Redhawks' Zimmer named Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year
The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN Rise, announced Thursday that Tim Zimmer of Naperville Central is its 2008-2009 Gatorade Illinois Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Zimmer is the first Gatorade Illinois Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Naperville Central.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Zimmer as Illinois' best high school boys soccer player. Zimmer becomes a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the year award, to be announced in May.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior defender recorded 4 goals and 3 assists last season, leading the Redhawks (17-3-2) to the Class 3A sectional championship game. A National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America selection and and ESPN Rise Third-Team All-America honoree, Zimmer was on the field for just 7 of the 12 goals Naperville Central allowed all season. A two-time Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association first-team all-state selection, Zimmer finished his career with 17 goals and 8 assists.
Zimmer has maintained a 3.87 GPA in the classroom. A volunter for the Pumpkins in the Park marathon, he organized a local shoe drive for victims of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand and has donated his time collecting toys for holiday charity drives.
"The thing with Tim is he's just a smart player," said Mike Wiggins, coach at Hinsdale Central. "He does well to put himself in the right position and he reads the game really well. He's hard to knock off the ball and incredibly hard to penetrate through. He's not a screamer and a yeller, just a steady, solid, left-footed center back."
Zimmer has signed to play at Northwestern this fall.
The program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. The selection process is administered by ESPN Rise, which works with top sports-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Zimmer joins recent Gatorade Illinois Boys Soccer Players of the Year John Shakon (2007-08, Hinsdale Central), Anthony Colaizzi (2006-07, Warren) and Jake Fullerton (2005-06, Naperville North) among the state's list of former award winners.