More than two decades after graduating from Park Hill South – and attending Park Hill – Stefanie Carson Sims was inducted into the William Jewell Hall of Fame on Sept. 22 to gain recognition for her prolific soccer career.
The William Jewell legend has a unique connection to the Park Hill schools, attending two years in each of the high schools in the late 90s. Following her sophomore year, the Park Hill School District broke into two schools, Park Hill and Park Hill South, so Sims – whose maiden name was Carson – spent her first two years as a Trojan and her last two years as a Panther.
“Looking back, it’s pretty unique to have gone two years at each school,” Stefanie Carson Sims said. “I remember at the time our class didn’t want to be split but after we moved to South, it was pretty neat.”
It wasn’t only the students who had to change schools back then as Sims’ soccer coach Joe Toigo also made the transition from Park Hill to Park Hill South. Toigo was at the hall of fame ceremony and wasn’t the only coach who was there to see Sims, as former William Jewell Soccer Coach Chris Cissell – who was a huge part of Sims being inducted – was also in attendance.
“Our 2003 Final Four team was inducted in 2015, so I was inducted with my team then and I remember Coach Cissell approaching me and saying that he’s upset that I hadn’t been inducted as an individual yet and that he’s been pushing for me. He recently told me that Larry Holley (former basketball coach and chair of the Hall of Fame Committee at William Jewell College) called him and talked to him about an individual soccer player who should be inducted, and Coach Cissell said that he had to choose me and that’s exactly what they did,” Sims said.
Unfortunately for the William Jewell community, Holley passed away at the age of 76 a few months after that decision. Sims told the Platte County Citizen that it felt special having been one of Holley’s last Hall of Fame inductees that he chose.
Park Hill South alum and former Park Hill soccer athlete Stefanie Carson Sims holds her misspelled William Jewell College Hall of Fame plaque - that is being replaced with the proper spelling - after being inducted into her college’s hall of fame on Sept. 22.
The ceremony was also the 50-year anniversary of Title Nine, so all the inductees were women. There were five individuals and three teams – including the 2010 women’s’ soccer team – that met in the chapel at William Jewell for the ceremony and all their friends and family were invited.
They honored each of the inductees with a question panel then had a reception dinner afterwards. They were all brought on stage and asked a few individualized questions about their respective careers.
“It was neat to hear all the stories from each of the inductees and the teams and particularly for me, it was interesting to hear the 2010 women’s soccer team that was inducted. They had some great things to say about Coach Cissell that were similar to when our 2003 team was there,” Sims said.
The 2005 William Jewell graduate was only the third soccer player to be inducted, joining former teammate Kristen Neher Ebberts, ‘05, and Nicole Revenaugh, ‘07. Sims led the Cardinals to a 65-13-3 record over her four seasons with two conference championships and an NAIA final four appearance as a senior.
“It’s pretty humbling that I was inducted with the very first team and now to be the third individual women’s soccer player in history, it’s such an honor. All I ever wanted to do was play soccer, and at the time didn’t have any idea that what I was doing would lead to such an amazing honor, but I feel pretty special that I’m one of three individuals,” Sims said.
“I remember Coach Cissell was recruiting me after his first year and he said that his team didn’t do very well, but he had a vision for this program and wanted to turn it around. He promised me a ton of playing time and that’s all I ever wanted,” Sims said.
The Cardinal coach also recruited multiple players who Sims played club soccer with, making her decision easier. William Jewell was 2-15 in the year before Sims arrived and finished 15-7 in her freshman year when she was an All-American Honorable Mention as a forward before moving to defense in her final three seasons.
“Coach Cissell pulled me into his office before my second season and told me that he was thinking about moving me to defense. He’d been recruiting a lot of offensive players and he realized that we need a defense to back up those offensive players and through watching me play and knowing me, he knew that I was fast, aggressive and not afraid to tackle in the ball,” Sims said.
The Cardinal Hall of Famer switched to left defense her sophomore year, which is where she stayed for her last three years. In her sophomore season, Sims once again received All-American Honorable Mention – this time as a defender – and became the only player in program history to earn that feat on both sides of the ball.
“That was part of the reason for my induction; I’m the only player to have received All-American Honorable Mention with two different positions as a collegiate athlete. I was playing soccer and I loved to do it, so it wasn’t a big deal to me in those moments that I was breaking records for the school,” Sims said.
Some additional accolades that she had in her career are that she was a three time All-Heart of America Conference selection, including two first team honors, and was selected as the Team Defensive Most Valuable Player in 2002, along with Region V Second Team honors. Sims now lives in Pleasant Hill where she coaches her four sons’ soccer teams at Lone Jack.