MECHANICSBURG – The football season is over, but at Mechanicsburg High School, Dave Dingey’s job is not over.
Dingey, the resident statistician for many of MHS’s sports, works behind the scenes to give coaches, players and even media access to everything from historical records and basic stats to advanced metrics and potential “what-if” scenarios.
A 1985 graduate of Mechanicsburg, Dingey participated in football, basketball, baseball and track. He graduated with the school record in the high jump at 6-1 – the first Indian to eclipse the six-foot mark. He was a senior on the 1984 football squad that won the West Central Ohio Conference with a 9-1 record, after winning just a single game the season prior.
Dingey has been most heavily involved with football, beginning in 1989.
Over that span, he has coached quarterbacks, running backs, defensive ends and defensive backs and tutored current coaches Kurt Forrest, Chris Conley, Jay Dee Hurst, Scott Marsh and Aaron Wynn, as well as Athletic Director Coby Wilhelm. Dingey also played alongside current assistant Scott Blakeman.
When Dingey began keeping football stats in 1992, he used a team of students to record and compile everything he needed. In 2004, the stats group began recording in-game stats electronically. Now, Dingey uses an iPad and works from the press box, compiling stats in real time and producing a game report minutes after its conclusion.
In basketball, Dingey served as the official scorekeeper and compiled stats for the team from 1989-2007. He returned in 2009 and has worked as a coach and statistician since then, recording shot charts and other valuable information in real time.
Dingey has also served as the timekeeper for the track and field team since 2007, manually recording results until the school went fully automatic in 2014. Since that time, he has coached the high jump.
Dingey’s family is also involved in the school, with his wife Joni serving as the secretary to high school principal Paul Hershberger, Jr. and his twins Shannon and C.J. participating in athletics. Shannon plays volleyball and basketball, while C.J. participates in football, basketball and baseball. His youngest, Allyson, is in the first grade.
“I hope to be able to continue contributing through her graduation,” Dave Dingey said.
