Ivlow-Zimmer picked for Plainfield Hall

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Updated: February 23, 2012 8:15AM

The casting directors of the 1986 football movie “Wildcats” made a mistake casting Goldie Hawn in the lead role.

They should have been aware of a real Wildcat who would have fit the role perfectly — 1986 Plainfield graduate Melissa Ivlow-Zimmer.

The fall after graduating from Aurora University, Zimmer student-taught at Waubonsie Valley in Aurora.

“I got to coach football there for a year,” Zimmer said. “When I was a student-teacher, I was highly encouraged to volunteer. The girls volleyball coach told me they had enough coaches. The football coach came up to me and said, ‘You know football, so you can help us.’ I coached sophomore tight ends and the defensive line.”

It was one of many athletic opportunities Zimmer made the most of during her playing and coaching career.

During her days at Plainfield, Zimmer earned 11 varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was two-time All-Little Seven Conference in volleyball and basketball and will be inducted into the Plainfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday night, Feb. 4.

“It was kind of a surprise to me,” Zimmer said. “I was part of the induction process with the 1982 girls volleyball team. That was not expected and it was nice to be a part of that.

“This is a surprise and I’m honored, definitely. I know so many great athletic individuals who have done so much who are part of the Hall of Fame. To be inducted along with all of them is very meaningful to me and I am truly honored.”

Zimmer was born into the athletic arena.

“My brother (John) played a lot of sports and my dad (Dave) was a high school teacher who taught at Plainfield,” Zimmer said. “He coached football, wrestling and track there. He was very involved in athletics and my mom (Karen) was very supportive of that. We were involved in athletics since we were born, basically.”

John has been the head football coach at Bolingbrook since 2002. He coached the Raiders to the Class 8A state championship, the school’s first state title in the sport, in November.

Zimmer was a basketball and softball player until the sixth grade at Indian Trail Middle School. That’s when volleyball entered the picture.

“In sixth grade, I tried out for it, made it, liked it and stuck with it,” Zimmer said.

In high school, Zimmer was a three-sport standout, which is rare in today’s culture of specialization.

“I remember it like it was a couple of years ago,” Zimmer said of her high school days. “I had a great time and a great experience. Sports were definitely a major part of that. The relationships I built throughout the seasons I will never forget.”

Zimmer not only struck fear into the opposition, but the coaching staff as well, during her playing days.

“There are two things I remember most about Melissa,” said Karen Roppa, Plainfield Athletic Hall of Fame softball coach. “How fast the ball came off her bat and when a line drive hit me while I was coaching third base. When I would pitch to her, I feared a line drive. Her bat was notorious.”

So was her career.

Zimmer was a four-year starter and two-time member of the All-Little Seven Conference team in girls volleyball under 1999 Hall of Fame inductee Kathy Cartwright.

She earned four varsity letters in softball and letters in girls basketball under coach Mary Kay Leifker before graduating in 1986.

“All of those ladies were wonderful coaches,” said Zimmer, who was voted homecoming queen as a senior in the fall of 1985. “They had similar coaching styles, yet they were different. They were the kind of coaches I responded well to: disciplined, technical and encouraging.”

Zimmer graduated in the top 10 percent of her class in 1986 but wasn’t sure where to go to college.

“I didn’t make the decision or didn’t know where I wanted to go until late in the summer,” Zimmer said. “I was a kid and I wanted to play everything. Aurora was a great fit for me because they allowed me to play more than one sport. I loved the coaches there, too. It was a smooth transition.”

Ivlow led the nation with a .564 batting average, 72 RBI, a 1.009 slugging percentage and 19 doubles while earning Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference Player of the Year honors.

She was a two-time, Most Valuable Player in softball in 1988 and 1991. Her 39 career triples are an NCAA Division III and school record. She also holds the all-time Spartan record for the most doubles and RBI in a season.

In the fall, Zimmer was featured in the September 2, 1991 Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd segment. She was also inducted into the Aurora University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

After a year of student-teaching at Waubonsie Valley, Zimmer landed at Stagg. There, she coached the boys volleyball team for eight seasons, compiling a 191-107 record, leading the Chargers to four regional and one sectional championship. In 1998, Ivlow-Zimmer coached the Chargers to the state tournament.

Ivlow and her husband Jim live in Orland Park with their two children, 8-year-old Kevin and 7-year-old Rachel.

“I had the best job in the world teaching and coaching,” Zimmer said. “Now, I have the best job in the world being a mom. I love being a mom.”