By Alexandria Schaffer

Coach Cox looks on at the crowd. Photo by: Alexandria Schaffer

Extremely determined and driven, Plymouth High School’s own coach Mr. Dave Cox has added a once in a life time achievement to his long list of accomplishments: his 300th career win.

Throughout his 19 years of coaching, Coach Cox has had the right kind of determination that has helped him succeed as the head coach of the girls basketball team. With the help of his amazing coaching staff to help him along the way, he now has the privilege of getting to coach 19 wonderful seasons to now earn his 300th career win.

“In my interview for the head coaching position I was asked what my long term vision for the girls basketball program was. My response was to have a program that year after year was competitive with the best teams in the state. To win 300 games in 19 seasons (which is almost 16 wins per season) gives me the satisfaction that the program has been able to reach my vision from 19 years ago. It has been possible because of excellent coaches at all levels, a very supportive administration, super parents and all the wonderful players from the little kindergarten player to the senior that stuck it out all the way to graduation. It was a feeling of long term accomplishment,” Coach Cox explained.

When something is accomplished for the first time it normally is imprinted in a person`s mind. For Coach Cox, that accomplishment is winning his first varsity game. “My first varsity game was on November 19, 1992 against South Bend Adams which we lost by the score of 71-30. Then, three games later, on November 30, 1992 we beat John Glenn 40-29 after being down by 15 points in the first half. We finished the season 4-15.”

Every different season can bring many different challenges, like adjusting from the previous season to the next with the lost of the previous seniors, bringing up previous JV players or freshmen to straight Varsity and improving or making new relationships with players as individuals and as a team. “Coaching is like so many other areas of one’s life in that there are so many little things that you need to deal with, work on, get better at, include into your talents or get out of your habits. The challenge is knowing which battles to fight and which you do not need to deal with. I feel along the way as a person and a coach I have figured a few of these out and it has enhanced my relationships with the team as a whole and players as individuals. It has been an honor and a blessing to coach every player that has been part of our program at some level over the years. No group has been more special then the next, however I am very fortunate to get to coach daughters of former players. That is special!” Coach Cox said.

Inspiration and determination can come from many different sources, like one’s wife. Coach Cox said that through all of his coaching experiences his wife has been by his side and always encourages him to do his best, and helps raise his exceptions. “Karen Cox, my wife (a seventh grade math teacher) had had the biggest impact on my motivation to always excel. When I first started coaching she was the seventh and eighth grade coach at Triton and I was the seventh and eighth grade coach at Caston. I played her teams five times and lost five times. Here was this lady who never played competitive sports (at the time she came through school there were no sports for females) and yet had her teams very prepared and ready to play every night. She did all the little things no other junior high coaches did, like recording and studying the games, and recording stats so she knew player strengths and weaknesses and went to other coaches for advice. She raised my standard of what level of effort I expected out of myself.”

There is an old quote by Andrew Carnegie that states: “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” Coach Cox not only realizes that this quote is true but he understands this quote and its true meaning, because without his hard-working staff on the basketball team it would not run as smoothly as it does now. “I think winning 300 games is a reflection on having a consistent staff over long periods of time. I believe that gives you the continuity year after year to emphasize positive points in the program and each group coming up knows what is expected and you do not have to start over each year. I have been blessed to have that with my wife Karen and my assistant Dave Duncan around all 19 years. As for the former players who are back coaching, Lindsay Houin and Cory Duncan along with other coaches have been with us over five or six years. My loyalty to my coaching staff, which has lots of fun and get along great, and my loyalty to my high school players who are coming back each year are the main reason why I keep on coming back each year. I also feel we at Plymouth have an advantage over other places because of our long term athletic directors: Mr. [Roy] Benge at the high school, and Miss [Carol] Gilbert at Lincoln Junior High.”

One of the biggest reasons why Coach Cox has become so successful coaching basketball is his vision of what he wants the team to look like, and actually putting it into reality. Over the past nineteen years he has had many different visions of what level he wants his current varsity team to be at, and year after after has made that vision into a reality. “I began coaching knowing that I really did not know a lot about X’s and O’s, but I knew how to work. That was instilled into me by my parents as a boy growing up on a dairy farm. I just simply put hours in talking to other coaches, watching educational films on basketball and coaching teams in the off-season. As my experiences increased, so did my knowledge of coaching. I like the challenge of taking parts and putting them together and making the team better than the individuals who make it up. I like to plan practices that have a purpose and improve the players. I like the satisfaction you get when you put forth more work and effort then most people are willing to give and that self and team gratification of extra ordinary accomplishment. As to that a few men that mentored me along the way like Coach Edison, Mr. Nixon (my first Athletic Director) and Bill Snyder which I had the pleasure of teaching biology with for years and the luck to put it all together and the luxury of knowing that things do work out.”

Although he has now achieved a major accomplishment, Coach Cox will continue to do his best as a coach, and always try to inspire those around him to do so as well.