Showcase Q&A: Pittsfield’s Simon discusses move to Pittsfield, studying pre-dentistry and her love of music
The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase takes place June 21 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game will tip at 2 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. General admission is $10.
PITTSFIELD, Ill. — For Lila Simon, it all came down to perspective.
Prior to her junior year, Simon and her family moved from Hardin, Ill., to Pittsfield. Simon said she found out about the move during her sophomore softball season at Hardin Calhoun.
“I was prepared, but knowing I was playing my last softball games at Calhoun and doing all that, it definitely made the process a lot more emotional,” Simon said. “The whole summer, I was scared about what I had to move into coming to Pittsfield. Then once I got here, it was definitely a struggle at first. I was focused on everything that I had already experienced at Calhoun and everything I thought I was missing out on.”
Then, Simon changed her outlook.
“After a month or two of coming to school here, I realized I have to make the most out of what I have,” Simon said. “Nothing is going to change. I’m not going back. I had to learn to adapt.”
She adapted, and she is thankful she did so.
“I made some of the greatest friendships and had some of the most amazing opportunities,” Simon said.
Simon went on to star in three sports — volleyball, basketball and softball — at Pittsfield the next two years.
“I feel a lot of times, we become victims of the situations we’re put in, and therefore, we don’t realize that we have total control of how we react and how we feel toward each situation,” Simon said. “Change is probably the only constant we have in our lives, and therefore, things are never going to stay the same. We have to learn to adapt and take in what is happening to us and realize that the outcome of that situation is all in our response, how we act toward it and see it in a positive or negative light.”
Simon will represent Pittsfield one more time on the basketball court when she plays for the Illinois girls in the Muddy River Showcase. Simon discussed her reunion at Calhoun, Duke basketball, traveling, and more with Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey in the Showcase Q&A.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about playing in the Muddy River Showcase?
A: I’m really just excited about getting one last chance to step out on the court and get to play the game of basketball before I move on to bigger and better things that my life is going to have in store for me.
Q: What are those bigger and better things?
A: I am going into pre-dentistry at Central College in Pella, Iowa, with plans to before an oral surgeon.
Q: What got you into that?
A: I couldn’t really tell you. I’ve just always known that I want to work in healthcare just because I love being around people and having the opportunity to help them improve their lives, but I wanted something a little more stable. I’ve always been interested in creative arts, and dentistry is a good pathway into that because you work a lot with your hands and detailed stuff like that.
Q: I’m guessing you have pretty good teeth, then?
A: I’ve had braces, and that was a whole process, but I do have a pretty straight smile.
Q: Are you going to play any sports in college?
A: I’m still undecided. I have thought about walking on for softball. I’m going to just kind of feel out how I adapt to the college lifestyle at first and then if I feel the need to explore more, then that would be something I’d be interested in.
Q: You played volleyball, basketball and softball. What was that first season of volleyball like at Pittsfield?
A: It was a learning curve because there were several things that they did differently. They weren’t necessarily bad things, but it was just learning to be in a new environment with new people. You have to really put yourself out there, especially because volleyball started before we were actually going to school, so I wasn’t reallly familiar with any of these people, but it did help me out getting to know people before I actually was attending school. It was really just learning that not everything is going to be the same and that you’re going to have to adjust your own technique based on what the certain team or someone is needing from you at that point in time.
Q: You were able to play at Calhoun this past basketball season. What was that like?
A: I wouldn’t say it was emotional, but it was very nerve-wracking. I was very nervous. Our team had been doing really, really well. I was very proud of our performance. It felt like there was a huge weight on my shoulders, not just to win, but to show that I had gotten somewhere. It was very unnecessary weight that I put on my own shoulders. It was self pressure that I had, but I had great teammates who helped me realize this is just another game. It was a nice win for us, but in terms of where we were at in our season, it didn’t mean as much as I was making it seem.
Q: You also got quite the ovation from the crowd. What was that like?
A: I was very happy about that. You always worry about leaving a place. Some people do not respond to leaving very well. Some people take it personally. It wasn’t necessarily something that I needed to get away from, but I was just looking for more opportunities, and my mom was looking for more opportunities for us. I was just really nervous that people were going to take my leaving as a negative thing.
Q: You got to play in the Westown Ford All-Star Girls Basketball Game. What was that experience like?
