Bermuda’s stars are all Cal’s children

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For more than 30 years Cal Simons has been shaping the lives of many of Bermuda’s young people, not for rewards or accolades but because he genuinely cares.

He impacted many youngsters during 25 years as a gym teacher at West End Primary and even after he left teaching in 2005 and joined the Department of Youth and Sports he continued to be involved in moulding young lives as a coach with Pacers Track Club.

“One of the questions from one of the interviewees was ‘what would stop you from taking this job as a senior civil servant?’ I told them if they told me I would not be able to continue my training with my club,” Mr Simons recalled.

“It was difficult to leave teaching and people still ask me would I go back. I say ‘in a heartbeat’. It was a bold step for me because, in my case, it was my love of being around children and helping children and helping parents.”

Mr Simons’ community work earned him a Queen’s Certificate and Badge of Honour in 1998 and a citation at the Government Sports Awards in 1987. He was also voted Teacher of the Year in 2002 by the Bermuda Union of Teachers.

What children he didn’t come into contact with as a teacher, he met as a junior football coach at Somerset and PHC, a referee or as a track coach and official.

Accomplished athletes Brian Wellman, Kavin Smith, Devon Bean, Jay Donawa, Terrance Armstrong have all come through the Pacers programme and now there is a new generation benefiting from Mr Simons’ mentorship.

Among them is Jay’s son, Carifta Games medallist Justin Donawa. Mr Simons taught both father and son at West End.

“For me at West End, my involvement at PHC and my involvement in refereeing, with the BTFA [Bermuda Track and Field Association] and the Pacers it has always been about what I can do to assist,” he said.

Mr Simons spent 14 years at PHC coaching the Minors and Bantams teams, including a player who went on to play professionally in England Kyle Lightbourne.

“I was coaching, refereeing and doing track and field at the same time and my wife [Joan] said ‘Cal, something’s got to stop’. I gave up the coaching at PHC but I continued to referee,” he explained. “I did it for 18 years and enjoyed it. I was on the FIFA list for a short time.”

His greatest enjoyment came as a teacher, Mr Simons said.

The father of three daughters, ages 23 to 29, says he always had an understanding family.

“My wife has always supported and encouraged me,” he stressed. “I tell people she knew the job was ‘dangerous’ when she took it. If she was really demanding of my time I wouldn’t be able to do it.

“Teaching gives a long-term reward. You’re working with children from very young and then you watch them develop, whether it be academically or athletically. I think the satisfaction is in seeing them develop and then to see them become very positive people in the community.”

Former sprinter Danielle Watson was taken under Mr Simons’ wing at a young age and befitted from his guidance.

“I met Coach Simons when I was eight years old,” she recalled.

“When I started out I wasn’t the fastest, and didn’t always have the best attitude but Mr Simons took the talent that I had and developed me into an international athlete. Around that time I didn’t like to train much because I didn’t fully understand that the harder you work at something the better you will become. Along with my mother and father, Mr. Simons was a very positive role model to me and certainly helped to develop my character on and off the track.”

She added: “I remember competing at one of my first international track meets in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina at Duke University. That meet was the turning point to my endeavours as an athlete. After completing my events in the [nine to ten age group], I was a bit upset with myself because I felt I could have done better. Mr Simons pulled me to the side and pointed at a quote on the back of a spectator’s shirt which stated ‘Hard work will beat talent if talent doesn’t work hard’.

“He then went on to ask me how does that make me feel. I simply smiled and from that point on I knew what I had to do. It was the combination of defeat and encouragement that ultimately changed my attitude and drove me to go back the following year and medal in all of my events.

“Coach Simons is loved and respected by the entire sport of track and field, he has not only been a mentor but a father figure to a lot of us. It was not only about sports with him. He always stressed the importance of keeping grades up and using sports to get a good education at a good college or university. Overall I would like to thank Coach Simons for his continued dedication to the sport and genuine loves shown towards all of us.”

Mr Simons’ philosophy is simple.

“You have to make a commitment to them and if the children see that and you explain the importance of a commitment, they will make a commitment to you,” he said.

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