November 27, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Heritage softball hires new coach

Greg Immke is no longer the Heritage softball coach.


The Heritage Board of Education accepted his resignation at their February meeting.


Superintendent Tom Davis said Immke informed him on Feb. 6 that he would be resigning.


Davis said the resignation caught him by surprise since they were in the process of getting ready to interview for the assistant position.


“However, his message to us made me understand why he was resigning,” he said. “I respected his coaching immensely, we were very lucky to have him.”


Davis said the focus immediately turned to the softball program and finding a new coach.


Davis said Heritage Athletic Director Lori Archer contacted Vicki Roberts, who formerly coached at St. Thomas More.


“Vicki has ties to the area so it was a natural fit,” Davis said.


Davis said a former Heritage coach recommend Roberts.


“Vicki and I talked at length about the first year of the program and she seemed very interested,” Davis said. “By the time of our next school board meeting, she had accepted after the job listing was posted the required number of days and we also had an assistant coach, current Heritage High School counselor and the former head coach for Heritage softball, Patti Knott, in place.”


Roberts was hired at the February meeting.     


Davis said he wanted to thank Immke for the job he did with the softball program last year.


“The girls enjoyed playing for him, and I was proud every time we took the field.” he said.


Davis said the team was competitive and won some great games last year.


Since last season the district has made some upgrades to the softball fields at the High School.


The district spent $25,000 on new fencing for the softball field at Broadlands, improved the infield mixture, and have a plan for the future to have a brand new scorekeeper, announcer, and concessions building like the one near the baseball field.


The building will include a sound system so they can announce games and play music like the baseball field has. 


Davis said despite the changes the team has maintained an upbeat attitude.
“Practices up to this point have been very positive, though all indoors due to the weather,” he said.   “I had met with the girls once we had Vicki in place as I knew they would be shocked, but so far what I have observed is a team working hard getting ready for their first game next Wednesday at Leroy. “

Banner
Related Posts

Weaver, SJO football is a way of life

August 30, 2019

August 30, 2019

With the 2019 St. Joseph-Ogden football season ready to kickoff on Friday evening, we are beginning a new feature called...

SJO girls’ basketball reaches Sweet 16

February 12, 2019

February 12, 2019

One more win and the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team can celebrate its first sectional championship in 12...

Rydell looks to the future

April 23, 2021

April 23, 2021

Jackson Rydell’s first football season is his last football season. The senior is playing playing football for the first time...

Team effort sparks SJO football to win at Monticello

September 2, 2022

September 2, 2022

On paper, the start of the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football schedule appeared daunting.Open up on the road against Monticello,...

5 Questions with LOGAN SMITH

March 1, 2024

March 1, 2024

How would you describe this team? I would describe this team as together and competitive, we always are playing together...

Vallee, Lannert help SJO girls’ basketball increase win streak to four games

December 12, 2019

December 12, 2019

Winning close games has become a theme so far this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team....

Cain, Pence help SJO boys’ basketball post two wins

January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

Playing a competitive nonconference schedule is nothing new for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball team. The Spartans face...

She’s Back! Dukeman set to get another shot at softball this summer

June 30, 2020

June 30, 2020

Hannah Dukeman is getting a chance to play softball despite COVID-19 stealing her senior season at St. Joseph-Ogden High School....

DeJarnette to lead soccer program at SJO

May 21, 2020

May 21, 2020

Bill DeJarnette is no stranger to the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer program. DeJarnette was the first coach of the SJO soccer...

McCarty, Burnett sharp on the mound as SJO baseball pads win total

April 14, 2019

April 14, 2019

The wins keep adding up for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. Much like the solid pitching by the...

IPC announces all conference teams

March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024

1 st Team: (U: means Unanimous)PLAYER NAME GRADE WEIGHT CLASSAidan Scholwin (U) (Pontiac) Senior 106Holden Brazelton (U) (SJO) Junior 132Emmitt...

Burnett, Steinbach key as SJO volleyball wraps up season this week

April 22, 2021

April 22, 2021

Normally, 20 matches in a season means a high school volleyball teamis just rounding into form, ready to make a...

Mills, Ketchum spark Spartans into regional championship match

October 13, 2022

October 13, 2022

Logan Mills probably has never had a more meaningful goal. Hunter Ketchum probably has never made more meaningful saves. And,...

Spartans fall to T-Town

February 23, 2019

February 23, 2019

NORMAL— All basketball teams have an off-night shooting occasionally. It’s just too bad that the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans picked the...

SJO football looks to rebound at Rantoul after home loss against Unity

September 26, 2025

September 26, 2025

Emotions are always high when the St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity football teams meet.Two tradition-rich programs who have experienced plenty of...

Comments
Leave a Reply