Timmer Jr., Jim (2023)

Jim Timmer, Jr. is a 1986 graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School who excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He earned six varsity letters over his career and was recognized by his teammates as a leader in his play as quarterback in football, point guard in basketball, and shortstop in baseball. In his senior year, Jim was named the Eagle Athlete of the Year by the GRCH coaches. Jim enjoyed competing in all three sports and considered it a great blessing to have been afforded that opportunity.

In football, Jim was named to the All-Region Team and was an All-State Honorable Mention player in his senior year, as well as the team MVP. Upset wins over West Catholic and Catholic Central were highlights of his high school football career.  

In basketball, Jim was the starting point guard in his junior and senior seasons. He was named to the All-City Team in both of those seasons and to the Grand Rapids Press All-Area Team in his senior year. Two highlights Jim recalls are an upset win over Union in his junior year and a major upset of Catholic Central in the District Tournament in his senior season. In that game, Jim made the game-winning shot with three seconds left on the clock.  

In baseball, Jim was a three-year varsity player. In his sophomore season, Jim helped the Eagles win the district title and the first regional title in school history. In his junior and senior seasons, Jim was named to the All-City Team and played in the John Bos All-Star game as the starting shortstop on the City League team. In his senior season he was named to the Class B All-District, All-Region, and All-State Teams.  

While at GRCH, Jim played for three Eagle Hall of Fame coaches: Bill Holwerda in football, Rich Schrotenboer in basketball, and Dick VanderKamp in baseball. Jim is thankful to have played for these excellent coaches who were great Christian men who had a lasting influence on his own coaching career. Jim recalls that playing in the City League, which at that time was the premier league in Western Michigan and quite possibly in the state of Michigan, meant that every game would be a challenge. He credits his teammates for the success they enjoyed, and states that they all “...learned grit, humility, and a ton about relationships.”

After his days as an Eagle, Jim went on to Calvin College (now University), where he was a four-year member of the men’s basketball and baseball programs. In basketball, he was the starting point guard on two teams that qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament, including the 1989-90 team that reached the tournament semifinals and finished 28-3 overall. He scored 1,079 career points at Calvin and was named to the All-MIAA second team in 1989 and 1990. In baseball, he was a first-team All-MIAA selection at the shortstop position in 1989.  

Upon graduating from Calvin in 1991, Jim earned a Master’s Degree in the Science of Physical Education and a Ph.D. in sports administration, both from the University of New Mexico. He was an assistant men’s basketball and baseball coach as well as head men’s golf coach at Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio. He returned to his alma mater in 2003, where he is a professor in Calvin’s Kinesiology Department. He has coached men’s golf and baseball and is currently the Athletic Director at Calvin. 

Jim and his wife Kathy (Hulst) are parents of three children, Anna (Nate) Drews, Christian (Lauren), and Gabrielle (fiancé Calvin Miller). They have one granddaughter, Ella Kay Drews.   

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good and perfect will.  Romans 12:1-2