When Glen Cove High School’s Brooke Simmons went to a softball tournament in Puerto Rico last November, she didn’t think it was a trip that would change her life.
It was just a few games in a warm climate with her Long Island-based club team, the Lady Nightmares.
But on that trip, an opposing team coach noticed Simmons’ overpowering pitching and strong hitting and contacted someone with the Puerto Rican national team.
One thing led to another, and after several trips to the island to try out later, the 16-year-old is now a member of the Puerto Rican national softball team. She will be competing with the squad for the first time this summer.
“It was pretty thorough and in-depth, and they wanted to see me three times and then asked me lots of questions,” said Simmons, whose grandmother on her mom’s side is from Puerto Rico. “It’s been great so far; the girls are a lot older than me and don’t all speak English, but they’re like all my big sisters and have treated me really well.”
The national team spot is just the latest accolade for Simmons, who has been confusing hitters and leading the Big Red to win since she was in the eighth grade.
Now a junior, Simmons has been dazzling hitters with her five-pitch repertoire for years, and last season was practically unhittable in leading Glen Cove to the playoffs. Simmons struck out 150 batters and had a 1.69 earned run average for the Big Red.
Glen Cove coach Kim Kessel said she’s known since Simmons was a little kid that she had the chance to be a special player.
“I feel like a proud parent, seeing her grow up from the kid she was in 8th grade to now,” Kessel said. “She’s so confident, and every pitch she throws has a purpose. She knows what she’s doing out there and has been so great for us.”
Simmons, who batted .500 at the plate as a junior, has been a big softball kid since her Dad introduced her to the sport at age 6, but the lefty didn’t start pitching until she was 12.
“I didn’t think I would be that good as a pitcher, but a few coaches told me I really had a chance to be good if I worked hard,” Simmons said. “And I started to really like being in control of the action, and learning how to throw different pitches.”
As a young pitcher, Kessel said Simmons had a tendency to get down on herself when things went wrong, but that has improved as Simmons has gotten more confident in her ability to work out of jams.
Another big help has been Simmons’s relationship with Glen Cove’s catcher, Alyssa Weigand, who has been a varsity player since the 8th grade.
“She and I, we know exactly what the other person is thinking out there,” Simmons said. “It’s such a help.”
“I think we have the best battery on Long Island,” Kessel added. “Alyssa has so much experience and she and Brooke figure everything out out there.”
She said Simmons is being recruited by many Division I schools but has her sights set on either Seton Hall, in the Big East Conference, or North Carolina State, in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
First, though, Simmons hopes to lead Glen Cove back to the playoffs and past the second round, where they haven’t been past in her career. The Big Red are 4-5 as of April 27.
“We just have to put it all together at the end of the season, and I think we can,” Simmons said. “I think if we’re playing well we can beat anybody.”
