By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
A former soccer teammate of mine sent in an alumni chat that our high school coach had decided to move out of Des Moines, back to his hometown. This got me thinking about the impact he had on me as coach and as a teacher while at Lincoln High School.
When I was a freshman at Lincoln, the soccer team’s junior varsity coach was Jack Simons. I showed up to an open gym, where he played alongside us students. I vividly remember him asking what class I was in. When I said I was a freshman, he said “Geez, you’re big for a freshman.” Bear in mind, I was probably around 5 foot 8 inches at the time. But, soccer players are noticeably short, so I stood out. A connection was formed right then and there. I played under him on JV my freshman year. Going into my sophomore year, he took over the varsity gig, and I managed to make the varsity roster. So, I spent all four years of my high school soccer career under him. Each of them were seasons I won’t soon forget.
Simons was like no other coach I had before. He, at times, was the most intense, demanding and ruthless coach I ever had. He was also the funniest, most caring and compassionate one. If you were playing well, he was quick to praise and encourage you. If you were playing poorly, he was quick to criticize, but also correct.
A few moments stand out. My sophomore year, we were playing Johnston in the substate final. We had a solid season, ranked for a good portion of the year with solid players at all positions. Johnston, however, was the No. 1 team in state and had a player on the U18 U.S. national team. We all knew we had a slim to none chance. The bus ride there, Simons cranked the music, had us laughing, being joyous, and ready to take on the Dragons. We lost. Handily. But, he made sure we were proud of what we were able to accomplish that season. Conference champions, ranked, and one game away from a trip to state.
My junior year, I was picked to start against Southeast Polk. A few minutes into the game, I scored the best goal of my life. And, to my luck, it was caught on camera. What the video doesn’t show is that, overall, I was playing poorly and was subbed out roughly five minutes after I scored and didn’t return to the game. It didn’t matter that I scored what ended up being the game winner. I wasn’t doing enough, so I got pulled and chewed out. Lesson learned.
We met Johnston again in the substate final my junior year. The Dragons were, once again, one of the best teams in the state. And, once again, we lost. This time not as badly, but it was frustrating to be so close two years in a row. Another year as conference champs. Another year spending nearly all of it ranked. No problem. We go again next season.
Our first game of my senior season? Johnston. Ranked No. 1. And, despite us being ranked in the top 10 at the end of the season and falling one game short of state, we were unranked. Plus, Johnston did not even put us in a locker room for the game. We changed underneath the bleachers, feeling quite disrespected. The rallying speech Simons gave us was one I’ll never forget. And, finally, we got over the hump, beating Johnston on penalties. We had quite the time in that storage room they put us in after the game. It is a memory I will never forget, due in large part to Simons’ speech and his coaching.
That season, yet again, we made it to the substate final, only to find No. 2 Valley standing in our path. And, yet again, we lost. Conference champs again, ranked all season long, and fell just short. It is quite a bit of bad luck to have either eventual state champions or finalists in your substate bracket three years in a row. I believe we had 10 seniors on that team. In the locker room after the game, Simons was the most dejected I had seen. But, we all gathered in a circle, refusing to let ourselves feel down, and pulled Simons into our circle. Each player made a comment on the season. Some joked. Some were serious. Either way, we all spread a little love to one another and moved onto our next chapters.
I spent a lot of time with Simons those four years with him as my coach and also as a creative writing teacher. I’m not sure he’ll ever know the true extent of influence he had on me. My soccer memories are ones I cherish most from high school. His class showed me the more enjoyable, whimsical side of writing. It undoubtedly influenced my decision to pursue writing in any fashion as a career.
At a school like Lincoln, it is difficult to get people to care. Students often have plenty of challenges in their lives that are simply more important than high school sports. Simons, through his personality, coaching style and love for soccer, made us care. An alumni game played recently saw 50 or so former players descend onto Lincoln’s new turf. I would challenge any of Lincoln’s other sports to get half as many people together. Simons passed the program off to Joe Sithonnorath about four years ago, but his impact on Lincoln soccer and the community is one that won’t be soon forgotten.
Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.