Alex Chenevey is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cactus Shadows for AZpreps365.com.

Scanning the sidelines of a Cactus Shadows football game, you’ll notice Chris Dixon, the head coach of the Falcons. People in the community know who Coach Dixon is. But Dixon’s background might not be something most Cactus Shadows fans know about.

When Dixon was growing up, he didn’t see himself playing football. He was more into playing baseball and basketball. All that would change, though, when his Uncle Ernie introduced him to the game. 

“My Uncle Ernie always tried to get me to play football,” said Dixon. “One day when I was 11 years old, he took me out to the field and I ended up playing after that and played ever since.”

Dixon played quarterback for four years at Richmond High School in California. After playing football for Contra Costa College and Humboldt State University, Dixon advanced through the arena football ranks quickly. After winning the North American Football League Championship in 2004 with the Eastside Hawks, his rookie year in the league, Dixon moved to the United Indoor Football League in 2005, signing with the Black Hills Red Dogs.

That season, Dixon was traded to the then Billings Mavericks, now Billings Outlaws, where he would start to carve out his path to greatness in the Indoor Football League.

“As a young football player, he was very inquisitive,” said former Outlaws head coach Heron O’Neal. “He asked a lot of questions; he wanted to know the 'why' part, which I thought was very unique. I've never had a player that young ask the type of questions he asked.”

O’Neal is in his 18th year as a coach and is coaching the Salina Liberty in the Champions Indoor Football league, who are coming off a CIF championship. For O’Neal, Dixon stood out due to his leadership as well.

“To have a player of that magnitude wanting to lead and just wanting that thirst for knowledge, it was essential that your best player wanted to lead and knew how to lead,” said O’Neal. “It’s very easy when your best player is the leader of the team and works as hard as Chris works. It made it very easy to be a football coach and just worry about the X’s and O's rather than the mindset of the team.”

During his five seasons at Billings, Dixon won three IFL national championships, two IFL MVPs, and three first-team All-IFL appearances.

A secret to success for Dixon was the work that was put in during practice, as former Outlaws receiver James Walton can attest to.

“Chris and I are (Michael) Jordan disciples in a sense,” said Walton. “We had the mentality that we wanted to have it perfect before the game, because we knew if we had it perfect in practice, we knew by the time it got to the game, that it would be easy.”

“I love practice. If you don’t love practice, you won’t be able to play well in the game,” said Dixon. “You have to love practice; you have to love to get out there and want to prove yourself every game. I demanded that we work, that we get better as a group, watch film, and be prepared before the game.”

When Dixon and Walton played together in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, they made the game look easy. In the two seasons they played together for the Outlaws, the duo combined for 68 touchdowns. For Walton, there were also some other factors during their dominating stretch as teammates.

“The preparation before the game was a big part of the success,” said Walton. “When you could see the game the same way from the quarterback and the receiver position, it was key. I studied film as a quarterback so Chris could see the adjustments the same way I would. That was about 60 percent of it. Thirty percent was Chris had arm talent like no one else in the league. I’m 6’4 and can run a 4.4 40; those things mesh well. The last 10 percent was us being uberly competitive; we still are. We still argue about the MVP award he stole from me in 2008. When you add those three pieces together, that’s why you’re able to see the type of numbers we put up.”

After five great seasons with Billings, Dixon joined the Sioux Falls Storm, the Orlando Predators and the New Orleans Voodoo. Dixon retired as a player in 2014 and was inducted into the IFL Hall of Fame in 2015, which is something that means a lot to the five-time IFL MVP.

“It was a great experience to know that you’ll forever be known as a great player, someone who changed the game and someone who did great things for the game,” said Dixon.

Dixon also shares the honor with his former head coach. O’Neal was inducted in 2021, but he appreciates being in the Hall of Fame with Dixon.

“I’m thankful I’m there with Chris,” said O’Neal. “We were joined at the hip when we started. Chris always says, and I never really believed it until now, that the quarterback and the head coach are adjoined at the hip no matter what. He said, ‘You don’t believe it, but you will in time.’ For him to foresee that and understand that was huge.”

Once Dixon retired, he started his coaching career as a head coach for the team he had the most success with in the IFL, the Billings Outlaws. For both O’Neal and Walton, they saw that Dixon had a future in coaching.

“I did envision him becoming a coach,” said O’Neal. “Not in the beginning, but towards the end of our time together, as far as coach to player. I involved him in the game plan; he would have his segment of plays he liked against certain defenses. You could see it at a young age that he was going to be a great coach once he decided that’s what he wanted to do.”

“Oh, no doubt about it, it was the next step for sure,” said Walton. “His passion for wanting to teach the game has always been there, and that’s what made him so successful as a quarterback. It wasn’t always about him; what he wanted to get out of everybody was the enjoyment of looking at how it is when we prep and we hit our goals on our possessions.”

Dixon started coaching high school football in 2019 at Shepherd High School in Shepherd, Montana, where he turned the program around. In his second season, Dixon led Shepherd to its first home playoff game in 15 years. Dixon learned a valuable lesson while at Shepherd.

“I learned that the road isn’t as easy when you’re coaching high school guys, because you have to teach them not only how to play the game but also how to study the game,” said Dixon. “If you know how to study, you can't always play the game. But if you learned how to play the game, you don’t always know how to study the game. So you have to bring both elements together in the game.”

Dixon moved to the Grand Canyon State in 2021, and caught the eye of Cactus Shadows athletic director Drew Ammon. Cactus Shadows was looking for a new head coach following the 2021 season, and Dixon, who lives only a few blocks from the school, became a prime candidate thanks to the ties that he built within the local community.

“Chris stood out with the energy he brought in the interview and his vision for where he wanted to take the program,” said Ammon. “We’ve been successful for several years, but we need to get to that next level, and his vision for Cactus Shadows getting to that next level made him an attractive candidate.”

Both Dixon and Ammon, who both are in their first years in their respective positions, are laying the groundwork for Cactus Shadows. While the team finished with a 4-6 record, there were positives to take from the season, such as Dixon’s son, Donivan Dixon, having a solid season at quarterback as a freshman.

Dixon also instilled a culture and taught his players life lessons. Senior Jaivon Swecker notes some of the key life lessons Dixon taught him during the season.

“He taught me to not hide from the light,” said Swecker. “What I learned from Coach Dixon was that you gotta show out 100 percent before you don’t have the opportunities to do so.”

Dixon is also the quarterbacks/running backs coach for the Arizona Rattlers. Everyone agrees on one thing: the future is bright for Dixon.

“Nothing that Chris does surprises me anymore, because I just know how hard he works,” said O’Neal. “Chris can do whatever he puts his mind to because of his work ethic and his willingness to put his whole heart into the projects he’s involved in.”

“Chris is the guy who wants to be No. 1 and wants to take everyone with him,” said Walton. “He’s not a guy that’s, ‘Hey, look at me and look what I did’, it’s always been about the team and bringing everyone together along the ride and saying ‘Hey, look what we did’. I wouldn’t be surprised if the guys are holding the state championship in the next few years.”

Dixon wants his legacy to be about one thing.

“I want my legacy to be that I made kids realize that every day is a new day to get better no matter what,” said Dixon. “If they take that from me, my legacy will be that I made kids better everyday, just because they knew they were in control of themselves, not someone else.”