Lacrosse trailblazer Jan Simmons recognized by Medina County Sports Hall of Fame

Long before Medina's girls lacrosse team started its current streak of seven Greater Cleveland Conference championships, long before the OHSAA first sanctioned a state tournament in 2017 and even long before the Bees won consecutive Ohio Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association state championships from 2010-2012, Jan Simmons and a group of pioneers first brought the sport to Medina. Over six years beginning in 1999, Simmons spearheaded an effort that went from forming the Medina Girls Lacrosse Association and coaching relative beginners in the sport to sowing the seeds that have grown into one of Northeast Ohio's most respected programs. Simmons began coaching lacrosse in 2000 when it was an independent club team and continued to do so when Medina first sponsored the sport in 2002. For her efforts on the lacrosse field, as well as a lifetime of serving the community, the retired Buckeye teacher was honored by the Medina Breakfast Kiwanis Club with the Joe Tait Legacy Award at the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame banquet on Friday. Simmons is the second winner of the award that was created to honor community-based or school-based coaches, teachers and others that have had a positive impact on the lives of the athletes they coached. "We were a close-knit group that was working so hard to not only create a team that was successful, but we were really working to break into the lacrosse community," Simmons said of the early days of the MGLA. "We spent so much time together that it became almost a second full-time job — not just for me, but for many of the others who were working to make this happen." Not without bumps in the road, Simmons, her players and other supporters made the MGLA happen through sheer determination. Though it proved difficult to get a foot in the door of the lacrosse community that was skeptical of newcomers, Simmons and her players persisted. It all started when Simmons' daughter Quinn and a group of her friends attended a clinic sponsored by the College of Wooster in the seventh grade. The girls were immediately enamored with the sport. Simmons loved sports herself, though she was almost entirely unfamiliar with lacrosse. She dove headfirst in learning about the game and its fundamentals to be able to teach her daughter and friends. They attended as many camps and clinics as possible. Finding opponents and places to play proved challenging, and the MGLA got its first opportunity when it was invited to Dublin Coffman for a 3-on-3 indoor tournament. Simmons brought only Quinn Simmons, Ann Wheeler and Laura Wheeler, and when they arrived they found that most schools brought 12 players to rotate in throughout a day filled with numerous games. "This was really our first experience, and we were so excited to be invited," Simmons said. "The other coaches were surprised that I hadn't realized that I could bring a larger team, but that those three girls worked so hard and were committed to doing so well. "I think that shows where we started and what we learned — particularly me — as time went on." Coinciding with the start of the boys lacrosse club, Simmons and her small group of pioneers went to work on learning and improving on the skills needed to be successful. Simmons had a simple premise, asking each player to find something they were doing to help the team succeed and improve that by an increment each game. At the same time, they also needed to find something they were struggling with and work to decrease that. The strategy worked wonders, as Medina won the Division II Northern Ohio state championship during Quinn's senior season of 2004, Simmons' final year coaching the team. "There was a group of people working to get boys lacrosse started at the club level, so I got involved and the rest just kept happening," Simmons said. "All of the right steps came together for us to keep moving up." Many players Simmons mentored early on went on to play collegiately, including Quinn, who starred at Dennison and remains in the area. Others went on to coach lacrosse around the country and even as far as Japan. When Quinn started playing in college, Jan Simmons left coaching behind so she could follow her daughter's career. Along with Quinn, Simmons and her husband of 46 years, Chet, have a son Jay, who is deceased, and a daughter, Whitney, who lives in Johnstown. After leaving coaching, Simmons, who retired in 2020 as a health and physical education teacher at the high school and elementary levels, continued to find ways to impact her community. She has worked with SPARK Medina, the Coterie and worked with The Society to help create what is now the Medina County Transit. "I'm thrilled to always have been at the right place at the right time to have the opportunity to help other service agencies," Simmons said. "It has been my great fortune to have known the right people and been at the right place at the right time." Simmons' greatest passion came in the form of what she called one of the greatest birthday gifts four years ago. After assessing needs in the community, she determined that food insecurity was something she wanted to help reduce in the county. Her husband, Chet, helped her create the Prospect Pantry. "After I moved out of the lacrosse realm and retired from teaching, I've always thought that it was a good thing to give back," Simmons said. "My husband works with Feeding Medina County, and I realized the huge need and impact that helping people with food would have." The pantry consists of two boxes, including a new produce box to provide fresh food, designed by Jan and built by Chet. They sit in a discreet location of their yard to protect the privacy and comfort of the 15-20 different cars that come by each day from as early as 6 a.m. As a former health teacher, Simmons aims to provide a balance of healthy options but never hesitates to add a snack, either. "We realized by the number of people and their appreciation that this was something that needed to be ongoing," Simmons said. "It's something that we work really hard to keep going, and that's where we are." Simmons calls herself a food facilitator, networking and taking as many opportunities as she can to talk about the pantry, which gets assisted in stocking up on goods from a number of donations from community members. Amazon even deliveries supplies. Still, the need often outweighs the supply. "I never have enough food," Simmons said. "I could easily fill the pantry four or five times per day. Sometimes I'll be filling the pantry, and I'll have two cars waiting for me to finish. It tells me the great, great need that's out there in our community." Understanding the root of food insecurity in the community is something that Simmons explains goes beneath the surface. It is often not the same people consistently using her pantry, but when unexpected life events arise like medical bills or car repairs, many different people can find themselves needing to make difficult decisions. "I've learned that the problem is bigger than we know," Simmons said. "People in Medina are not starving, but there are moments that happen and something has to give in a tight budget. It's important that we realize the varying levels of security people have in our community and to assist if we are able." Whether it was helping to bring girls lacrosse to Medina or curbing food insecurity in the community, Simmons has learned the power that a group of determined individuals wields. "When a small group of people are committed to working for a common cause, you can make a lot happen in a relatively short amount of time, but it has to be a group effort," Simmons said. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.