Nixon always had his teams ready to go
Submitted photo
Preparation was at the center of his athletic and coaching careers.
It is simply the way he was taught how to play basketball at Farrell High School, and was the core value of the track & field program he put together years later at Bentworth High School.
Jerome Nixon did not take one thing for granted as a player and coach.
“I’ll tell everybody this one thing: “When we went into a game (at Farrell) we were always prepared,” said Nixon, who was coached in basketball by the legendary Ed McCluskey. “He made sure that we knew everything about the opponent, and he worked with every one of us so that we could win the game. We had great scouts and he was a great coach. He put that all together, and we played well. It all tied in.
“When I was given the coaching opportunity at Bentworth, I based our program on hard work – everyday – and we would be prepared for every event, every competition.”
Nixon was an integral part of the legendary Farrell High basketball program.
He was a three-year letterman and two-year starter for the Steelers, highlighted by his role as a starting — lockdown defender — center on the 1969 PIAA Class A (largest classification) championship team. Farrell went 27-1 overall. Nixon stood out on defense and led the team in blocked shots.
In his career, the Steelers had a combined record of 62-12, winning a pair of WPIAL Section III titles and falling one game short of a third. He was honorable mention All-Section 3.
Following high school, he played basketball for an Independent Company League in New York City for two years, playing in the league championship game both seasons. He began his career as a member of the first elementary school championship team at J.A. Farrell School, and was named to the league’s All-Star team.
In junior high, he helped lead his teams to section titles all three years. He was a key performer on the Farrell High School track team as well, earning three letters. He made the Mercer County Track Honor Roll in the 400-yard dash and mile relay in 1970.
He admits not defending that state title was “devastating.”
Do the Bearcat
Nixon earned acclaim by building a solid track & field program at Bentworth High School.
Bentworth didn’t have a track. They ran around the school. Nixon meticulously measured every event within his makeshift practice place.
“The thing about practice at Farrell, (McCluskey) had everything on a time schedule, and he didn’t deviate from that,” Nixon explained. “We did drills, a whole bunch of stuff. All of that helped us as far as how we performed in the games. It worked simultaneously.
“I took what I learned at Farrell and used it in track. “I always tried to make sure my kids and I were prepared because that was the number one thing with me.”
A certified Level 1 USA Track & Field Coach, he started the Bearcats’ program in 2003 and nurtured and coached through 2022. His teams won numerous championships and he coached nine WPIAL individual or relay champions and one state champion. He also coached two TSTCA individual indoor champions.
Nixon coached a participant in the WPIAL finals for 17 consecutive years and a 4×800 relay team into the WPIAL qualifiers 12 consecutive seasons. Several of his pupils went on to college careers at all levels. He also coached youth basketball, softball and track.
Nixon said he was uplifted by the support of others at Bentworth.
“Neal Baker was a teacher, assistant track coach, and head soccer coach, and was very instrumental in the soccer kids participating in track,” Nixon said. “His theory was if you weren’t playing baseball, he wanted you out for track if you were on the soccer team.
“I also give (former Bentworth athletic director) George Linck a lot of credit for taking a chance on a summer track coach to start up and head his track program. Over the years, he and I have become very good friends.”
Linck marvels at Nixon’s success and dedication.
“He did a fantastic job given the fact he was starting from the ground up, with no track at the school and no kids with previous track experience. We had track here but it had been discontinued about 20 years before. We had immediate success individually.
“Jerome put together some fine teams. We had people in the WPIAL finals and multiple qualifiers for state. We might have had 10 hurdles to practice with. We reached out to Chartiers-Houston and we used their track once a week. You could not ask for more from someone starting a program.”
A family affair
Nixon, 72, resides in Washington with his wife, Joyce. The couple have three children, sons Demond and Karlon, and daughter Tamarra, who was a seven-time PIAA medalist for Washington High School. Tamarra Nixon Miles won state championships in the 100-meter dash (1998) and the 4×100-meter relay team when the Little Prexies won the overall team state title in 1996.
She was also a five-time WPIAL champion, winning a pair of 100 and 200-meter dash titles and being part of a 4×100-meter championship relay team, and a runner-up showing in the 100 meters. She was a three-year letterwinner at Kent State, where she set the school record in the 60-meter dash, which stood for 11 years and still ranks fifth.
“He was very influential as a coach and a supporter,” said Nixon Miles. “I couldn’t have done what I did without him, and he was always so dedicated to his Bentworth program and the kids there.
“He was very dedicated to the sport. I always wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
The Nixons all ran the 4×100 in the PIAA championships.
Demond Nixon was a member of the 1993 WPIAL 4×100 relay team for the Little Prexies.
Karlon Nixon, who was part of a couple of WPIAL championship relay teams at Washington in 2001 (4×100 and 4×400), has been heavily involved in track as a participant, coach and close observer.
“My dad was a positive influence,” Karlon Nixon said. “He did an amazing job at Bentworth. When you think of Bentworth track, you think of my dad. He studied track more than most. He just loves it.”
For his efforts as both a player and coach, Nixon was inducted into the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 2022.
That was something he wasn’t prepared to deal with.
“That was very humbling,” Nixon said. “I was honored because I never thought that I would be able to get into the Mercer County Hall of Fame. For me to achieve something like that was big.”