By Jon Franklin
Photo from Andy Simmons
On April 10, 2018, I PA announced the Davidson vs Duke baseball game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. It was a memorable evening as before the game, Duke honored Dick Cooke, Davidson’s long tenured and winningest head coach who would retire at the end of the season. Then Duke head coach, Chris Pollard – now the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers, was a standout pitcher for Cooke during the mid-90’s.
The next day, I was called to the office of Brad Berndt, a senior associate director of athletics at Duke who also served as the baseball administrator. Also present was Nicole Jones-Brochu, then Duke’s executive director of marketing & promotions, who served as my boss. In this meeting, I was fired without warning or reason other than changes were desired. I still have no idea today on how I lost my post after 5 years and 307 games announced in eight different sports for the Blue Devils.
After taking time for reflection and soul searching on what I did to call for my removal, I started beating the bushes trying to find announcing gigs. While I didn’t want to revert back to doing high school games, I had to get back in the game in order to keep myself sharp for the next big opportunity.
I emailed almost every high school athletic director in Alamance, Chatham, and Orange counties. I only heard back from Southern Alamance (who only wanted to use me for JV events) and Cedar Ridge. My contact at The Ridge, was Andy Simmons.
We met on a scorching, hot day in July right before the first dead period. I had just gotten off work from my job at the Butner federal prison complex and met at the football stadium. He stated the same things in person from his email telling me he that he wanted to change the dynamic and turn events at Cedar Ridge into a more fun and memorable experience. I informed Simmons I would do what I could within the rules and handshakes were made.
He could have been like the other AD’s who balked. But he didn’t.
He gave me as much license within norms to make things as exciting as possible. Then again, he had to corral me a few times from myself. For example, in the 2019 campaign, Cedar Ridge Volleyball, with its cavalcade of stars in the making, took on a juggernaut in the previous season’s 3A state finalist, the Chapel Hill Tigers. With the Red Wolves’ Cameron Lloyd and Chapel Hill’s Kaya Merkler in a contest on who could get more kills, the Red Wolves came back from a set down to tie up the match at two sets apiece.
For reasons other than I am just a pure idiot – after announcing the result of the fourth set, I got up from my position, darted across the floor of Cedar Ridge Arena with a wireless mic in hand and began to run at full speed. I slid on my knees within 30 feet the Wolfpack Student Section, and yelled at full throat – “WE ARE TIED!!”.
When I got back to the scoring table, guess who was there to tell me not to do that again – You only need one attempt. But the atmosphere that night was electric, and Cedar Ridge went on to win the 5th set and the match to give Chapel Hill it’s only loss of the year – en route to the 3A state title.
Throughout the years, I saw Coach Simmons not just stand up for his players & coaches, but the principle of letting kids play and enjoy themselves. During COVID, he fought religiously to get games on the calendar, but also to get fans to come and watch them. Despite his best efforts, he was only allowed to have the players and coaches only at the site of competition. While I wasn’t allowed to announce for the house, I was allowed to help Curran Campbell and Jeff Hamlin on the radio side of things for this website.
When the crowds came back, he fought like hell to let them cheer at the top of their lungs. During the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, he seemed to be a fixture at the scoring table as referees misinterpreted rules saying that I couldn’t announce games and the Wolfpack couldn’t make noise during service. While he might have lost the arguments, the fact he stood up for The Cedar Ridge Experience said everything.
Simmons also labored to improve the equipment and playing surfaces for every Red Wolf student-athlete. A new gym floor was designed and installed, new volleyball nets and supports were purchased, the tennis courts are under construction, and was even helpful in assisting Cedar Ridge Athletic Boosters to replace the scoreboard – thanks in part to former Red Wolf and NFL punter, Trenton Gill. But he also did the work in painting the field lines for football and soccer, set up the gym with equipment, and even made sales for tickets. No matter what the need was, he was never below in doing the lowest job needed in order to make the experience better for everyone.
I’ve been around high school athletics since I was seven years old but never saw a coach or an athletic director pour out everything inside of him, for his student-athletes like Andy Simmons did. The fact that the man was working near 20-hour days every day for months on end just to make each event happen spoke volumes, especially at the absence from his own family. It told me, student-athletes, teachers, administrators, and parents, that if you’re willing to put in the work, you will get the rewards.
The reward isn’t just retirement and the money from it. It’s knowing that Red Wolf Nation will continue pursuing and increasing a standard of excellence since the school’s inception and for its future. It’s also beneficial to know that the groundwork laid by Simmons will allow The Cedar Ridge Experience to continue.
Andy Simmons inherited a program from a legend in Coach Jim Pappas, and a legend is already at work as Simmons’ successor in Emily Parker. In the conversations that I have had with the Chapel Hill native before the start of this season, Parker has tremendous ideas that will only benefit the Red Wolves.
On his social media, Simmons had nothing but gratitude for those that supported him and Cedar Ridge during his tenure. In all sincerity, our gratitude is to him for being an honest, genuine, and generous person.
Cedar Ridge is better because of Andy Simmons’ investments to Cedar Ridge High School.
