Coach Nemo has found another job.

Mathew Mixon, who has been Warren Central High School’s swimming coach since 2010, is leaving that position to take over St. Aloysius’ program. He’ll replace Bruce Ebersole, who retired in November after 18 years in the job.

“Everything was great at Warren Central. Great kids. It was a tough decision,” Mixon said. “I’m always extremely attached to my swimmers. This was just an opportunity that felt like a great opportunity for me and my family.”

Mixon also coaches the Vicksburg Swim Association club team and a local masters swimming group for adults, and will continue on in both jobs. His position at St. Al is on a para-professional basis, and he will not be teaching at the school.

The 34-year-old Brandon native was a member of Delta State’s men’s swim team and still competes in triathlons. His swimming ability earned him the nickname “Coach Nemo” from his masters group.

Mixon’s main job is coaching Vicksburg’s youth swimmers, however, and it’s one he’s excelled at. He was named the Mississippi Age Group Coach of the Year at this year’s Mississippi Swimming state meet.

Mixon’s VSA swimmers attend all four of Warren County’s high schools, but some of the best have traditionally wound up at St. Al. He said getting a chance to integrate the workout schedules of the two programs and work with swimmers year-round could benefit both of them.

Being in charge of both programs could unlock another hidden asset as well. Unlike the MHSAA, the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools offers elementary school sports. Being able to work year-round with younger swimmers as well as older swimmers on two levels could make both programs stronger on the state level.

St. Al, which joined the MAIS in 2015, does not currently have an elementary school program but athletic director Mike Jones has said that it’s something the school wants to develop in the near future.

“It’s huge as far as recruiting for later,” Mixon said. “Swimming is a difficult sport to come into later. It takes years of patience and practice. The younger you can get them involved, the better it is for later in their career.”

All of that, of course, is a prelude to continuing the winning tradition Ebersole started at St. Al. He led the Flashes to the 2011 MHSAA Class I state championship and back-to-back runner-up finishes at the MAIS state meet in 2015 and 2016.

“I have a lot of respect for Bruce. I’m very appreciative of what he’s done there. But I put on my big boy pants and I’m up for the job,” Mixon said with a smile. “There’s good things coming in the future.”

Coaching in the MAIS will bring with it a culture change, however. Unlike the MHSAA, where many large schools have capable teams, the power in the MAIS is concentrated in 7 to 10 powerhouse programs. Jackson Prep has won all 43 MAIS state titles, and only about seven schools scored a significant number of points at this year’s state meet.

When he announced his retirement, Ebersole cited a lack of emphasis on swimming by the MAIS membership as one of the reasons for his decision.

Mixon has not only become a respected coach in Mississippi’s club circuit, he’s also had a voice at the organizational level. He’s served on Mississippi Swimming’s board of directors for the past six years, including in a couple of leadership positions. He’s hoping he can bring some of that vision to the MAIS community and put swimming in a brighter spotlight within the organization.

“I would love to give my advice and help. I don’t want to seem like a know it all, but I have been swimming for 29 or 30 years. You can have too much change at one time, but I think you can move it in the right direction,” Mixon said, adding that St. Al’s top-flight program can be a model for other schools to follow in building a program.

“I think because they have been brought up in a swimming environment, it is their sport and they take pride in it,” Mixon said of St. Al’s swimmers. “So they’re a great example of what it should be. They hold themselves to a high standard.”