By Brandon Stephens
#52 from the 1978 Hayesville women’s basketball team has been retired officially, which belongs to former Lady Yellow Jacket Cindi Saltz Simmons. Simmons played at Hayesville from 1974 until 1978 earning Smoky Mountain Conference honors and scoring 35 points in a state championship game. She scored a career 1,333 points at Hayesville. She would also earn similar honors at Western Carolina University as a member of the Lady Catamount basketball team. Simmons (known as Coach Saltz) coached track, volleyball, and basketball at Sylva-Webster High and eventually Smoky Mountain High in Sylva. Simmons helped lead the Lady Mustangs to three consecutive volleyball state titles and a fourth appearance in the state game. She lead the women’s basketball team to a state title game in 1994 and eventually to a state championship in 2007. Simmons finished her coaching career in 2013 with a volleyball record 383-and-203 and a basketball record of 514-and-280.
Cindi Saltz met her husband Si Simmons at Western Carolina University and married him while they began their coaching careers at Sylva-Webster. Now, Coach Simmons didn’t stay for the Hayesville versus Franklin game as her grandson is expected to be born tonight (January 16th) in Sylva. Congratulation to Coach Cindi Simmons for the honor and the arrival of her grandson.
Friday night (January 17, 2025) Smoky Mountain High School is honoring Coach Simmons by naming its basketball floor for her.
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