Amy Lasack: Welcome back to The Catalyst, the show where we highlight the people and stories shaping NICC. Today's episode is a special one. We're talking baseball. For the very first time in college history, NICC has a baseball program, and we're starting this journey from the ground up.
Amy Lasack: I am joined by Conner Klostermann, the first head coach of NICC Baseball. We're going to talk about his background, what it's like to build a program from scratch, and some of the exciting recruits joining the team, and the vision for where this program is headed.
Amy Lasack: Coach, thanks for being here. I do have a little bio I want to share about you. Conner enters his first season as head coach at Northeast Iowa Community College in the inaugural season for the program. Kloserman spent the last four seasons with the Northern State baseball program, the first two as a graduate assistant.
Amy Lasack: And most recently served as lead head, lead assistant coach, where he worked with hitters and led the recruiting effort. You also played baseball at DMACC, Des Moines Area Community College, and Upper Iowa University. So, Conner, thank you so much.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, Amy, thanks for having me on.
Amy Lasack: So, we're super excited at NICC about all the expansion for our athletics and our baseball program as part of that. So, tell us a little bit about yourself first. I want to get to know you, and it sounds like baseball has been a big part of your history.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, yeah, baseball's been in my life pretty much ever since I can remember. You know, and this job was very unique for me, because, you know, this is home for me. I was pretty much born and raised in the Dubuque area, and then moved over to Dyersville just before high school, and so, you know, I've been…
Conner Klostermann: in this area most of my life, and so when this job came available, you know, it was one I was really excited about. And obviously, to be the spearhead of starting a brand new program from scratch, there's a lot…
Conner Klostermann: to be excited about with that. And so, a little bit about me, you kind of chatted about some of my background from a coaching standpoint, but like I said, I'm from the area. I went to Beckman Catholic over in Dyersville, and played 5 years of college baseball, and have been coaching basically since I got into college, and so I'm super excited to see the trajectory of this program, and where we're able to take off.
Amy Lasack: That's cool. So, when you played baseball, what position were you playing?
Conner Klostermann: I was a third baseman and pitcher in high school, and then I just kind of focused on hitting and defense in college, so I played primarily third base in college, too, yup.
Amy Lasack: Did you have a favorite team growing up, or a favorite player?
Conner Klostermann: Oh, yeah. So, yeah, it kind of started with my grandpa. He was a huge Cardinals fan, and kind of passed that on to my dad, and then passed it on to my brother and I, and so we're big-time Cardinals fans, and it's been a rough couple of years to be a Redbird fan, but had a lot of good years, too, a couple World Series in my life that I've been able to witness, so that's been fun, and yeah, it's, …
Conner Klostermann: Like I said, a tough time to be a Birds fan, but hopefully some brighter days on the horizon.
Amy Lasack: It is a great stadium, though, to go and watch a game. We were there just a couple years ago, and seeing the arch in the background, and it's a great stadium.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, it is a great place to take in a ballgame, that's for sure.
Amy Lasack: Well, can you talk a little bit about building a program from the ground up? Because I can imagine as you took this job, that might have been a little daunting, but also exciting, too.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think there was some parts that, like you said, were a little daunting, but, you know, for me, having the experience at the college level for the last 5 years prior to getting this job, you know, I knew what it's supposed to look like, and I knew the ins and outs, and kind of where to begin. And obviously the first part in that was recruiting and building the roster, and so…
Conner Klostermann: pretty much hit the ground running as soon as Nick Weinmeister, our athletic director, gave me the go-ahead to start making some calls, and so, it was pretty hot and heavy at the beginning with reaching out to prospective student athletes and trying to corral, a list for recruits, and
Conner Klostermann: you know, we hit the ground running with a lot of on-campus visits when I was able to get my family moved back here in early October last year, and we pretty much went gangbusters for the rest of the first semester. And so, we put our roster in a really good spot, numbers-wise.
Conner Klostermann: And then, obviously, all the background stuff that people, you know, might not think about, you know, equipment, and, you know, we didn't have a baseball to our name, or helmets, or, you know, any of those things, and so working with our reps at BSN to order all that stuff and make sure we weren't forgetting a single thing during that order, and so that was a big process as well, but…
Conner Klostermann: Obviously, too, you know, just trying, as we get, you know, student-athletes on campus, trying to instill the culture and helping, you know, our guys understand, you know, what college baseball is supposed to look like, and how we want to present ourselves, not only internally, but also to members of the community and members at the college as well. And so I've been really pleased with our guys so far, just in terms of how they've attacked their daily routine
Conner Klostermann: routines and going to class, and doing the things they need to do, so it's been a great start for us.
