Football field at Forest High School to bear name of former coach

The football field at Forest High School will now bear the name of retired Coach Jim Simmons [Marion County Public Schools].

The football field at Forest High School will now be known as “Jim Simmons Field” to commemorate the former coach’s many years of service to the school.

Simmons coached at Forest for 20 years, 14 of which as the head coach and athletic director. The dedication was made possible by the school’s Booster Club, after a private donor contributed funds for a new scoreboard and graphics to honor the former coach.

“This was the greatest professional honor a high school coach can receive, to have a football field named after him. I appreciate it very much. Thank you to all the followers of Forest High School,” Simmons told the “Gazette.”

Simmons coached Eric Cummings when the current School Board member played football as a student at Forest during the 1980s.

“Coach Simmons and his coaches did a tremendous job of preparing us, and I think it’s a great honor for him to have this field named after him,” Cummings said.

Simmons was named the winningest head coach in the school’s football history, with 100 career wins and only 58 losses. The team won the District Championships in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1992; Regional Championships in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1985and 1992; and the State Championships in 1974 and 1975.

Cummings recalled the great success of the team under Simmons’ guidance, saying that most years they were undefeated. During the 1985-86 school year, Cummings said the team won every game except for a game played against Emmett Smith at Pensacola Escambia High School. The Pensacola team led by Emmett Smith, who went on to star in the NFL and has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“We were winning until halftime,” Cummings remarked.

Also coached by Simmons was Coach Tony Cayson, who returned to Ocala to coach football at Forest after several seasons playing baseball for the Seattle Mariners.

The stadium will continue to bear the name of Mike Kelley Stadium, with the school’s newest dedication to Simmons commemorating him on the field.

A ceremony was held on Sept. 13 to officially dedicate the field, with Superintendent Diane Gullett, Cummings, and Secondary Education Executive Director Danielle Brewer in attendance.

“Kudos to him and to everyone who came from under him, because I think most of us are pretty successful based on some of the things that we learned from him on the field,” Cummings said.