Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/4/19
Staff Report
A memorial service will be held on Friday, for Wissahickon Middle School teacher and lacrosse coach James (Jim) T. Simmington, 44, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 400 Lancaster Ave., Malvern, PA, at 12 pm.
Mr. Simmington passed away Sunday after a lengthy fight with cancer.
Mr. Simmington, a 6th grade teacher, co-founded the Wissahickon Middle School lacrosse program in 2005 and later served as a top assistant coach for the high school program and helped the Trojans share the 2010 Suburban One American Conference title, the school’s first league crown since 1999. Mr. Simmington, a graduate of Conestoga High, played at West Chester University and also coached at Archbishop Carroll.
“Jim had a passion for the game and a passion for helping kids,” said Anthony Gabrielle, a Wissahickon teacher and co-founder of the Middle School lacrosse program who later was the Trojans’ HS head coach. “He was super competitive in all the best ways.
“That rubbed off on the kids. He had a passion for trying to get them to be better than themselves and make the focus on the team and not the individual.”
He was an avid Eagles fan and coached his own children in youth sports.
“He poured his heart and soul for the kids, just like he did in the classroom and as a father and friend,” Gabrielle said. “He was the first guy that would give you his shirt off his back. He was just a super, super giving type of guy. He also coached football and helped run the 6th grade camping trip.
“He helped the HS team turn the corner. We were 5-13 the year before we got up there and Jim poured his heart and soul into the team for the kids. They would run through a brick wall for him, and he for them. This is a big loss for the community.”
Mr. Simmington is survived by his wife Phoebe, his children Kylie and Jack, his mother Barbara, his sister Tracy, his brothers Scott and Nick, and a cherished extended family.
The service Friday will commence at noon. A reception will take place at Community Life Center following the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to For Pete’s Sake, an organization that provides respite vacations to families living with cancer at www.takeabreakfromcancer.org.
Springton Lake Middle School, in the Rose Tree Media School District, where Simmington’s wife teaches 6th grade math, has launched a fundraiser of their own. They’re calling for donations of “movie passes, books, puzzles and board games” for the family as the holiday season approaches. Donations can be dropped off through Dec. 11 at 853 N. Providence Road in Media.
