WEST POINT, Ala. – In this interview, I talked to one of West Point’s multi-sport standouts Cade Simmons.
Cade had a near endless list of his favorite sports and high school memories.
“My favorite baseball memories were beating Lawrence County my junior and senior year to clinch a playoff spot, the game against Scottsboro at Toyota Field, the environment with that many people there, and to win the way we did,” Simmons said. “My favorite basketball memory were beating Russellville both times in the regular season and my favorite football memory was when we made the playoffs my junior year.”
Simmons added, “My favorite high school memories were homecoming week and the activities that we did throughout high school, pep rallies before football games, and hanging out with friends after football, baseball, and basketball games.”
Cade feels fortunate to have played for a lot of great coaches throughout his sports career, and he learned so much from them.
“All of my great coaches were role models for me. I always knew that if I ever needed anything, they would be there for me to help any way they could,” Simmons said. “They would always put the team needs before theirs. If myself or the team wanted to stay after practice to get some extra work in, they would sacrifice their family time to work with us to be the best we could be. Playing for all of my coaches, I learned that being a Christian athlete was the best and biggest platform that I would ever have and that I could make an impact on my fellow peer’s life. Another thing is that when situations and circumstances change, you can’t be up and down all the time. You have to remain the same no matter the situation or circumstance. Lastly, you’re never good enough to be satisfied with your work. There is always room to get better.”
Simmons took away a whole lot during his time at West Point and will definitely miss going there.
“The community of West Point is just such a great place. People care for each other so dearly,” Simmons said. “We’ve had some people in our community that has been sick and every time we have a prayer meeting, a ton of people show up and rally together to show their love for everyone. The relationships that I made had such a great impact on me. Also, no matter what you do in school or in the athletic side of things, there will always be people who will be proud and care about you.”
Cade added, “I will miss all of the friendships that I made with the classes under me, being able to hang out with my friends on a daily basis, but mostly, getting the opportunity to put the West Point jersey on and competing to represent my school.”
Simmons taught the younger guys a lot about hard work, and he also gave some advice to those students that are starting high school in August.
“I tried to be the best example I could be, but there were days that I did much better than others,” Simmons said. “I taught the younger guys how to be respectful and work hard. I also taught them how to go about a scenario with a good attitude and most of the time, the outcome will take care of itself.”
Cade added, “My advice to them would be to just be yourself. Don’t let anyone’s opinion change your outlook on things and what you’re willing to do. Be bold and make friendships and enjoy every second of it. It’ll be over before you know it.”
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