Marshalltown Community College welcomes Olivia Fluehr to the Tiger family as the new MCC Head Softball Coach. This will be Fluehr's first head coaching position.
This may be the first head coaching position for Fluehr but she has been around the game as a coach for over six years and was a standout athlete in high school, college and professional softball.
Fluehr's high school softball career was decorated with awards. She was a 4-year starter, All-State Selection, NIC-10 Conference MVP, 3-time NIC-10 Conference Performer, 2-time Team MVP and 2-time Regional Champion. She pitched and played first base graduating in 2015 from Harlem High School.
She started her collegiate career at Rock Valley College where she played softball from 2015-2017. She was a 2-time All-American, 2-time All-Region, N4C Conference MVP, National Tournament MVP, Pitcher of the Tournament and National Player of the Year. She pitched for one year at University of Missouri-Kansas City where she received All-Tournament Team in 2018. She finished her collegiate career at Graceland University 2018-2019. She received Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-Conference. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies.
Fluehr started her coaching career in 2015 when she began pitching and catching lessons and is still doing this. In 2016 she was an Assistant Softball Coach for 14U at Stateline Fury in Machesney Park, IL. She was then Lamoni High School Assistant Softball coach from 2019-2021. Her most recent position before joining MCC was 2020-2022 where she was Ellsworth Community College Assistant Softball Coach.
She has also worked at softball camps 2015 – 2017. During that time, she worked at several camps including University of Missouri-Kansas City Softball, Rock Valley College Softball and Stateline Fury – Softball.
Fluehr's first steps at MCC will be to get to know as many staff members, students and community members as possible. "I want everyone to know who I am and what I do. I'm huge on helping others and the community when needed and I want everyone to know there's always someone on their side."
She is looking forward to learning about the culture and relationships that MCC has to offer. "After knowing a little through ECC, it will be exciting to be able to learn a background of the school and community so I can help make that grow."
Fluehr is looking for players for MCC that are wanting to get better both on the field and in the classroom, a leader no matter what age or class, open to learning new ideas and trying new things, and someone that will not take the easy route around difficult situations.
When asked what goals she has for the upcoming season she said, "I want the team to maintain above a 3.0 GPA average. Academics are very important to me, and I want my student-athletes to make that a priority. Another goal I have is more of a personal goal, but I want these ladies to be able to say they are better players, people, and students than they were at the beginning of the year."
"I'm most excited to join the staff as a head coach," commented Fluehr. "This is my first head coaching job, and it has always been a dream of mine to be in this position."
Fluehr will also be joining the MCC Admissions staff as an Academic Advising Specialist. She will advise students and assist them in choosing the correct classes to graduate on time. Along with her new positions at MCC she will be starting a new step in her personal life as well. She will be getting married in September to her fiancé Teddy Palmer, who is an Elementary School Counselor and is currently working towards his Masters in Mental Health Counseling through Buena Vista University. They complete their family with a Lhasa Apso named Kobe.