There’s no place like home. That’s what Wilson junior Simrin Adams thinks of Long Beach — the city she was born and raised in.
In the future, Adams will be leaving the 562 soon to move to the 650 and pursue a collegiate career in beach volleyball at Stanford University. Despite making the jump from Southern to Northern California, the junior said her coastal routes are what keep her grounded in the sport.
“I feel like the beach is one of my favorite places on earth. So being able to go to the beach almost every day of the week, watching the sunsets and just playing with my friends — having those experiences out there was definitely one of the reasons why I picked beach volleyball,” Adams said.
Adams’ relationship with beach volleyball is fairly new. Adams has been playing indoor volleyball at the club competition level since she was 9 years old and didn’t fully transition to the sand until high school.
Since that change, Adams has accumulated many accolades in beach volleyball. After her freshman year at Wilson, Adams made the true transition to the sand. Just a year later, she committed to Stanford to play Division I beach volleyball at the next level.
“There was just so much more that beach had for me, and it just was something that I much rather wanted to do over indoor,” Adams said. “Playing beach and comparing it to how it was playing indoor, beach was so much more fun and more exciting.”
For Adams, the choice to pursue beach volleyball was one that centered around how she felt on the court. Aside from her personal love for the beach, she enjoys the simplicity of beach volleyball and the calmness she feels on the sand.
“Indoor can be a chaotic environment, super high-stress and overwhelming, and then on the beach, it’s just you and your partner, low stress and you just have so much more freedom,” Adams said.
Despite the simplicity of the sand sport that Adams appreciates, she said she keeps her competition momentum moving with intensity. Now as an upperclassman, Adams hasn’t slowed down at all.
In January, the junior won a tournament which led to her being able to go to the USA Beach Volleyball trials for the U-18 level. From there, Adams was invited to a U-18 National Team Camp and has made the roster, meaning her summer will be spent traveling the world and representing her country on the sand courts.
“Being able to carry the US name and represent it when I’m overseas is going to be super awesome,” Adams said.
Representing the Bruins, Adams has brought lots of this momentum to Wilson on the sand. Adams was a crucial player on the sand this year, leading her team to an undefeated Moore League season and repeating as the Moore League Pairs Champions with her partner Sadie Calderone.
For Wilson Head Coach Jeremy Cook, his junior’s success is no surprise. The head coach said Adams’ talent speaks for itself, but that isn’t the only reason she’s been able to accomplish so much at such a young age.
“She’s amazing, ultra talented, a perfect teammate — she’s just super well-rounded,” Cook said. “She’s definitely a leader to everyone on our team and is super supportive of our whole group. There’s no weakness in her game.”
Even as a young athlete, Adams said she is grounded in humility at this national recognition. All the hard work she has put in on the sand has paid off, but she is still reminded about how special the opportunity is.
“I’ve come to a realization that it really is a dream come true,” Adams said. “I’ve had opportunities that so many other people haven’t, and I feel like I’ve really done my hardest to take advantage of it and just live out like the life that I wanted to with volleyball.”
As Adams wraps up her career as a Bruin next year, Cook said the junior’s legacy will live on beyond her time at Wilson. While Adams is still present, she acts as a big beacon of motivation for her team – and Cook doesn’t expect that to change when Adams moves on to the next level.
“She’s inspirational,” Cook said. “Seeing a player of her level,who’s also so down to earth and such a good teammate and good friend, I think it’s just inspiring to the other girls. They want to work harder. They want to help her get the team wins as well as her individual wins, and they’ll remember that.”
When reflecting on the years he’s had seeing Adams grow, Cook said he is excited for what the future has in store, especially going into her senior year. From playing overseas for her country as a teenager to pursuing a high-level education at Stanford University, the Long Beach native is sure to represent her city well.