Amy Lasack: Yeah, we're hearing a lot of great things about the athletes that you've brought to campus, and just…
Amy Lasack: what sort of energy they're bringing to campus, and you talked a little bit about it, but, you know, they're student athletes, and so there's been a lot of conversation about, you know, what's the priority? And your program has been very clear that they're students first, and that you're going to support that.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, for sure, yeah. We've had great attendance in classes so far, and we've actually implemented, for all of our sports, not just baseball, some study table hours on a weekly basis for our student-athletes, and so we've had guys, you know, signing in all week, whether it's in the library or in our Cougar Athletic Center, to make sure they're getting their studies done, and they might not have as much work now to do with school just starting, but as we progress through the
Conner Klostermann: semester, and they start, you know, preparing for tests and other, you know, assignments that they might have, those will be crucial hours that we're trying to help them set aside, because obviously, I think
Conner Klostermann: the biggest adjustment for student athletes, or college students in general, is just that time management piece, right? How do you… you have so much free time on your hands now, and how do you…
Conner Klostermann: structure your day so that you're getting all the work done you need to, and so hopefully those study table hours for them help set aside, you know, some time to make sure they're getting done what they need to. So we've been very fortunate to have a lot of great people in the building on all of our athletics teams, and
Conner Klostermann: Like I said, it's been a great start for us.
Amy Lasack: That's great. So as you're going into this first year, how are you going to define success? Is it gonna be wins or losses, or is there more to that?
Conner Klostermann: I think for us, you know, success will be defined on how we develop them as human beings, right? If we're, you know, helping…
Conner Klostermann: propel them into the next step of their journey, whether it be transferring to a four-year school, whether it be entering the workforce, trying to prepare them as much as we are from a baseball standpoint for a real-life perspective, right? And so, trying to instill that in our culture and trying to build, you know, quality young men that will move into, you know, the workforce, or whatever it might be, to be
Conner Klostermann: functional people in society, and so that's our… that's our biggest goal. I'm not too wrapped up in the wins-losses piece. I think if we play the game the right way and take care of business, those things should… should take care of themselves. …
Conner Klostermann: But I'm just excited to have so many good people in the building that are gonna help us progress and do what we need to do. So, like I said, can't say enough about the start we've had, for sure.
Amy Lasack: Yeah, that's great, and what a story these kids are going to be able to have 20 years from now when they can say they were on the very first NICC baseball team.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, for sure, yeah, and we've talked a lot about that, obviously. Talking to all of these student-athletes during their recruiting process, but also when they got here, you know, we have a little slogan for our baseball team, Cougar Pride. And so for us, like.
Conner Klostermann: you know, the pride piece is probably the biggest part of our program. If you don't have pride putting on that uniform for the first time, if you're not just so excited to get out there every day and represent, be the first representatives of our baseball program for the college, you know, that should naturally be part of what you bring to the table, and so that's been a big piece of what we talked about.
Amy Lasack: That's great. So, as you were recruiting people, that whole process had to be really interesting in telling the story about this as the first program at NICC for baseball. Do you have any interesting stories or recruiting tidbits that you would like to share?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think the biggest thing was really selling the vision of what we wanted it to look like, because, you know, rewind a year ago, a lot of the pieces we have in place today weren't here, right?
Conner Klostermann: Athletic Center, and some of the renovations over there, and just some of the processes and things that we've been able to put in place, just weren't there a year ago. And so, a lot of questions about, you know, where we're gonna practice, and what facilities will we have, and those different things, and trying to really sell, you know, recruits and their families on that vision.
Conner Klostermann: And so it's been awesome the last couple weeks to, you know, as we've had some recruits on campus for next year, being able to walk into some of these spaces and kind of see the finished product and be able to really showcase, you know, our amazing facilities and what we have. And so it's been a really great blessing to have such great, you know, support systems around campus and to have such great facilities, but
Conner Klostermann: As far as stories go, you know, I think a lot of people have turned heads a little bit, or been shocked at how much outreach we've had. You know, we're not just looking at students in district, you know, it's been, quite frankly, all over the state of Iowa. We have some Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota presence, and we even have a couple of international students on our baseball program. I know softball has a few as well. So I think that really brings just a change of pace to
Conner Klostermann: to campus to have a lot of.
