Anton Dixon wants to give something back to Ipswich.
After all, it was the town where he spent his formative years, developing his sporting talent, building up the core fitness that has got him to his current point.
At the moment, Ipswich is a place for him to rest his head, his busy schedule meaning he is London for the majority of the time either training, or working to support his long jump dream.
And it’s through work where the 27-year-old wants to connect with the next generation of youngsters in Ipswich.
“I have been working in east London for a year-and-a-half, working in school, coaching basketball and athletics, and I want to bring that back to Ipswich and give something back to the community from which I was brought up in,” he explained.
“I had a happy childhood, playing out on the streets with my brothers and friends, going up and down the country on the coach with the Ipswich Harriers, I had a fun childhood.”
Fun it may have been, but there was always a steely determination about the young Anton to make it in the sporting arena.
“From a child, I just wanted to be a famous sportsman,” he added.
“I started with long distance running and cross-country but it was around 11 or 12 I decided I wanted to play basketball.
“In Ipswich though it was hard to find a club, so it wasn’t until I was 15 or 16, when I moved to college and grew physically that the fire really sparked.”
After spending time at college in Northampton and a year at the London South Bank University, Dixon pursued his dream of a basketball career and eventually his wish was granted when he moved to the University of Lethbridge, then Concordia University College and finally Thompson Rivers University.
Fame followed in a modest way.
“I am a relative unknown here,” Dixon concludes.
“In Canada, and especially British Columbia, I am quite well known for both sports, when I arrived at college to play basketball, we were doing press conferences and signing autographs, whereas in England you might play in front of your parents and a few friends.
“I’m not saying I am huge there, but it’s nice to be able to come over here and get my head down.”
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