Karla Mixon (2022)

The Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame proudly inducts Karla Mixon into the 2022 Class for her accomplishments as Head Coach for the Ridgewood High School Girls Lacrosse program. At the helm of the program from 2001 to 2018, an eighteen-season run, Karla lifted the program to a nationally ranked elite status, with perennial national rankings in the top 20. Her career won – loss record stands at 337 – 59, for a winning percentage of 85.1%, the winningest program in RHS history. Under Karla’s leadership, RHS Girls Lacrosse, in its history, has never lost to a Bergen County opponent and garnered 14 consecutive Bergen County Girls Lacrosse Tournament championships. At the New Jersey State level, Karla’s teams amassed 6 Group 4 Championship titles and two Tournament of Champions banners – consecutively in 2010 and 2011. She was feted as Bergen County Coach of the Year multiple times, and for the success of her 2011 team, she was honored by the New Jersey Star Ledger as the New Jersey Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year. The 2011 team was honored by the “Star Ledger” as the girl’s lacrosse team of the year, additionally “The Record” named Ridgewood Girl’s lacrosse the Team of the Decade ( 2000 to 2010) and Karla the Coach of the Decade. Karla developed many female scholar athletes during her tenure who would achieve success at the collegiate level at nationally prominent programs – Duke, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, JMU, USC, Elon, Lehigh, Boston College, numerous Ivy League schools, to name a few. Karla was a fearless promotor of the Ridgewood Girls LaCrosse program, and supportive of Ridgewood Lacrosse Association’s youth program, which was the feeder system to the High School level. Upon her retirement, in looking back at her coaching success, Karla’s balanced approach to coaching is summed up in this quote – “Extremely dedicated, athletic, hardworking; the girls work outside of the sport, and they have to work hard in the classroom too. I think, you know, though, that it mostly comes from their internal drive, but I think they push themselves, and I think their parents also want them to do well, and help them become better people. Everyone that’s in your life, your family, your teachers, and your coaches all push you to be the best you can be.”