Amy Lasack: Yeah.
Conner Klostermann: A lot of students with…
Conner Klostermann: a lot of different backgrounds, and, you know, our guys are just eating it up with some of our international students on, you know, trying to learn about their background and, you know, what things they do, and so that's been fun to kind of see over the last week and a half, all of our guys gelling together and starting to, you know, learn more about each other, and that's been a cool part of our start here.
Amy Lasack: Oh, that's so fun, that they get a chance to just learn a little bit more outside of what they've been used to for the last 18 years of their life, you know?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, no doubt.
Amy Lasack: That's cool. So, recruiting numbers, you have a pretty deep roster, is my understanding. You've been able to recruit quite a few folks. Do you have anything that you're super excited about with the folks that you've been able to bring here?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, our roster number right now is at 56, and quite honestly, yeah, that's probably a pretty average college roster size, and the reason for that is just the volume of games that we play. In the spring, we'll play 56 regular season games,
Conner Klostermann: And so, you need a lot of pitching, you need a lot of depth. Obviously, injuries happen, and so you need, you know, you need some depth to make sure that you can navigate the rigors of such a long season. And so, you know, we have a lot of pitchers. I'm excited. We'll start scrimmaging, doing some intersquad scrimmages here on Thursday and Friday to end the week. And so, really excited to see the guys kind of in action. We've been doing more.
Conner Klostermann: like, drill work and practices and different things like that out at Farley, and so to see them, you know, kind of compete a little bit and get together from that standpoint, that'll be huge for us from an evaluation standpoint. But yeah, we definitely have depth. I'm excited about our group. I think we've done… I've kind of educated the guys, like.
Conner Klostermann: you know, I think we need to go into it with a little bit of chip on our shoulder. You know, I think some people don't have…
Conner Klostermann: as high expectations for us as we do internally, and that's fine. But, you know, I think hopefully we can turn some heads and, you know, put together a product on the field that everybody can be really excited about. So, again, I've been, you know, really, really excited about the start we've had, and, you know, I think, we're gonna turn some heads for sure, and so it's been a good start.
Amy Lasack: That's cool. And I'm sure, too, as you're out meeting prospective recruits, you're looking beyond the arm or the hitting. What are some other qualities that you look for when you're talking to a kid about coming to NICC?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think, you know, obviously on a 15-minute phone call, it can be, you know, sometimes you can get a first impression, sometimes you don't, and sometimes those things happen when the families come on campus, and you really start to have some more detailed conversations, and really get to know, you know, some of the students on a more personal level during those visits, and that's kind of a big piece for us.
Conner Klostermann: The nice thing for me is, like I mentioned earlier, being from this area, I have so many connections at the high school level with coaches, and quite frankly, you know, all over the country with different connections I've made, just in recruiting efforts at other colleges, and so….
Amy Lasack: culture.
Conner Klostermann: It really helps to have some people in those corners to be able to get kind of an inside scoop on some of our athletes, and so we're really able to do a detailed briefing on making sure we're bringing in the right type of people. And I think that's what wins, ultimately, is you bring in the right type of person. Obviously, you gotta have the right skill set from a baseball standpoint, but we can bring in a lot of talented, really good people.
Conner Klostermann: you know, we're gonna really excel, as a baseball program. And so, we really try to identify those people that are gonna help us, really progress and move this program forward.
