was named captain with Peyton and Jack, so there were two other leaders who were really good,” Dixon said. “We had to figure out how to lead the team and how to get them ready for the next few years. I just tried to help motivate them, talk to them when they did something wrong, and try to be a leader. The year we won the chip, our captains were Joey (Phillips), Roy (Hevener) and Jarrett (Lalli). They were mature and great leaders. I tried to be the same kind of leader as them. I knew what worked and I wanted to do the same thing for our team.”
That’s exactly what this group did.
Ryan had a good regular season, finishing in fourth place, but the Raiders really turned it on when the postseason started.
The Raiders beat St. Joe’s Prep in the first round, then upset Judge in the semifinals before falling to La Salle in the championship.
“This year was good, it felt really good to get that far,” Dixon said. “Nobody expected us to make it far, they thought we’d get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. We lost to Roman (during the season) and that got in our heads. But we turned it around and kept working hard from there.
“I was proud how we played, especially in the playoffs. We played tough teams, and we were right there. Everyone thought this was a young team, but we had good players.”
Dixon taught his teammates a lot. He’s doing the same at home.
Dixon lives with his mom, and his aunt and her children. There, Dixon has become a good role model and leader, and it’s a role he really enjoys.
“My mom and my aunt have done so much for me, they’ve been with me my whole life,” Dixon said. “They get me anything even if they struggle. They always help me get what I need. I lived with my mom, dad and grandmom, and my aunt and her kids moved in with us. So we’ve been one big family.
“Now it’s me, my aunt and her five kids. I’m an only child, but it’s like I have five siblings. Two are younger Kevin and Liv, and I have three older, Erica, Nate and Jermaine. It’s great. We’re all really close. I’ve been with them my whole life. And when they weren’t here, when they lived somewhere else, I’d be at their house.
“My two younger siblings are into soccer. Jermaine played football and Nate did baseball, but the two younger ones play soccer. It’s cool, my family is trying to get everyone in soccer. The younger generation will play soccer. I think it’ll be a tradition.”
Soon, they’ll have a college guy showing them the ropes.
While Dixon is unsure of what he’ll do next year, it will include soccer.
“I’m starting to look now, trying to talk to coaches,” Dixon said. “I definitely want to play. Study? I’m not really sure, but probably something in business or engineering.”
