Southern Staff Stories: Men’s Golf Assistant Coach Crawford Simmons
Marc Gignac
8/11/2020
STATESBORO – If you had told Crawford Simmons when he left Statesboro in 2009 that he would be back, he might well have agreed.
But if you told him he would come back to Statesboro and play college golf?
“No chance,” he says with a laugh. “Not in a million years would I have thought that I would have wrapped up playing baseball and then come back to school to be a college golfer.”
Now in his second season as an assistant coach on the men’s golf staff, Simmons has turned what was once a passionate hobby into a career.
Until about five years ago, baseball had consumed Simmons’ life. A star pitcher at Statesboro High School, he was drafted in the 14th round by the Kansas City Royals in 2009 and spent five years with the organization, but his career came to a close in 2015 when he was released in spring training.
With a 30-hour drive back to Statesboro from Surprise, Arizona, the spring training home of the Royals, Crawford, and his wife, Meredith, had some decisions to make. The high school sweethearts were married the previous October, and all they had known to that point was following Crawford’s dream of playing professional baseball.
Crawford and Meredith knew they wanted to live in Statesboro, where both their families reside, and they knew if college was in Crawford’s future, he wanted to attend Georgia Southern. The Royals had a deal in which they would pay for up to eight semesters of Crawford's education, but he had a two-year window from the day he was released to enroll in school. He applied to Georgia Southern and turned his attention to his second sports passion - golf.
Simmons had been an avid golfer his entire life and spent his summers at Forest Heights Country Club once baseball season was over. He played in junior events in seventh and eighth grade and despite being passionate about both sports, he had to make a decision on which path to follow in ninth grade. He chose baseball.
Once back in Statesboro, he began working with local pro John Smith, and his game started to ascend. He reached out to Georgia Southern coach Carter Collins to pick his brain on all things golf related, and the hard work paid off as he won the Forest Height's Men's Club Championship that summer.
Collins called him in August and told him that if he was accepted into Georgia Southern, he had a preferred walk-on spot on the golf team. Simmons was accepted and enrolled as a true freshman at 24-years young.
“For Coach Collins to give me the opportunity to compete at Georgia Southern, the university that I grew up watching and cheering for was an absolute blessing, and I'm forever grateful,” he says.
Being five years older than the average freshman, a couple years clear of the seniors and having spent time in professional sports gave Simmons instant clout with his teammates. Most of them had been playing nothing but golf since they could swing a club so their games were ahead of Simmons, but when Crawford spoke, they listened. Simmons is a natural leader, and the mental aspects of all sports are similar across the board.
For Coach Collins to give me the opportunity to compete at Georgia Southern, the university that I grew up watching and cheering for was an absolute blessing, and I'm forever grateful.
He was selected a co-captain as a senior, and his leadership helped the Eagles win three tournaments and advance to the finals of the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2010. When the assistant coach position at Georgia Southern opened in the summer of 2019, he was a natural fit.
“I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Crawford,” says Collins. “We have known each other for many years, and the more I get to know him, the more impressed I am. As a student-athlete, Crawford was such a positive, hard-working individual, and he was a huge part of the culture change in this program. As a coach, he has continued to make a tremendously positive impact on this program and each of these student-athletes. I am lucky to be able to learn from him and work with him as we continue to build this up brick by brick.”
Simmons always thought he might like to get into coaching; he just thought it would be in a different sport. His father, Jim, coached baseball at Effingham County from 1994-2005 and at Statesboro High School from 2006-19. Crawford always thought coaching on the diamond would be his calling, but he sees a lot in common between pitching and golf.
“There are a ton of parallels,” he says. “No one is out there with you on the mound, so it's kind of just you and your thoughts, and golf is no different. A lot of it comes down to grit and confidence and being able to overcome adversity and being a good team player.”
Changing the relationship from teammate to assistant coach in a matter of months is an alteration that takes work by both the players and the coach. Simmons dealt with that along with the learning curve of his new position.
“There are some big adjustments to make going from the role of being teammates with the guys and then transferring over to the role of assistant coach,” he says. “Working alongside Coach Collins has been great. Playing for him was unbelievable and working alongside of him as been just as good.”
Even has an elder statesman who had been around the block by the time he got to Georgia Southern, Simmons still did not realize how much work went into the coaching side of things.
“I have a ton of respect for Coach Collins,” he says. “There is so much work he does behind the scenes, and he does a great job of getting the work done so that he's available to the guys whenever they need them. There's a lot that goes into being a head coach, and I'm getting a front row view of that right now with him.”
Simmons is involved in all aspects of the program and has taken a shine to his role in the recruiting process.
“Going out and watching these junior golfers play and trying to bring in young guys who fit the great culture that coach Collins has created here,” he says. “It's been a lot of fun getting to go to cool places and watch a lot of golf and meeting these kids and their parents, showing them Georgia Southern and trying to find the right fit.”
Collins and Simmons have done a good job of doing their homework to bring in good players, who are also good students and good people. It is easy to find the kids who can post good rounds based on their results, but the Georgia Southern staff really tries to hone in on the total package.
“Coach Collins and I like to look at how they interact with the group, how they carry themselves around the golf course, how do they handle adversity when they hit a bad shot or when they get a tough bounce or break and how they interact with the scorekeepers on the course,” says Simmons. “I enjoy going to watch practice rounds and see how they prepare. Do they take it seriously or do they just go through the motions? You can look at the scoreboard and see that a kid can post numbers, but we want to know what kind of a kid he is.”
Now settled into a career he loves in his hometown, Crawford and Meredith welcomed their first child into the world - a boy named Seth - April 22. The extended families were not allowed to visit in the hospital because of the pandemic, but rest assured, Seth was given a baseball shortly after arriving home.
“My dad already gave him his first baseball,” said Simmons. “He was only a couple days old, but I know Grandpa's eyes lit up. We're still waiting on a golf club. Whenever he's ready.”
It's been a long road back to Statesboro for Simmons, and though his dreams of playing in the big leagues did not come to fruition, he is happy with the way things turned out.
