Sports and education are important elements in building character, says Sean Simms, one of San Quentin’s outstanding athletes.
He is starting center of the San Quentin Kings basketball team and middle linebacker for the All Madden flag football team.
“I am a student-athlete,” Simms said in an interview. “I take pride in my education. I see the importance of it. I underestimated it as a youth. I didn’t take heed of the warning of my parents. I now have an appreciation of an education.”
Simms also wishes he had played organized sports growing up in south-central Los Angeles. “If I had a chance to go back, I would try to play organized football. I see the benefit of it socially and physically. I see the potential of an education and a chance of going to a Division II or III college.”
Simms hopes to pass this appreciation of educational excellence to his son. “My son, Evan, has always been my motivation to do well in school,” he said. “Fortunately, Patten College has given me the opportunity to receive a great education and broaden my social skills. I want to show my son, and not just tell him, that through a good education anything is possible, including change.”
The skills Simms has acquired through Patten have improved his athletic performance, as well. “Studying and preparing for school creates a balance that allows me the responsibility to attend practice and perform in games,” he said.
Last year, Simms officiated for the Kings. This is Simms’s first year playing for the team, and he says he likes the camaraderie. “I enjoy the social interaction and learning from Coach Orlando Harris,” he says. “I enjoy being a part of a team with winning results.”
Simms also strives to pass on his appreciation for both education and sports to young men at San Quentin, encouraging them “to first check in and attend school, whether it’s to attain their G.E.D. or attend college, and with their remaining time I try to direct them to the basketball court of the football field,” he said.
