CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — More than just baseball, more than just “coach.”
Many are mourning after the passing of longtime Charlotte Christian baseball coach Greg Simmons. The 57-year-old coach fought a battle against lung cancer and passed away on Saturday.
It doesn’t matter if it’s in the dugout or the diamond. It often seems that life lessons and baseball tend to go together. One of the hardest lessons is loss.
“A lot of different emotions, just fully not understanding, maybe kind of asking why,” said Charlotte Christian varsity basketball coach Shonn Brown.
Brown’s been at the school for more than 20 years and is now the Principal at the Upper School. He’s known Greg the entire time.
“My last words were a prayer,” Shonn said. “I prayed before we left, then I gave him a first bump and said keep fighting.”
Simmons spent 30 years coaching baseball. He won an impressive 733 games to go along with 16 state titles and 22 conference titles. But he also showed his players valuable life lessons about loss.
“It was more than just baseball,” said Shonn.
Simmons’s celebration of life ceremony is set for Friday, Feb. 3, at Charlotte Christian from 6:30 – 8 p.m. The funeral will be held the following day at 11 a.m.