SOUTH BERWICK — When is the right time to walk away?

That question is common in the world of sports. Whether you are a professional athlete or a coach at a high school in southern Maine, there will come a time when you have to ask yourself if you should hang it up.

Marshwood High School wrestling coach Matt Rix announced recently that he would call it a career but not before he led his team to its sixth Class A state championship in the last seven seasons in late February — and his 10th career state title would come in surprising fashion.

The Hawks were the underdogs entering this year’s Class A state meet as rival Noble had rolled to the regional title just a week earlier. But that didn’t stop Rix’s squad from putting up 117 points with just seven wrestlers competing to win the state title.

It turned out to be the perfect ending for the legendary coach.

“This past year with just the seven kids and no one really expecting us to do that (after) losing all the kids that we did, that kind of sealed it,” said Rix. “This is how I want to be remembered for getting every little bit out of every one of those kids. That’s what we did, we got every little bit — we couldn’t have got any more out of anybody that day.”

‘Long walks home’

Rix began his coaching career back in 1983 as an assistant coach for Marshwood.

The first couple seasons for the young coach would show how committed he was to helping young athletes and the Marshwood program.

“A lot of tired nights and long walks home,” said Rix on what he remembers from those early years. “When I first started coaching I was actually living in Sanford and I came down to help out … I remember I didn’t have my license at the time (and) I remember hitchhiking.”

Rix would try to catch regular rides to and from practice, but that wasn’t always possible.

“If I got right out at the four-way there in Sanford I could catch some of the Navy Yard traffic and I’d catch a ride down to Marshwood,” Rix recalled. “If I got out right at 5, it was kind of the same deal. I had some regular guys that if they saw me they’d give me a ride back, but if I was running late — and there were a couple nights where I didn’t get home til 10 o’clock — I’d catch a ride to South Berwick, then one to Berwick … I had some late nights.”

Like most young coaches, one obstacle Rix had to overcome was gaining the respect of the wrestlers who weren’t much younger than he was at the time.

“I think that started out right at the beginning where I kind of had a line that I drew, and they respected that … but they definitely tested me,” said Rix, who graduated from Marshwood in 1981.

Building a foundation

Rix learned early on in his wrestling career that kids needed a place to perfect their craft — and not just during the high school season.

“I started wrestling late, like in seventh grade. I played basketball, I was in all-stars in Eliot until I got to junior high and then Eliot and South Berwick combined and I got cut. So I’m like, ‘what the hell am I going to do now?’” Rix remembered. “My brother was wrestling so he got me into wrestling and a big part of kind of catching up was we were involved in the York County Athletic Club, which was the big freestyle and greco club in Sanford.”

Rix saw firsthand through the YCAC how a strong club could help wrestlers reach new heights.

“Even in junior high, the people I was looking up to were Bobby Eon, Earl Boyes, you know all these guys were competing internationally. They were bringing teams over from Russia and they were competitive,” said Rix. “We were beating some countries and that helped me so much, just that style of wrestling and the competition we were getting. I thought that was instrumental in what little success I had, that was huge. It was a different style of wrestling but very similar and very valuable.”

Rix decided to start the Maine Trappers Wrestling Club in 1992 as a way to offer kids from the Marshwood area and beyond a chance to wrestle all year.

“I wanted to offer our kids a full package. Alright well ‘what are your goals? Do you want to be an Olympian?’ This program is set up where we can give you the avenues to get there through the freestyle part of it,” said Rix, who also began the Eliot South Berwick Wrestling Association which runs the annual Marshwood New England Classic for youth wrestlers.

‘Whole different ball game’

The biggest challenge for any high school coach is having one of their own children on the team and trying to find that balance between coach and dad.

Rix got the chance to coach two of his kids — Deanna and Matty — during his 34-year high school career.

“That was a whole different ball game. I don’t know if I was real good at it. I remember us going at it a few times,” said Rix.

“Matty was definitely different than DeeDee,” added Rix. “The thing with Matty was we were always at it, but the matches that he lost it was always somebody else’s fault. He just couldn’t lose a match, it was somebody else’s fault. It was ‘the stupid ref’ and he would have to throw his headgear or something.”

By the end of Matty’s high school career, which included 100 wins, Rix was finally able to watch his son “get it.”

