The calm after the storm – Jeff Starkweather
Stars placed on sticks in front of where the Joplin High School campus once stood are on display throughout the town to send inspirational messages.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
A bucket of balls, no place to practice and no uniforms. That’s what most of the Joplin coaches were left with following the tornado. And somehow athletic director Jeff Starkweather was supposed to make it all work.
He was the perfect man for the job.
In stark contrast to the tornado itself, the 48-year-old was a rock of stability: Unruffled and in control, he was the calm after the storm the Eagles and their coaching staff needed.
“We always felt we’d be OK with Jeff in charge,” football coach Chris Shields said. “He has a very calming influence, yet gets things done. I can’t imagine what his summer must have been like last year.
“He had to figure out where everyone was playing, everyone was practicing and replace all the equipment and uniforms for about 20 sports. He was basically starting a new athletic program. In a span of two months.
“I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
But for Starkweather it’s been a matter of pride and a labor of love. He was raised in the city and is a 1982 Joplin-Parkwood graduate (the two schools used to be combined). He was a former basketball star and coach at the school and his parents Jerry and Linda, along with older brother Rick, still live in town.
“I’ve had a lot of good times here,” he said. “I still have lifelong friends who went to high school here and are still my best friends today. This has a special place in my heart.”
That’s partially why he got choked up thinking about the trials and tribulations of the past year. Not because he hasn’t had a day off since the tornado or the fact his brother lost his home and Chick-Fil-A business (the business is restored and flourishing). The daily stress of fixing and repairing the athletic program didn’t show on Starkweather either.
His emotions got riled when thinking about what he called “the human spirit.” The outpouring of love, donations, uniforms, equipment, swag and just plain hard labor is at times too much for Starkweather to take.
“It gives me goosebumps even thinking about it,” he said. “People have been phenomenal, there’s no other word for it. They really stepped up. When we needed help, they were here. That was huge for us.”
And in some ways, that makes Starkweather feel “horrible.”
“I feel horrible because I haven’t gotten all the thank-you notes written I should,” he said.
Joplin athletic director Jeff Starkweather stands in front of a pile of
rubble at the campus that was destroyed.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
That might take another year.
* The football team at the University of Arkansas sent a contingent of players to help with the clean-up. So did athletes from the University of Missouri and virtually every other college in the Four State Area (Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma).
* Professional teams the Chiefs, Rams, Royals and Cardinals also offered physical, emotional and financial support, as did NASCAR driver and former Joplin High student Jamie McMurray.
* Joplin softball players Mariah Sanders and Danielle Campbell got to throw out the first pitch at a Royals-Cardinals game.
* The next night in St. Louis, 18 Joplin baseball players took the field at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Major Leaguers wore Joplin caps they eventually signed and those were raffled off.
* The Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, through a Nike representative, donated a set of boys and girls uniforms.
* Local schools have donated invaluable weights, uniforms and equipment from already dwindling resources.
* Starkweather received an envelope with $150 from a youth who worked a lemonade stand.
* A boy in Kansas City put on a wiffleball tournament and raised more than $1,000.
The list of do-gooders, small and large, has been endless and overwhelming, Starkweather said.
“The human spirit is alive and well,” he said. “Not just in the Four State Area, but everywhere. All over the country. It’s been amazing. Truly amazing.”
Which describes the job Starkweather has done, said former softball coach and current assistant athletic director Bruce Vonder Haar.
“He stood up and was a leader for all the coaches,” he said. “He laid out a plan to first make sure the kids are OK. Then to find them a place to play and practice. He made sure the kids were going to have as normal an athletic season as possible.
“I commend him because he didn’t take a day off all summer. He still hasn’t had a day off. He doesn’t want a lot of recognition but he deserves it.”
