Longtime coach Donna Pixley associated last year’s Division III state championship by The Dunham School with a “perfect ending.”
For a program that had gone 17 years in between state championships, the Tigers reaffirmed their status as one of the state’s top programs with a 35-6 record, including 18 straight wins to close the season.
Four months later, Pixley, after 21 seasons of coaching and teaching at the school, announced her retirement.
Pixley spent the first three years of career at what was then known as Bishop Sullivan (now St. Michael the Archangel). She finished her career with more than 600 wins.
“I still loved going to practice. The fire is ignited within me, and I like all of that,” Pixley said. “I’ve really never been just a mom. My kids have been playing for me for so long. I’ve sat back and was able to be a fan when they’ve played for other coaches in the club program.
“I’ve never been just a mom, sitting back and saying, ‘Yeah, that was a great play.’ I would have loved to have been able to do that and still coach high school, but it will also be that pull of where I was somewhere and felt like I needed to be somewhere else. That’s not fair to either side.”
Pixley’s coaching career included a state runner-up finish in 2004 at Dunham and a trip to the playoffs in each of her 24 seasons. Six times she was voted district Coach of the Year, twice was named the state’s Coach of the Year and twice coached in the LHSAA All-Star games, including in 2022.
“I want to help volleyball in Baton Rouge and Louisiana grow,” Pixley said. “Not being affiliated with a particular school may just help me to offer some things in certain areas.”
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