Ivan was introduced to the game of lacrosse at the age of 12, and was coached by a legend of the game Jim Bishop during his Pee Wee and Bantam years. Bishop later moved to form the Oshawa Green Gaels, but Ivan and his older brother Brian refused to follow him, preferring to stay with Huntsville Hawks Jr. organization. However Ivan, did receive a Minto Cup medal when Bishop added him to the 1969 roster for the Canadian Championship series.
1969 turned out to be a memorable year for so many other reasons. His 49 goal and 68 assists for 117 points earned him the OLA Junior League MVP honour.
Ivan went on to play for the Victoria Shamrocks in 1972 where he racked up enough points in 31 games to give him First Team All-Star honours and the Commissioner’s trophy as the WLA’s MVP. After two more season with the Shamrocks, Ivan moved on to the Boston Bolts, of the NLL, scoring an incredible 207 points in 46 games, winning him the MVP award. When the NLL collapsed , Ivan returned to Shamrocks for another 4 seasons, leading them to two Mann Cup appearances, in 78-79. They won the Canadian title in 1979, and Ivan won the MVP award.
Ivan retired in 79 at the top of his game, a six time all-star, 3 time MVP. He was inducted in the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1986.