Shayne Immke to play softball at Heartland Community College
By FRED KRONER
Destination is of paramount importance to sports fans.
The primary questions are ones spoken frequently.
“Where’s she going to college?” “Who’s recruiting him?”
For St. Joseph-Ogden senior Shayne Immke, the point of emphasis, however, was never which Division I university was the latest to contact the National Honor Society student.
As the recruitment of the All-American softball second baseman intensified, Immke made a decision that few of her peers would even consider.
She stopped returning calls to the Division I coaches.
She didn’t play for a summer travel-ball team in 2022.
As coaches from Bradley, Eastern Illinois University, Florida International University, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois-Carbondale and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville jockeyed to capture her attention and interest, Immke chose herself.
She picked the chance to be a teen-ager.
Her focus was on her mental health and well-being.
She stepped away from the games, travel and competition while simply relaxing and enjoying the summer before her senior year at SJ-O.
Her parents, Greg and Sadie Immke – who had four other children who either played a sport in college or were offered a scholarship – were not distraught.
“We totally supported her decision to just be a kid and never brought it up again,” Greg Immke said.
Shayne Immke’s parents recognized that as their youngest child neared adulthood, she was the one person who should be in charge of adulting-type decisions.
The teen-ager made a significant call as the calendar flipped from 2022 into 2023.
It was time for something new, but something from her past.
“After almost a year off travel ball, I realized softball was a sport I loved too much to let go of after my senior year,” Shayne Immke said.
However, she wasn’t ready to re-immerse herself into a frantic recruiting battle.
“I’ve always known I didn’t want to go far from home, so a school an hour or two away would be a perfect fit for me,” she said.
That left only a handful of options. One was all she needed.
Her hiatus from softball had provided 18-year-old Shayne Immke a time to reflect. She had already pinpointed exactly what she was seeking before any coach could reach out to her.
“After I took a break, I knew juco was what I wanted to start with,” Shayne Immke said. “My best friend, Peyton Jones, is going to Heartland (in Normal), so I talked to her first before anyone to see her thoughts.”
Immke received an ultra-supportive response from Jones and then contacted Heartland Community College head coach Casey Jefferson, “showing an interest in her program” she said.
“We texted for about a week and set up a visit for late January.”
Immke liked what she heard from Jefferson, and none of it was about the X’s and O’s or how she might contribute as a freshman.
One selling point even had nothing to do with the coach.
“The environment and size of the campus is perfect for a small-town girl like me,” Shayne Immke said. “Talking with Coach Jefferson on my visit was amazing.
“It felt like I’d known her forever. I could tell the love she had for her players, especially regarding mental health, which is a huge factor for me.”
Without making any other campus visits, Immke committed to Heartland.
She was not solidifying a new-found goal. Rather, she was cementing a dream she’d had for more than a decade.
While some young athletes thrive on the interactions with college coaches during recruitment, it is a source of stress and consternation for others.
Immke had never grown tired of the sport of softball. She had soured on the process involved with playing beyond high school.
“Ever since I started travel ball, my goal was to advance on to the next level,” Shayne Immke said. “As I was getting older, I started to email coaches and begin my recruiting process.
“Travel ball and the recruiting became a heavy weight on my shoulders. Along the way, there was a time I struggled with my mental health and anxiety, so I stepped away and took time to reflect and think about what I wanted to do.”
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Immke – as well as her four siblings – literally grew up with a facility to practice and hone their skills in their own back yard.
Greg Immke turned a part of his shed into a workout area in 2004. In 2017, he opened a separate building where aspiring baseball and softball players could train and work out. He gives lessons and tutors young athletes.
There was never any doubt that Shayne Immke was developing into a formidable player.
“When she’s working out, she wants to know how she’s doing and what do I see that she needs to fix or tweak,” Greg Immke said. “Her ability to fix things right away is unmatched in The Shed.”
Shayne Immke is appreciative of the at-home opportunity available a few steps beyond her back door.
“It’s super nice having The Shed in my back yard,” she said, “because I’m able to go out there whenever I want.”
In her much-younger years, it was a treasured resource. Immke needed all the practice she could get.
“When I first started travel ball, I definitely wasn’t great,” Shayne Immke said. “I batted last and rarely played the field.
“I think it was good for me to see just how many great softball players there really are.
“I started to work harder because I wanted to play every inning and be good.”
She has more than met that desire.
At a high school with a storied tradition in softball, Immke is already among the all-time SJ-O greats. She enters her senior season with the second-best career batting average (.625), is tied for third place in career home runs (26) and ranks fifth in triples (16).
She is also tied for the all-time IHSA state lead for career grand slams with four. Immke’s career batting average would place her sixth on the all-time IHSA list.
Those are all two-year totals for Immke. Her freshman season was non-existent due to the outbreak of COVID-19. And, she sat out nine games as a junior after suffering a concussion.
“Who knows what her numbers would look like if she’d had a freshman season,” SJ-O head coach Larry Sparks said.
Immke has done more than take swings and work on her fielding at The Shed.
