Plodzien happy to be coaching the game she loves

Coaches usually don't smile this much after losses.

Chances are Carol Plodzien won't down the road, either. But she couldn't help herself Tuesday night.

Plodzien didn't make a triumphant return to the girls basketball sideline at Richmond-Burton. Her young team lost a Big Northern Conference crossover game 46-34 to Stillman Valley.

But it was a happy return for the only coach in Fremd's first 34 years of girls basketball before she was sidelined last year.

"I smile every day," said Plodzien, "because it's my passion.

"I get that energy surge that hopefully is contagious with the kids."

There is no question Plodzien hasn't lost any of her drive for coaching. Especially since she travels more than 30 miles from Fremd, where she will be retiring from teaching after this school year, to a town just south of the Illinois-Wisconsin border.

There was that smile again as she jumped up and down after freshman Brittany Bogart beat the third-quarter buzzer with a basket off a loose-ball rebound to get the Rockets within 7 points.

Moments later she had more of a scowl as a 3-pointer to close the gap hit off the back rim and Stillman Valley countered with a 3.

And Plodzien had another scowl when Stillman Valley hit a wide-open 3 to make it 37-27 with less than four minutes to play.

But all those emotions and situations are why Plodzien couldn't stay away.

"We had 'em worried, didn't we?" she said with, a smile of course, of a team with only one senior and two freshmen. "I was certainly pleased to see that.

"At least now we know what we need to work on."

It shouldn't take long for Plodzien to figure it out since she won 558 games and 12 Mid-Suburban League titles at Fremd.

But after the 2005-06 season, Plodzien found herself still inside the school but outside the program she built.

"It was like I lost myself," Plodzien said. "It was more of an emotional tidal wave for me for one whole year. I would keep seeing people I never had closure with.

"But I knew deep down God had a purpose for me and would put me in the right place. What better place could there be than building a program from square one where I can build my own staff and have the time of my life again?"

Plodzien, who lives in Cary, applied at Woodstock and interviewed at Antioch. Then she heard about the opening at Richmond-Burton.

"I've been around high school athletics all my life and I know what a central figure Carol is to girls basketball in Illinois," said second-year R-B athletic director Patrick Elder. "When she was interested, obviously we were pretty excited."

Elder was looking for someone with stability and a sense of direction since Plodzien is the program's third coach in three years. He originally hoped to get a candidate in the building but that didn't work out.

"We were going to hire the best candidate and Carol has quite a track record," Elder said. "She wants to stay with it and be involved and we're just real excited to have her."

Plodzien brought in one of her former players, Mel (Kwasniewski) Hinz as an assistant. Since Plodzien wasn't hired until late June, she is still learning a lot about what her players can do.

But she plans to get a more intense summer program going. She likes the talent already there that includes this and next year's freshmen.

It's more than enough to make someone smile even after a loss.

"I'm elated and it's a blessing," Plodzien said. "I will take advantage of every moment I have to help young ladies find success for themselves."

Plodzien has found that place at Richmond-Burton.