Hall-of-Fame Carver Girl’s Basketball Coach Yvonne Michelle Simmons passes away at 70
AHSAA Athletics
On Thursday, January 11th the AHSAA, Montgomery Public Schools, and Carver High School said goodbye to Yvonne Michelle Simmons who passed away at the age of 70. Simmons was the former girls basketball coach at Carver High School and is an Alabama Sports Hall of Famer.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Coach Simmons,” said AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs. “She was always a positive influence on everyone around her. Her love for her students and for the sport of basketball was amazing, and she set the standard for excellence for coaches during his many years as a coach and teacher.” Briggs added, “She has made a major impact on all who knew her. We offer our most sincere condolences and prayers to her family, her extended Montgomery Public Schools family and all her friends in Montgomery County and across the state. We pray God will sustain them during this time of such great loss.”
While Simmons was considered a coaching legend at Carver High School, she graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in 1971. Simmons went on to attend Alabama State University and graduated in 1976.
Simmons spent the entirety of her coaching career within the Montgomery County Public School System and retired in 2014. Her coaching career included stops at Loveless Junior High, Floyd Junior High, and Carver High School where she spent 29 years. During Simmons’ time at Carver she led the Wolverines to a 558-237 record, a state title (1993), three state runner-up finishes (1988, 1989, 2010) and twelve state tournament appearances. Simmons also served as the athletic director at Carver from 1998 until she retired and was also the first women to hold the position of athletic director within the system.
Carver principal Gary Hall said at her induction into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 that her impact on the student-athletes would be long-lasting.
“I found Coach Simmons to have a passion for all students at Carver High School and not just the students she coached,” Hall said. “She dedicated almost 30 years of service to the young women and young men at Carver. Her love for the game of basketball made teaching the skills of the game challenging for those she coached.”
Devoted to her community and church, Simmons, in her retirement years, served on the Beulah Baptist Church Health and Welfare Committee.
Funeral arrangements were not available Thursday.
(Information from the AHSAA)
