Dwight Dickinson remembers running through the hay field. The hay towered over him; it was all he could see. He was five years old. His brother was driving the tractor through the field, cutting the hay so it could be bailed. The tractor caught young Dickinson by the leg and severed the area above his ankle. When he looked down, his foot was dangling near his knee. Luckily he didn’t lose it.
The recovery was long. He remembers watching himself walk and telling himself, “Push on the toe, push on the toe so you don’t limp.” He wasn’t allowed to play on the playground until he was eight, and looking back he wonders how he ever played basketball.
“You get sawed down when you’re very young and you want to play but you can’t,” said the coach of St. Thomas University’s men’s basketball team. “I know looking back that that was my driving force.”
Dickinson has been coaching basketball for 38 years. His office is only eight-by-eight and he shares it with three other coaches. There are old team photos on the wall, a reminder of the passing time.
“I’m in heaven’s job, it’s wonderful. Stinky old gym, little room, I just love it.”
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One of nine children, Dickinson grew up in Carlisle, about 10 miles outside Hartland, N.B.
He played on his first basketball team in Grade 10 at Hartland High School and remembers being on court only three minutes the entire season.
“I got one shot. I was in close, about six feet away, and the ball hit the backboard and went over my head behind me. That’s how good of a shot that was.”
The summer between Grade 10 and 11, Dickinson bought a basketball to practice with. When his ball went flat, he used a football.
“I held it sideways and shot it. Rebounding was a real treat cause that ball would bounce everywhere, so my rebounding skills improved a lot.”
That year Dickinson made the varsity team, and in his senior year he was named MVP. After graduation he went to teachers college and was named MVP of the men’s basketball team every year but one. He then played one year at the University of New Brunswick and was named MVP of the league.
“I’ve had three games where I scored over 50 [points], but that didn’t excite me a whole lot. I wanted to see the other players enjoy playing.”
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Dickinson became a coach when he started teaching physical education at MaAdam High School. He then taught and coached at Fredericton High for 25 years before coming to St. Thomas, where he’s been for almost 19 years.
Dickinson is in his early 60s. He’s retired from teaching, but still coaches. The drive to take another team to the national tournament is what keeps him coming back.
“It turns out that you kind of get a passion for it after awhile, to see how people enjoy playing the sport, and winning the games, and how sad they are when they lose.”
In the 19 years he’s been coaching at STU, his fondest memory is from the 2004 national championships. STU made it to the championship game, but lost against University of the Fraser Valley 88-81.
“The most memorable time was just watching the kids listen to the coaching, actually try it, and it working.”
Early on Dickinson considered himself a “student of coaching.” He would take time to talk to other coaches and learn what approaches worked for them.
For him, the hardest part of transitioning from player to coach was fighting the urge to play.
“You would see things happening and you would jump just like a player. You would almost go and dive on a loose ball.”
As a coach, he focuses on giving players positive feedback to increase their confidence. Once their confidence is up, he believes the weak aspects of their game will improve.
He also feels it’s important not to dwell on the past.
“We have a rule on our team: you have one hour to feel however you want to feel, but after that stop it, because after that hour you need to get on with new and better things.”
The team is second in the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association this year has a record of 10-4. Three players have been sidelined with injuries this season, but two are hoping to return in time for playoffs. Dickinson thinks the team is overachieving.
“Knowledge and experience make him a good coach,” said third-year player Corey Delong. “His basketball IQ is extremely high and he still keeps up-to-date on the changing game.”
“Coming to STU I knew Dwight knew what he is talking about,” said first-year player Calvin LeBlanc. “He has been where we are and understands the game.”
Dickinson considers his players his children. He develops strong relationships with them, especially when they’re at STU for four or five years.
“I remember the people, the friendships you make, but games, there is so vague a memory of those.”
For Dickinson it’s not about winning, it’s about the team doing it’s best.
“Every night out, our kids put the best out there and that’s what I’m proud of.”
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Looking around the ACAA basketball league Dickinson has coached the assistant coach of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College women’s team, the coach of Crandall University’s men’s team, and the coach of STU’s women’s team. Seeing his former players coaching today is rewarding for Dickinson.
“All I am trying to do is create a passion inside of the players so that they’ll have that passion to play basketball and coach it.”