“I started to really hit the weight room my junior year,” she said. “My strength teacher (Drew Arteaga) pushed me as hard as I could go every day.
“People always told me I had muscular arms before lifting, so I don’t know. Most of my power with my swing comes from my hips and legs.”
As a sophomore, when she first earned All-State accolades, Immke was the state-leader with 17 home runs.
Sparks, nonetheless, has positioned Immke at the top of his batting order for most of the past two years, a spot she will occupy again when the upcoming high school season starts on Monday (March 13) at Salt Fork.
Following Immke in the lineup is shortstop Peyton Jones.
There’s a reason Sparks likes the two left-handed batters in the first two batting spots.
“They have good discipline and don’t chase bad pitches,” Sparks said.
While the coach traditionally provides signals to batters when they step to the plate, that doesn’t happen often when it’s time for Immke or Jones to hit.
“The two of them are up there with a green light,” Sparks said. “She (Immke) will be aggressive early in the count.”
Immke’s commitment to practice has helped her become a player with few weaknesses. She demonstrated that by compiling a 52-game hitting streak that ended in last year’s season-finale.
“She’s a complete player,” Sparks said. “She has all of the tools, and her softball IQ is up there, too.”
No matter how many hits Immke accumulates or how many home runs she swats, complacency won’t be a factor.
“My strength is with my bat, and I need to work extra hard on my fielding,” she said, “but I prioritize both when practicing because there is always room for improvement in any aspect of my game.”
The combination of players the caliber of Immke and Jones in the same class is a luxury many high school coaches never see during their careers.
“They are two of our gifted players,” Sparks said. “I don’t know any program that wouldn’t feel lucky to get the two of them.
“They can help take Heartland to the next level.”
And after two years at a junior college?
“If she chooses to do so, Shayne will have the opportunity to play beyond Heartland,” Sparks said. “She is more than capable of going to a higher level.”
Shayne Immke’s goal, once she arrives at Heartland, is to make an impact both on and off the field.
“I hope to contribute with my bat as well as in the field,” she said. “I also see myself being that positive and bubbly teammate for my team and just someone they feel they can go to for anything.
“Once I reach college, I hope to improve in every aspect of the game.”
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Shayne Immke – who earned first-team All-American honors as a junior by Extrainningssoftball – had plenty of role models in her home as she was growing up.
When she was 4 years old, sister Shelby Immke (Class of 2010) was offered a scholarship to play softball and continue her career as a catcher at Danville Area Community College. She ultimately elected not to play a sport in college.
Two years later, another sister Abby Immke – an All-Area first baseman – signed to play at Parkland College (where she hit over .400) even though she was suffering from Cushing’s Syndrome caused by a brain tumor, a disease she still battles.
To this day, Abby Immke (Class of 2012) is listed prominently in SJ-O’s all-time career record book: fourth in runs batted in (176), fourth in walks (69), fifth in doubles (55), tied for sixth in home runs (20), seventh in hits (209) and 10th in runs scored (159).
When Shayne Immke was 8, brother Brock Immke was a first-team All-Stater in baseball as a senior (2014), a year when – as a pitcher – he didn’t lose a game (7-0 record, 1.01 ERA). He also hit .347 that year.
Brock Immke went on to Kankakee Community College, where he was the school’s Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore. He then transferred to the University of Illinois-Springfield. Brock Immke tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery.
After sitting out a year, he returned and made such an impact that he was eventually chosen to the school’s All-Decade team in 2020.
Two years ago, Isaiah Immke was SJ-O’s top batter as a senior (.389 average) for a 33-win team and earned All-Area accolades in 2021. He went to Kankakee Community College, where he was pitching in relief. After 15 appearances, he had an earned run average under 1.00, but incurred a career-ending elbow injury.
“At a young age, my goal was always to participate in a sport in college,” Shayne Immke said, “because my older siblings did.
“It means a lot to me to be able to continue my family’s tradition. My dad has played a major role in that legacy, being all our coaches at some point in our careers.”
Throughout her career at SJ-O, Shayne Immke was a two-sport standout.
“Softball has always been my primary focus,” she said, “but when I started playing volleyball in junior high into high school, it was just as important to me to be the best player I could be for my team.
“I will miss – and currently do – volleyball very much.”
As a senior, she was chosen for The News-Gazette’s All-Area Volleyball first team as an outside hitter after delivering more than 250 kills and 200 digs for a 28-win Spartan team that captured a Class 2A regional championship.
Shayne Immke is torn about an academic major, but has narrowed down the possibilities.
“I’ve been between wanting to be an elementary school teacher or a Speech Pathologist,” she said. “Those are my two options right now.”
When she starts the journey – at a college about 65 miles from her home – she is confident that the future looks bright.
“Being close to home will for sure help with my transition,” Shayne Immke said, “especially since I will be living with my life-long bestie, Peyton Jones.
“It will help having a piece of home at college with me. I am super close with my family. I always have been, so they will be expecting as many visits home as possible.”
