The Joplin High football team got back to normalcy on Sept. 10, playing its first home football game since an F-5 tornado destroyed a large swath of the Missouri city.
Photo by Dean Backes
Chris Shields trotted his
Joplin (Mo.) football team out onto the grass field in Junge Stadium in preparation for its Ozark Conference clash against rival Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.) on Sept. 10. It was much bigger than just a home-opener — it was a sense of normalcy.
Last May, the southwest
Missouri community was hit by an F-5 twister estimated to be seven
miles in length and three-quarters of a mile wide. On that September night, Shields and his assistants ran onto the field just like any normal football game. The end result didn't matter because normalcy was restored.
Many of Joplin High's sports teamshave had to adapt to the newreality after the tornado that killed162 Joplin residents.
Photo by Dean Backes
Hillcrest won the game 21-9. But the loss didn't faze the spirit of the community on the sidelines or in the stands. Joplin had just taken part in what Shields referred to as the first thing since the tornado that was probably all Joplin. It featured a pregame flight of a bald eagle and a halftime flash mob.
"I absolutely loved it," Shields said. "We're not where we want to be as a football program. We have to improve. We have to get better.
"But the community has rallied around the one thing that is purely Joplin. We've had fairs, concerts and other events to raise money for the community. That football game was probably the first thing since the tornado that was here before (the tornado) - the one thing that is 100-percent Joplin."
Shields was still teaching and coaching at Holt High School in St. Louis when the twister hit. As soon as he heard the news of the devastation, Shields and a couple assistant coaches that he hired on with him headed to their new community to lend a helping hand.
"This community is phenomenal," Shields said. "It's amazing how much the towns in the area and people from around the world have pitched in with the cleanup. There are volunteers and people in the community working hard every day, making a difference. Old businesses are opening their doors again and that's always exciting to see.
"We really appreciate all of the help, whether someone donated money or drove to Joplin for the day to help clean up debris."
When Shields arrived and saw the damage to the high school, his concerns turned to the future of the school and to his football program. However, the Joplin School District had already laid out a plan and everybody involved responded quickly.
"Anytime you come close to losing something, even if it is for just a day, you appreciate it," Shields said. "Then when you find out that you aren't going to lose it, that makes you appreciate it even more. You're thankful that you have it."
Joplin athletic director Jeff Starkweather was at home during the storm that took the lives of 162 Joplin residents and destroyed much of the southern edge of the city. The lifelong Joplin resident was without satellite reception, so he first learned of the devastation through radio and texting.
While Starkweather was fortunate to live on the north side of Joplin, his brother Rick was not. Rick Starkweather lost not only his home, but his Chick-fil-A franchise as well.
Chick-fil-A hired a contractor and within eight and a half weeks the old restaurant was torn down, cleaned up and a new one built. But that's par for the course in Joplin. Before you could bat an eye, the blue-collar community was pulling together, cleaning up and rebuilding.
"That's the amazing thing about this community," Jeff Starkweather said. "The community has been getting after it. They're going to work. They're blue-collar. It's great to see Joplin and the other towns in the area reach out. I've said it many times and I'll say it again. The human spirit is alive and well in Joplin."
With the damage done to the high school, the school district was forced to split classes. Freshmen and sophomores attend classes at the old Memorial High School, in a building built in 1919, while juniors and seniors are heading to the mall to further their education.
A group of Kansas City architects were called on to turn an old Shopko building at the Northpark Mall into a 90,000 square foot 21st century facility. Each student is armed with a new laptop paid for by donations worldwide, one of which was for $1 million by the United Arab Emirates.
The school is still accepting donations.
Unless there is a middle school home football game, the Eagles continue to practice and play their football games at Junge Stadium. Otherwise, practices are held at a practice field at Missouri Southern State University.
The other sports in Joplin haven't been as fortunate.
The softball and boys soccer teams practice and play games at Missouri Southern State, as will the basketball teams. Sandy Shelley and her volleyball team practice and play their games at the 9-10 Campus (Old Memorial High School), while the wrestling squad will practice and compete at an old fireworks warehouse in town.
"We've all been impacted," Starkweather said. "If we didn't lose our home, we all lost our high school. Everybody has been stressed. We've received some neat stuff, like the 21st century school and the laptops. But now the teachers have to adjust to teaching a different way. They have to teach with the laptops. It's been an adjustment for all of us.
"There is stress with the coaches too. They can't just walk out of the school building and go to practice. The coaches have to wait for all of the buses to drop the kids off and then come back, pick the athletes up and take them to practice. It's an inconvenience, but we'll be fine. We're managing."
Joplin football is 2-3 halfway through the 2011 season, with a road trip to 1-4 Rolla coming up Friday. The Eagles are in a three-way tie with Parkview and Waynesville for fifth place in the Ozark Conference standings.
"We have a great group of kids with a lot of potential," Shields said. "We have kids that want to be great and want to experience success. We're working hard to achieve that. We're trying to improve everyday. That's where our focus is. We're no different than any other team in the country. We know it's going to take a lot of hard work to get to where we want to be and we don't believe in shortcuts. We have a great opportunity in front of us."
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