A: I had a great time getting to play with a lot of people who I had competed against my entire life at both schools and congratulating all the people who got really far in their seasons. It was also a very refreshing moment to get to play with all of my fellow seniors at Pittsfield. We had our senior night, and with the accident and everything, we never really got a completion to our season. It was a good experience that we were able to go out there and play together one last time. It was emotional, but it was a great blessing to get to experience that one more time.
Q: Did that game bring a sense of closure for you all?
A: I would say that would perfectly describe it. Our senior night was emotional, just being on that gym floor for the last time, and with everything else that happened, it was just a really tough season for our program and for our school and community, so getting to do that gave us a step in the right direction toward what we needed.
Q: Describe Lila Simon the volleyball player, the basketball player and the softball player.
A: She’s very hard on herself, but she’s also very unselfish, almost too unselfish. It kind of gets to a point where her coaches have to tell her that she needs to take a little more control over some situations. She has a lot of drive, and not so much for her own sake, but she wants to perform for her team, her family and her community to show that she is willing to put in all of that work, time and effort to make them proud. She’s a really caring person when it comes to the individuals she’s working with and making sure everyone is on the level they want to be, everyone is in the right headspace they want to be and being able to work together and work toward a goal, and everybody feels like they’ve accomplished something and feels like they’ve become not only a better athlete, but a better person.
Q: How are you serving as a role model to your brother?
A: My brother and I have been through a lot of experiences in our lives together. It has seemed like out of everyone in this entire world, the only person who can relate to me sometimes on everything is my brother. I’m not tall at all — I’m like 5-5 — but my brother is this huge 16-year-old boy. He’s 6-1, over 200 pounds. He’s grown into this man, and it kind of freaks me out a little bit. It reminds me of us growing up together and him always being my little brother that I was looking out for, making sure he was safe and that he felt loved. Having to watch him grow up has been really emotional for me, knowing that he doesn’t need me to take care of him anymore.
Q: Do you have a favorite Division I college team?
A: I am an Iowa fan from watching women’s basketball, for sure. I would say my favorite team just from my family would be (the University of Illinois). My grandmother went to U of I. I’m also just a Duke men’s basketball fan in general.
Q: I don’t want to bring up any bad memories, but how tough was it watching that Final Four game against Houston?
A: One of my former teammates, Lincoln McCartney, and I are huge Duke men’s basketball fans. We were texting about it the entire time. We were so confident, then it started to go south. It was emotional for both of us to say the least. We were both pretty upset in the days to follow.
Q: What other hobbies do you have outside of sports and school?
A: I really like the creative arts, so I really love music. I have been on and off with being musical in general. I have played in band before, but I really like the piano. I really love the guitar, too. I’ve been trying to learn both of those. I also just really love art, and I’m big on travelling. I love to travel and explore. Naturally, with school, I kind of just became a reader over the years. And overall, just taking care of myself physically. I love working out and using that as an outlet. Sometimes when sports aren’t necessarily going my way, when I can’t control everything that’s happening with them, it’s nice to be able to still be physcially active but have a more set and sound release of frustration.
Q: Where is your skill level on the piano and guitar?
A: It’s not very good at all. It’s more just a fun thing that I’ve liked to do over the years. My family is pretty big into music, too, so it’s just something that I’ve picked up and have kind of always felt like it’s a genetically passed down interest.
Q: What did you play in band in high school?
A: I played saxophone up until sophomore year.
Q: Then you just decided it wasn’t for you?
A: Yeah, it didn’t really work with my class schedule that well, and it interfered with sports, so you kind of have to pick and choose your battles.
Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve traveled?
A: I just recently got back from a European tour. We visited London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels. It was me and my mom. It was kind of a graduation gift. I had a great time exploring different cultures, backgrounds and all of the diffrerent architecture. It was amazing.
Q: Where is a place you want to go that you haven’t been to yet?
A: I’ve always wanted to go to Italy and Greece. I feel like when I talk to a lot of people, they are with me on that. I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, too, which is kind of odd. I’m not big on the wildlife and all those dangerous species, but it’s always been an experience me and my dad have always talked about.
Check out more of the Muddy River Showcase Q&As at the links below:
Payson Seymour’s Blake Schwartz
South Shelby’s Callie McWilliams
West Hancock’s Lewis Siegfried
Quincy Notre Dame’s Alex Dance
Central-Southeastern’s Lauren Miller
Camp Point Central’s Elijah Genenbacher
Clark County’s Harrison Parker
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