Barnstormers Prepare To Land In Oskaloosa
Iowa Barnstormers 2012 Game Schedule (image courtesy Iowa Barnstormers)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – What’s in a name? Barnstorming was starting in the 1920’s when returning WWI pilots bought up surplus aircraft and took to the skies of America performing stunts. Others took to making stops in farmers fields to give rides to locals and would move along after a few days.
‘Barnstorming Season’ was something that started in the early spring and would go throughout the fairs and finally harvest.
This year, the ‘Barnstorming Season’ will take off here in Oskaloosa when the Iowa Barnstormers launch their 2012 training camp from the PAC Center on the campus of William Penn University.
As was originally reported by CRI, the Barnstormers are looking to practice for two weeks. February 19th to March 3rd are the tentative dates.
Members of the community gathered today to discuss and learn about the Barnstormers, as well as find out how they could take part in the teams arrival.
With a little coaxing from assistant Shannon Saunders, a Penn graduate and now with the Barnstormers, she convinced the Management of the Barnstormers that, “we really do have turf in Oskaloosa.”
Upon looking at the PAC facilities John Pettit, General Manager and an Owner, responded,”It was perfect. Our coach walked in and said ‘this is great’.”
“It is a great undertaking of trying to pick your whole organization up and move 35 players, coaching staff, all your equipment, your trainers, and relocate for a couple of weeks.” In the end, only 24 will make the team.
Pettit compared the speed of a Barnstormer game to how quickly things have come together for the team to be a part of the Oskaloosa community. “Once the game starts, it’s like a giant boulder rolling downhill; it never stopped, and it hasn’t stopped since then.”
“We are in a new era; we have a new coaching staff, Mike Hohensee”, Pettit stated about the team and it’s changes for 2012.”I started in a little town in Glen Falls, New York. You know, fifteen thousand people and this reminded me so much of that atmosphere.” was the feeling Pettit had getting to know Oskaloosa. “It’s communities like this that make the great State of Iowa what it is today, and that’s what makes the state so great is all these communities.”
“I think the community’s going to have a great opportunity to see these guys [Barnstormers]. I know coach talked about it, having a rookie night where rookies have to perform, either sing or do something. We talked about ‘let’s open that to the public’.”
“We also want to create a ‘Oskaloosa Night’. Whether it’s the second [home] game of the season”. Pettit said they will be video recording the time the players are here in town and look to do a Montague for that. “We’re looking at this as possibly being an annual thing we do.”
“We expect their going to be out in the community the whole time we’re here, except for the times we’re on the field,” Pettit then went on to say they were going to be looking to visit schools, and other community type things, “charitable, fundraising type things”.
“I love people who’s nothing’s a problem, everything has got a solution to it, and that’s just the kind of people you guys have up here.”
Practices will be accessible to the public, and will likely be morning practices with afternoons of film review.
The question of merchandise came up, and Pettit said he thought that they would bring up some of that, but he also said they are looking to do shirts that would say “Oskaloosa Barnstormers, because for those two weeks that’s who we will be.”
With the schedule and time frame not completely locked down, there is also a possibility of a scrimmage type game between the Barnstormers and another team.
“I just want to encourage all the business people to see how you can utilize the Barnstormers,” Dr. Ann Fields, President of William Penn University said to the room of community leaders and organizers. “It’s a two way interaction. They’re here, but we really need to utilize them, and I think in that way it’s a good partnership for everybody.”
“We’re not looking for a two week commitment, we’re looking to become part of you guys and you guys be part of the Barnstormers”, is how Pettit described how he envisioned the relationship could be between Oskaloosa and the Barnstormers.
“I think it’s going to be good for us”, was how Oskaloosa Chamber Director Jon Sullivan described the upcoming visit by the Barnstormers. “We’re a very sports minded community, so this just fits right in.”
With numbers provided by the Barnstormers, they show a 2011 average attendance to their games of 8,867, compared to the Iowa Cubs with an average attendance of 7,256; making them the most attended pro level team in the Des Moines area.
This is the 5th year for the Barnstormers since their return from when the team was sold and moved to New York State back in 2001.
