Athlete of the Week — Kerrigan Simmons

West Ashley High School senior basketball player Kerrigan Simmons has been a key player for the Wildcat’s girls varsity basketball team over the past two years. In a recent game against Cane Bay, Simmons aided her team to a 57-49 victory by scoring 7 points and finishing with 2 rebounds. In addition to being selected as West Of’s Athlete of the Week, Simmons has also been awarded Player of the Game three times in the last two seasons.
“Her strength is her defense. When she’s playing well, it makes it tough on the other team’s offense,” says varsity head coach Maria Williams. Against Summerville, Simmons had 6 rebounds and 9 points, proving that she has the ability to shine not only on defense, but also on offense.
Through the course of the season, Simmons has scored a total of 92 points and has had 37 rebounds. She says that one of her biggest accomplishments this season occurred during one of the Christmas tournament games. In the last few seconds of the game, with West Ashley down by two points, Simmons made a layup right before the buzzer. Her last minute basket took West Ashley into overtime, which concluded with a Wildcat victory.
“Ever since I was a kid, I always had a ball in my hand,” says Simmons. Unlike other girls who played dress up or watched cartoons as a child, Simmons would spend hours watching the NBA and professional basketball players. She focused mostly on NBA player LeBron James and tried her best to follow in his footsteps.
Even now, Simmons spends most of her free time playing basketball and trying to improve her skills. Almost every day after she leaves school, and before she goes to practice or games, she spends time out in her yard shooting around. When her father is available, he helps her with dribbling drills and shooting. Simmons claims that other than spending time with her friends and family, basketball is her only hobby. It’s all she ever really wants to do.
Simmons believes that one of her main roles on the team other than playing tough defense is to be a motivator. “I push them and cheer them on, [and] tell them to keep up the good work,” says Simmons. She attributes her success on the court to her mom, her teammates, and her coach. “I want to thank Coach Williams and the team for pushing me, and my mom for always being there,” says Simmons.
After graduation Simmons plans to attend the University of South Carolina and major in computer technology. She also hopes to play basketball for the Gamecocks.