MONROE, La. ( KTVE/KARD ) — Carroll High School offensive lineman Jeremiah Sims is a dog every time he steps onto he field–but he is a dog in the classroom as well.
Sims is every parent and coaches dream.
His effort on the football field matches his effort in the classroom.
This is a young man setting himself up for much success right now and in the future.
That is why his is this week’s STAR of the Week brought to you by Coney Island Connections and Chris Lewis.
“Education means everything,” Sims said. “One day, the air is going to go out of the football and I am going to be older and I am going to have to have an education. I have to be able to take care of my family, take care of my kids if I have some, take care of my wife and things like that and without education, I can’t do that. You can maybe get a 9-5, but that wouldn’t be enough to live the lavish lifestyle that people want to live.”
Jeremiah is not just a standout football player–he is a star in the classroom as well.
Football has always been a love of Jeremiah’s, but so has his education–because without that–there would be no football in his life.
Taking on everything that comes with athletics on top of maintaining his excellent GPA–it is quite a workload–but it is no problem for Sims–at this point–it’s like clockwork.
“As a student-athlete growing up, your mom tells you to keep your grades up because if you can’t keep your grades, you can’t play football,” Sims said. “I try to balance the two on a say-to-day basis. We get out of school around 2:50 p.m., get down to practice at 3:00 p.m., probably get out of practice around 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. You have to go home, grab you something to eat and do your work. If you have a project, you can’t have excuses like we had practice. Teachers don’t want to hear that. You have to do your work and it’s all about how you balance it from day-to-day.”
“He’s a prime example of a student-athlete,” Williams said. “He is taking his ACT, he’s got his GPA up to a cumulative 3.8, he works hard, he studies all the time. We are just sitting down at times and he is studying. He’s got his books out. He’s a true student athlete.”
While most of his time is spent hitting the books hard–Sims dedicates a large chunk of his time to football.
It’s something he takes pride in–something he has to do to be the best he can possibly be when he steps on the field.
“I know coach, he stresses us to get two or three hours of film on the team that we are playing that week, but I try to watch film daily,” Sims said. “I even watch film on guys at the next level. Of course, I watch guys like Monroe native Will Campbell. I watch film on him and how he plays the left tackle position. I watch Trent Williams. I watch the guys who have done it a long time and know what they are doing. I watch camps and everything. Every day, it’s about football. Football and books.”
Jeremiah steps on the field and produces physically, but he also has a way to keep spirits high.
And for a Carroll team that has been through a lot over the last few years–his positive energy has spread to his teammates around him.
“You have to have the energy,” Williams said. “After so much the team has been through, you have to have something positive every day. You have to have something positive. We need that. They need the positivity, the need the drive and if we have that, I feel like going into Friday nights or Thursday nights, we can go out there and compete if we have that positivity and the motivation.”
“When Jeremiah walks in, that life that he has,” Williams said. “Some of the kids be feeling down and he just grabs them and says, ‘hey man, come on. We are going to have a good day today.’ He actually helps guys with their schoolwork. He is like a peer tutor here down at the fieldhouse. He helps guys with their work. He’s just one of those kids that as a parent, you are proud to have, as a coach you are proud to coach them. I just keep praying for him that he is going to have the success in life that he deserves.”
Sims does everything, both on and off the field, not for himself, but for others.
That’s what makes him the special person and player he is today.
“He wants to see everybody successful and sometimes, I have to remind him, hey man, sometimes you have to think about yourself,” Williams said. “He is very into helping others and I think that’s something he has learned coming up. I am proud to have a kid like that. He’s not an I kid, he’s team oriented and he loves the players he is working with today.”
When football comes to an end–Jeremiah wants to do what he does best–give back and make an impact.
“When I get to the next level, I want to major in criminal justice because I want to be a police officer or something in the police force,” Sims said. “And then after I do my years as a police officer, I eventually want to Federal and be a Federal Bureau of Investigations agent. Growing up, I watched a lot of TV shows. I watched a lot of criminal minds. I like solving cases. I feel like I can solve them just as well as other people on their day-to-day jobs. I listen to a lot. I pay attention to a lot of details. I feel like that would be a great field, plus I want to make a difference. I want to get bad things off the streets and make a difference.”
But little does he know the impact he is already making.
“It’s very important to me,” Sims said. “They are watching me in the classroom, watch me in everything. Even Coach Marvin’s son. He comes to me every game, shakes my hand. I think it puts pressure on me to go out there and strive to do my best because you don’t want to let them down. Growing up, I looked up to people. I looked up to former Carroll offensive linemen and they didn’t let me down, so I want to return the favor and not
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