“It wasn’t the fact that he lost. Where we were getting into it was the way he took it. I’d tell him ‘I don’t take this from anybody else, I’m not going to put up with it from you either.’ That was our biggest struggle, me and him, just his sportsmanship,” said Rix. “Finally his senior year, he got it. I remember his last match was his senior year he lost and I knew he was frustrated because he didn’t place but he took it great. He came and gave me a big hug and I remember saying ‘Matty, that’s all I wanted. It’s not about the wins and the losses, it’s just about sportsmanship.’”

Rix would get to see Deanna make history with a run to the state finals in 2005. He would be in her corner all the way through her high school career, but he also admitted he would have to step back a little bit and let someone else handle her matches.

“DeeDee, of course, you know girls are different. My assistant at the time was Mark (Moriarty) and his son was on the team so we kind of played off each other,” Rix said. “When DeeDee was up, a lot of times I’d let him take the match or I’d sit in the corner but try to keep my mouth shut. The same thing when his son was up, he’d sit back and try to be quiet and I’d deal with it.”

Something Rix will never forget is the hype surrounding his daughter’s state finals match against Sanford’s Shane Leadbetter.

“That was one of the most anticipated matches. I remember watching that match and you couldn’t get a seat on the edge of the mat. There were photographers and reporters all around the mat. Just that alone had to eat at your nerves for both of them, for Shane Leadbetter and for DeeDee,” said Rix.

Rix believes Deanna’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss in double overtime helped drive her to become one of the best wrestlers in the world.

“Who knows if she would have won if she would have done what she did. I think the fact that she lost I think she felt like she still had more to do,” said Rix who watched his daughter place twice at the women’s world championships.

One thing that DeeDee’s success brought out was her male opponents looking for a way to beat her when they realized they weren’t as talented.

“You know I got thrown out a few times … a couple of them were my daughter. Kids out there just being overly aggressive and just basically trying to beat her up and I’d get on the ref about it,” said Rix. “It was tough with her, man, watching some of the guys go at her. They knew where she was technically and they knew the only way they were going to beat her was physically beat her up.”

When Deanna was on the Marshwood junior high team there were some tournaments where girls were not allowed — and the Hawks would back up their teammate.

“There were a couple of tournaments where they wouldn’t let her wrestle, you know there was no girls allowed,” said Rix, who made a stand for his daughter. “We didn’t go. We stood up for her and we made a decision as a team not to go — and I think that made her feel good.”

‘It kept me going’

Rix had to fight through a tragedy in 2009 when his son, Matty, died of a prescription drug overdose. The longtime coach credits his wrestling team with keeping him from giving up hope.

“That class kind of dug me out of a hole after Matty passed away,” said Rix of the Marshwood class of 2012. “That senior class made me own a commitment I had made to them about running a camp in the summer for their freshman year. Once I got in the wrestling room with those guys during that camp, it was a very comfortable place to be … I could see a little bit of Matty in every one of those kids. It kept me going.”

That class would eventually bring Rix his first state title in Class A during the 2012 season.

“The first one that we won in (Class A) was really sweet because it was on Matty’s birthday. The kids knew it and they knew what we had accomplished as a team,” said Rix, who remembers the kids picking him up when he was down. “They knew when I was having a bad day. They would come together as a group and made sure my day got better. The first one in Class A was really sweet because of that.”

The one that got away

Like every great athlete or coach, they will always remember their victories — but they will also never forget the tough losses.

The toughest loss for Rix came during his time coaching the Hawks in Class B.

“We had six state champs and we lost (the team title) … yea, you have six state champs and you should be winning a state title,” said Rix, who won four Class B team titles with Marshwood. “But we had a run with Camden back-and-forth there for four years where they had some absolutely crazy teams — as we did, we had some studs on our team. They had six state champs that same year and they had a few more points then we did.”

Rix would love to have that 11th team title, but he will cherish the memories from those runs to the state championships.

“Every one was different. The first one was great. That’s kind of what got me into it. I saw this group of kids and I thought ‘wow, as a group if I hang in there I might be able to win a state title with these guys,’” recalled Rix.

That first state title clearly lit a fire in the legendary coach as Matt Rix put together a career that spanned decades and produced champions on and off the mat.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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