The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN memory of their deceased classmate Frankie Simmons, the class of 1985 of Queen’s College made a cheque presentation to the Freedom Farm Green Parrots to assist in their travel to the Perfect Game Tournament in Sandford, Florida.

The team, which will be coached by Anfernee Seymour, Wayde Beckford and Inigo ‘Naughty’ Zenicazelaya, will compete in the tournament from today to Monday just outside of Orlando.

Members of the QC class on hand were Stephen Johnson, Ryan Bethel, Marlene Wells-Fox, Gail Byer-Branon, Renee Hepburn-Davies and Karla Knowles.

They were joined by Simmons’ wife Sharon Simmons and his father Roger Simmons.

Naughty and Andrew Thompson, along with some of the players, were on hand to receive the cheque and behalf of Green Parrots, now headed by Anton Newbold, who took over from Simmons after his death.

“We reached out to coach Naughty and advised him that we the Class of 85 of Queen’s College would like to know if there was anything that we could do to assist his 12-and-under team,” Stephen Johnson said.

“Coach Naughty mentioned that they have a trip to Sandford, Florida that they were schooled to make. He mentioned to us that a few of the boys were having trouble raising the funds, so we decided to make the contribution towards his team for their travel to the tournament.”

Johnson said it was an overwhelming support from the class because they knew how much Simmons enjoyed coaching baseball.

“Frankie loved baseball. Frankie loved developing young boys. Frankie was instrumental in Jazz Chisholm’s baseball career,” added Johnson about the Miami Marlins baseball player.

“I was happy to see Jazz mentioned that after Frankie’s passing where Jazz gave him a lot of credit for where he’s at today.”

Naughty, best known as a comedian and radio personality, worked with Simmons prior to his death.

He noted that they were preparing the team to travel before Simmons passed away. He noted that they decided to continue their preparation for the trip because it would have been something Simmons wanted them to do.

“A lot of the players were out to the Don’t Blink baseball camp and they were invited to try out for this team that was travelling with Anfernee Seymour,” Naughty said. “This is the tournament that players like Jazz and Lucius Fox, so Frankie wanted to make sure that these guys get that same opportunity.

“This allowed them to see where they are and what they need to work on so if we wanted to go to the pros or to college and just how much work they need to put in. So he wanted us to make the trip and after he died, we wanted to make sure that the boys could still make the trip.”

Naughty said they were thrilled when the Simmons’ Class of 1985 at QC stepped up to the plate and made their donation, ensuring that three of the five guys from Simmons’ team will get to travel for free to play with all of the other players on the team.

Additionally, Naughty said he reached out to John’s Department Store and the family once again came to his assistance and provided their support to the team.

“It’s something Frankie wanted. It’s something that we talked about,” Naughty said. “It’s a great opportunity for these players to travel to the Perfect Game Tournament in Sandford, Florida, coached by Anfernee Seymour, which will comprise of five of Simmons’ players and the rest who are good enough to play 12-and-under.”

A total of 14 players are on the team that will be coached by Seymour, Beckford and Naughty. There are also a number of parents who will be travelling to provide the support for the players during the tournament.

“It’s a good opportunity for the players to get into the Perfect Game system, to get looked at by the high school, college and pro scouts so they can start keeping track of these players,” Naughty said. “We could not have done it without the support of the Class of 85 at QC and John’s Department Store. “We’re very thankful, very appreciative and very humbled. The boys appreciate you all so much. We are going to go over there and represent not just the Bahamas, but what coach Simmons would have wanted them to do and that is to display good sportsmanship, play to the best we can, leave it all on the field, have some fun and conduct yourselves like gentlemen and learn that these are steps to take you from being a boy into a man and so we are definitely excited to carry on his legacy.”