Larry Mixon wore several different hats at Sacred Heart.
Coach. Mentor. Father figure.
Each of those roles carried significant, equally balanced weight to Mixon, the school’s head baseball coach for the last eight years. One of his assistants, Drew Dewease, describes Mixon as ‘selfless’.
“Larry cared more about doing stuff for everybody else and never receiving an ounce of credit,” Dewease said. “As a man, being a selfless servant to others is one of the greatest qualities anybody can possess.”
That was Larry Mixon. And now, Dewease and the Sacred Heart community are just trying to pick up the pieces. On Sunday morning, Mixon passed away from complications with cancer. He was 56.
His name and worth lives on though. When you think Sacred Heart baseball, you think Larry Mixon, said Dewease.
“When Larry started, there was no field. There were no baseballs. We didn’t have anything. Now we’ve got everything we have. He really put blood, sweat and tears into making this a program that everybody can be proud of. I think that will be his legacy going forward, and it’s up to us to carry on with what he started and make it a program we’re proud of.”
Like every other team in the state, Dewease and the Crusaders began official practice on Monday, just a day after their head coach’s passing. One of the team’s senior leaders, Griffin Wiggins, recalls exchanging text messages with Dewease leading up to practice No. 1.
“We said, ‘We gotta practice tomorrow. Coach Mixon would be very upset if he knew we weren’t practicing because of this’. We ended up practicing and got some work in,” Wiggins said. “It was weird, but you can still feel that he’s here. He might not be here in person, but he’s definitely here in spirit.”
Wiggins says he and the Crusaders are dedicating their 2018 season to Mixon, who proved to be far more than just a coach.
“He’s a great guy. I’ve never met anyone else like him,” Wiggins said. “It brings tears to my eyes talking about it.”
As for Dewease, Mixon was a coworker, mentor and more importantly, a friend.
“I’ve known Larry longer than most people realize,” Dewease said. “We actually used to coach against each other in Dixie Boys in Petal. So I’ve known Larry for 10 years.
“I’ll always be grateful to Larry for the opportunity to come on staff and be a part of it a couple of years ago. Just seeing his work ethic, dedication and loyalty to the school and program will be things that we will all try to carry on.”