Amy Lasack: That's cool, and you also have some really talented coaches that are assisting you with this. Do you want to talk a little bit about some of your volunteer and assistant coaches?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, yeah, we have a great staff put together. Our lead assistant is Corey Harrell. Corey came actually with me from Northern State. He was one of our assistant coaches up there, and so I've known Corey for a lot of years now. He's also an admissions rep on our Piasta campus, and so he's doing a lot of visits with general students, he's handling all of our athlete visits as well, and so Corey's been doing an outstanding job with admissions, and he's also
Conner Klostermann: doing a great job from a baseball standpoint, and so he'll be a huge resource for us as we continue to build this program. Dalton Vanderloo is another assistant of ours. He was just hired within the last couple weeks. Dalton played for Corey and I up at Northern State for the last two years as well, and so kind of been unique to…
Conner Klostermann: be very involved with the recruitment of Dalton as a student athlete, and then getting him here as one of my assistant coaches. And so he'll kind of be in charge of the pitchers, and he's been doing a great job so far. He's a younger guy, and very energetic and eager to get into the coaching profession, and so Dalton's been a great, great guy to have around the building for us. And then Jacob Kerman is our last assistant coach.
Conner Klostermann: He kind of handles the strength and conditioning side. He owns Extreme Strength over in Dubuque, and so he's in the private sector of the strength and conditioning sector, and he's also obviously helping us with the strength and conditioning piece as well. And he's also the husband of our dance coach, Kylie Kerman, and so we got a lot of connections interwoven within the department already. But we have a great staff, and they've been very
Conner Klostermann: involved with every facet, and literally could not do this without their help and support as we get into it. So they've been a great, great addition to our program.
Amy Lasack: Yeah, you have a great group. That's… that's fantastic. They bring so much together, and it sounds like you've really gelled as a coaching staff, too, so that's… that's fantastic.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, for sure, and it definitely helps to have some prior relationships, and for us to kind of know each other. And I've known, you know, Jake Kerman for… I mean, we played together, you know, against each other when we were 8 years old, so I've known him for….
Amy Lasack: Oh, wow.
Conner Klostermann: A long, long time. We played against each other in the semi-pro circuit here locally a lot, and so I've known Jake a long time. He's a great guy, and he'll be a huge help for us.
Amy Lasack: That's cool. Well, and the other big piece of this is the community support of the program, whether it be NICC employees or folks in the community. What role do you see, like, fans and local supporters playing in energizing this team this first year?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think it'll be a huge, a huge piece for us, you know, and I've heard from a lot of people in the community, not just in Piazza, but quite frankly, all of the towns in Dubuque County, and even outside of it, just how excited people are about the addition of athletics to NICC. You know, and I think that's kind of evidenced by our Field of Dreams game that we have coming up on October 10th against University of Dubuque. We've had
Conner Klostermann: north of 600 people RSVP for that event, saying that they're going to be there, and so we're expecting a pretty large crowd for that event, and it'll be huge to be able to mingle with some community supporters and just, you know, kind of show them the type of baseball and the type of energy we're going to bring to the field, and so it's been a huge piece for us, and I'm excited to continue to build those relationships and get out in the community.
Conner Klostermann: And just hear more about, you know, how excited they are, and things that we can do to continue to push that forward.
Amy Lasack: How excited are your players about playing on the Field of Dreams?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think there's a high level of excitement. You know, I think that's kind of… that'll be kind of our, you know, culminating game of the fall, essentially, and so I know a lot of guys are looking forward to that, and obviously playing against somebody other than ourselves, you know, I think is a big piece to go out and compete and kind of see what we're able to do. Obviously, University of Dubuque is a good program, and they've been around for a long time.
Conner Klostermann: And so, you know, to kind of see how we stack up, and, you know, it'll be a competitive game, and I'm excited to see what we can do. But yeah, the guys are thrilled to be in that venue and have an opportunity to play, for sure.
Amy Lasack: Yeah, pretty cool. I have a 16-year-old at home, and he had never seen The Field of Dreams, so I made him sit down and watch it.
Conner Klostermann: There you go. And so he's like.
Amy Lasack: Really? That's not too far from here? I'm like, no, we need to go.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, for sure, yeah.
Amy Lasack: So, if we have a possible fan listening to the podcast, and they're like, you know, I want to go see a game, or I want to learn more about the baseball team at NICC, is there a website or something they can go to to see that?
Conner Klostermann: Yep, so if you head to NICCAthletics.com, that will give you all of our schedules, all of our rosters. We have… Luke Myers kind of handles… he's our Sports Information Director, so Luke handles
Conner Klostermann: basically all things website, and then social media. We're NICC underscore Cougars as well, and each sport, has their own, ex, formerly Twitter page as well. And so, Luke does a great job of keeping those things up to date, constantly putting out content, so you can kind of see the happenings of what's going on each… in each individual program. And you can find all that information and more on our website.
