Cammy Simmons takes over Crossroads volleyball program
Jul. 16—HENDERSON — The Crossroads Christian volleyball team will have a new but familiar face leading the program starting with the 2021-22 season.
Cammy Simmons, who served as the interim head coach for Crossroads' women's basketball team last year, is moving over to coach the varsity volleyball program and is optimistic that her previous coaching experience in the sport will help the team be competitive in her first year.
"I've been coaching volleyball a long time at all levels," Simmons said. "I'm up for the challenge with these girls, as I've known all of them since middle school. It's an easy transition to go from their middle-school coach to their varsity coach."
In her seven years at Crossroads, Simmons worked with numerous middle-school programs at the schools that include volleyball, basketball and baseball before stepping in to lead the varsity women's basketball team.
Having played basketball, volleyball and softball herself, Simmons said there were very few issues when it came to passing down her knowledge of those sports to her players. She has enjoyed watching student athletes, including her daughters Justice and Alex, grow and develop on and off the field over the years.
Simmons added that learning from previous volleyball coaches at Crossroads like Tracy Anderson and Greg Hardy has helped put her in a position to lead the varsity team, which she believes has a tremendous amount of potential heading into the upcoming season.
"The philosophy behind what Greg has set up is something I agree with, and I'm not going to change anything that Greg has established," Simmons said. "I felt like now was a good time to try my hand at varsity volleyball and I know these girls can do great things."
Simmons understands that plenty of work is in front of her as the new head coach of Crossroads volleyball, as the program is coming off a dismal 0-12 record in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crossroads athletic director Scottie Richardson said the volleyball's team performance does not accurately represent Hardy's positive impact during his three-year tenure, and believes that the values Hardy instilled into the players have put the program in a great position to thrive.
Richardson added that Simmons is a perfect candidate to build on Hardy's work and lead Crossroads volleyball in the current decade, as many of the same players on the current roster were her tutelage when the middle-school team played for a championship back in 2018.
"Greg did such a great job with the team," Richardson said. "We've had some good talent come through, but Cammy has coached these girls, some of them in a championship game. They're a little older and Cammy is a little wiser as well, so I think the volleyball program is in great hands."
Richardson is setting high expectations for Simmons and the Crossroads volleyball team this season, but he anticipates many challenges inside a tough NCISAA Mid-Carolina Conference that includes teams like Lee Christian, Grace Christian and Cresset Christian Academy.
"Our goal is to win a championship," Richardson said. "Lee Christian won the state championship last year and they are in our conference. It's a tough task, but Cammy has some girls that have grown through this program and she's going to put her own spin on the system we have in place."
With Crossroads losing three seniors over the offseason, Simmons expects rising senior Lillian Owens and junior Rebecca Kate Short to step up as leaders for the younger players on the team.
Simmons said that the even mixture of experience and youth on the roster will help make practices competitive and create a formula that she hopes will lead Crossroads to one of its best seasons in program history.
"We're going to win some games," Simmons said. "I've got a solid group of upperclassmen who have been in the program for the last couple of years, so they already know how I operate. There are younger girls coming up that are hungry and competitive, and I think everyone is going to end up pushing each other."
Simmons plans to get to work quickly on preparing her team with the start of the 2021-22 NCISAA volleyball season just over a month away.
