Local Baseball Coach Named to FACA Hall of Fame

On July 19, Hernando Baseball Head Coach Tim Sims was given the good news. On the drive up to Alabama with his HYL 19u All-Star team, he received a pair of calls from John Palmer and Patrick Skipper congratulating him on being named to the FACA (Florida Athletic Coaches Association) Hall of Fame.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Coach Sims said. “You don’t think about it, but boy it kind of hit homes when it happens that you are recognized by your peers, especially the FACA because those folks care about structure, discipline, and the process of coaching and teaching high school athletes and preparing them for their future. So, it means a lot.”

He knew that he had been nominated, but he had previously not felt like filling out the form as he has no intention of retiring anytime soon. Though coaches do not have to be retired do receive this honor, he looks at the Hall of Fame “a little different than they do.” In his words, the Leopards’ coach is hoping to be “rehired on a year-to-year contract” as he has the last 30 years. Coach Sims has served as the district representative of the FACA for the last 15-plus years and feels that every high school coach in the state of Florida should be involved with the service organization.

The induction of Sims would mark the fifth Leopards coach to receive the honor overall and the fourth such addition of a Hernando coach who is also an alumnus of the school. Tom Varn, Dub Palmer, Ernie Chatman, and John Palmer round out the, as Coach Sims put it, “unheard of” number of coaches from a single high school. The newest member of the club was extremely humble when discussing his induction as he attributed the honor to those around him and thanked Hernando’s administration for letting him follow his passion.

“Listen now, this is not me,” said Coach Sims. “It’s just like I told everybody. This is we. Listen, this is all the kids, administrators, and people that we’ve had. This is recognizing ‘Brooksvegas’ as I call it […] It’s awesome administrators from Dr. Sullivan and Ken Austin right down to the superintendent and Ms. Booker today that I work with and allow a prideful, traditional, old-school, process-minded coach to continue to do what he loves.”

Sims describes the FACA as “a service organization that recognizes coaches, their records, what they’ve given back to their local high schools, as well as their success on it.” They also recognize players for excellence on the field and in the classroom. One way the group does this is by hosting All-Star games with the football and baseball incarnations having been held for nearly five decades.

According to FACA Executive Director Shelton Crews, coaches must be an FACA member, have coached for 20 years, and accrue a minimum of 70 points throughout their career to qualify for the hall of fame. Points can be earned through a variety of methods including tenure, number of years coached, and FACA service. The latter option encompasses things such as serving on the board, being an officer, winning coach of the year, and coaching an all-star game among others. Reaching that total does not guarantee admission, however.

Though he did have “an enormous amount of FACA points,” according to Crews, Coach Sims does not really care to keep track of those sorts of things. He leaves those details up to individuals such as Crews. “I’m just coaching kids and playing in the dirt,” Sims said. “That’s me […] “My hobby turned into a passion. As my dad said, ‘as long as you have the itch, scratch it,’ and I’m still scratching.”