Conner Klostermann: It's all available to you at NICCAthletics.com.
Amy Lasack: That's great. So, looking ahead, where do you see NICC baseball in 5 years?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think that's been, kind of a constant thought in my mind, is obviously, how do we start, but then what's the future hold, right? And so, for me, like, I expect for us to be, you know, a perennial contender in our conference, and, really winning a lot of baseball games, because we have the resources and the facilities to be able to do that. And so, continuing to build this thing, and just trying to bring people in.
Conner Klostermann: and show them what we're all about, you know, and I think for some folks, with us not having athletics, maybe our footprint has been a little bit different than some other places. And so, continuing to educate people on the amazing campus that we have, not only in Piazza, but Calmer as well, and those, you know, those different things that people just need to get in front of and be educated on, and so…
Conner Klostermann: There's a lot of great resources here to help our students have the most success as possible. And so that's my goal as we continue to progress, just continue to educate people in the community and outside the community on what a great place NICC is, and win a lot of games while we're doing it. And so that's hopefully the goal as we progress, is just a program that people can be excited about, and one that will
Conner Klostermann: Put a really good product on the field.
Amy Lasack: That's gonna be a fun ride, that's for sure. And I think for, baseball, out of any sport that I've ever watched my kids on or been a part of.
Amy Lasack: Baseball seems to have the most players and coaches that have superstitions, for whatever reason. Did you ever have one growing up, or do you have any as a coach that you'll carry into this next season?
Conner Klostermann: I can't say I really had one, like, particularly. I know there's a lot of guys that do. You know, some simple stuff, like, you know, if I went, you know, 4 for 4, which didn't happen often, but if I had a really good game or things like that, maybe I'd wear the same pair of socks the next game, or, you know, something, just to keep the motion.
Amy Lasack: Just socks. Socks for some reason, in baseball.
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, so I know guys are, you know, especially pitchers, like, are very, routine-driven and oriented, and so they're, you know, the way they warm up, the way they get loose in the bullpen, those things, they're very, very structured. Position guys can be a little bit looser in some of those things, but pitchers are your guys you want to look for for superstitions, for sure.
Amy Lasack: That's hilarious. Great. Well, as the first coach of the program, what kind of legacy do you hope to leave when somebody looks back and says, oh yeah, that Conner coach, he was the first coach, what do you hope they say about you?
Conner Klostermann: Yeah, I think, you know, for me, the biggest thing is just, you know, looking at it as somebody who did it the right way. And that can mean a lot of things, but, you know, having really good students that are here for that reason, right? To get your education and helping them move on. You know, our biggest goal, obviously, is that we have 100% graduation, or guys are, you know, moving into the next phase and fully prepared for whatever that is.
Conner Klostermann: So, and then for us, from a baseball standpoint, like.
Conner Klostermann: you know, playing the game the right way, playing hard, you know, always being, ready to go, whatever the situation might present. And so, you know, I haven't… I'm still a young guy and early in my career, and so I haven't thought much about, like, what it'll look like beyond that. And so hopefully, as we progress, that, you know, people really see us for that, and play the game the right way.
Conner Klostermann: and we're good people in the community, and we represent the college the way that we should. And so, as long as we're doing things the right way, hopefully, my legacy will take care of itself from that standpoint.
Amy Lasack: Well, you're certainly putting a great first imprint on the program, and just so excited about what this next year is going to look like. So, thank you so much for joining us today, Conner. I really appreciate it.
Conner Klostermann: Absolutely, thanks for having me on.
Amy Lasack: Alright, well, if you're listening and you want to follow along and keep an eye on NICC's athletics page and social channels for the schedules, updates, and ways to support our student athletes, and definitely, also, you can sign up to RSVP. It's free, right, Conner, if they want to go to the Field of Dreams game on October 10th?
Conner Klostermann: Yep, that is free admission, and we will have a commemorative ticket that folks can pick up on the entrance. Obviously, no fee is required for that, but just a way to kind of, you know, commemorate the game and something to take home with you. So we will have those at the gate as well.
Amy Lasack: Very cool. Well, thank you for joining us and giving us an inside look on what it takes to launch a brand new baseball team at NICC, and thanks for tuning in, everyone, and as always, go NICC!