A three-star athlete in middle and high school,
Meagan Dixon did a little bit of everything.
A member of the basketball, volleyball and softball teams, she was also a cheerleader and mascot for her school.
Joining a travel ball softball squad at the age of 12, Dixon said by the time she'd finished middle school she wanted to spend her high school days as a “normal” student.
“I'd stopped playing travel ball my freshman year of high school. We were traveling a lot on the weekends and I just got tired of it,” she said. “I wanted to go to high school and have some free time; be a normal high school student.”
In spite of being burned out on every sport, Dixon said it was her senior year of high school that her love for softball was really revealed to her.
“My friends were all having these signing parties for their various scholarships. I thought, 'I should be signing a scholarship and having a party.' So I called my travel ball coach, she told me to come out to the next practice and it all happened kind of fast after that.”
Dixon's travel team coach contacted Hornets head coach Telma Hall who offered the Canyon Springs, California a scholarship shortly thereafter.
“It dawned on me that if I didn't try to get back in the game, on the team that I would regret it,” she said.
Needless to say the hard work put in by the outfielder has paid off. Dixon was named to a member of the second team All-SWAC softball team earlier this week.
Completing the regular season 52-for-136 at the plate and recording a .382 batting average, including 29 RBI (1
st on team), 23 runs scored (2
nd on team), nine doubles (1
st on team), four homeruns (1
st on team), and four triples (1
st on team), Dixon also went a perfect 10-for-10 on the base paths; while garnering a .596 slugging percentage (1
st on team). She held a .418 on base percentage; while tallying 81 total bases on the season.
While she admits she enjoyed her time as a “normal” student, she also never lost her passion for the sport.
“I fell in love with softball all over again that year I was off. Had I not taken that time off I think my drive and my attitude would be a lot different,” she said. “It made me not take it for granted. I was given a second chance and I've been determined to take advantage of that.”
A rehabilitation services with a concentration in addiction major, Dixon said there's different vibe going on among members of the Alabama State softball team leading into this year's Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament being playing at Wilson Morgan Park in Decatur, Ala.
The group defeated the University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff 2-0 in their opening round of action on Wednesday and now advances to today's quarterfinal match at 3:30 p.m.
“At one point we had a losing streak and we couldn't figure out what the deal was or why we were losing. We got along great off the field but on the field something was off,” she said. “Finally the team had a come to Jesus meeting. We just sat there and told it like it was. After that everybody was just cool. The elephant wasn't in the room anymore.”
