Cooper Smitherman left Huntsville for love, not for lack of it. He and his wife were both still in school when she started at the University of West Georgia, so the two of them packed up for Carrollton, Georgia, and spent two years there. It was, in his words, “a great little small-town community.” But something happens to a lot of people who leave North Alabama and come back to visit: they start noticing what they’d been too close to see. Every trip home, Huntsville looked a little different. A little bigger. A little more worth bragging about.
What Cooper wants more people to understand is that this feeling isn’t a fluke, and it isn’t nostalgia talking. It’s the whole reason he does what he does.
Cooper is the community outreach representative for Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Centers here in Huntsville, a published writer with bylines in The Huntsville Blast, Huntsville City Lifestyle, and the Encyclopedia of Alabama, and a UAH graduate with a master’s in English. On a recent episode of Unexpected Adventures in North Alabama, he joined me to talk about telling this region’s stories, what his job actually looks like day to day, and why a bowling alley off the highway has quietly become one of North Alabama’s favorite places to gather.
A Writer Who Refuses to Specialize
Before Stars and Strikes, and honestly still alongside it, Cooper is a writer with a genuinely wide range — profiles of local business owners, a piece on NFL star DeMarcus Ware, public health campaigns, and, most recently, a deep dive into the history of ice hockey in Alabama for the Encyclopedia of Alabama. Ask him why he jumps around so much and he’ll tell you it’s simply how he’s wired.
“I try to come at things — I’m never gonna be the expert, even if it’s something I am very knowledgeable about, like sports,” he told me. “I like to come at it and try to learn something from it.” He calls writing a process of discovery, and it’s clearly what he enjoys most about it.
Leaving Made the Coming Back Mean More
Cooper grew up in Huntsville, went to high school at Sparkman, and got his start at UAH before marriage took him and his wife to Georgia for two years. When they moved back, he came home with something he didn’t have before: an outside perspective.
“Just being gone and coming back to visit family, every single time I came back, I just kept seeing more and more coming to Huntsville,” he said, “and realizing more and more that — yes, I did appreciate growing up here.”
What a Community Outreach Rep Actually Does All Day
I asked Cooper what his job title actually means in practice, and the answer is a lot more door-to-door than you’d guess. He stops into churches to talk about VBS support, tells daycares about reduced rates, and works with schools on spirit nights and fundraiser events. He shows up at field days to hand out free stuff to kids, and he attends community events across the region — most recently the Camp to Amp festival at Mid-City, where he spent the day telling people about bowling, laser tag, axe throwing, escape rooms, and the arcade.
“This role has really lent itself to helping me discover local stories,” he said, “just getting to go out and meet people.” Which, if you know anything about Cooper’s writing, tracks perfectly.
150 People, One Banquet Room, and (Once) a Funeral
One of the things that sets the Huntsville location apart, Cooper told me, is its banquet and event space — a room big enough to host a little over 150 people. It’s booked for youth sports banquets, church events, and graduation parties. It has also, once, hosted a funeral reception.
“We’ve even had someone hold a funeral reception there,” he said, “which went a lot better than you might expect.” The through-line, he explained, is that Stars and Strikes wants to be a family-first gathering place — for families, but also for “organizations that want to have team-building activities and build a work family.” By the end of the conversation, I was already drafting the email to my boss. Cooper didn’t discourage me. “We would love to have y’all,” he said. Consider it noted.
Build Your Own Experience
Between bowling, the arcade, laser tag, axe throwing, escape rooms, and VR alongside classics like Skee-Ball and air hockey (Ms. Pac-Man’s presence remains unconfirmed — Cooper is checking), there’s a lot to choose from, and that’s on purpose.
“We like to have it where you can build your experience for yourself,” he said. “That’s why we offer so many different things.” For first-timers, he recommends weekends for the full party atmosphere and midweek for something calmer, checking out the birthday packages with a dedicated party host, and — for families — the nationwide Kids Bowl Free program, which gives kids two free games of bowling a day all summer.
The Wings Are Better Than You Think
I asked Cooper what would surprise even a longtime local about Stars and Strikes, and his answer was immediate: the wings.
“Someone might say, ‘These are the best wings in Huntsville,’” he said, “and I think ours honestly have a good spot on that list. I wasn’t surprised, but I was pleased.” It’s not just wings — the food lineup runs from pizza to hot dogs to a taco bar, backed by a restaurant staff he says makes every visit worth it. And zooming out to Huntsville as a whole, Cooper — who grew up in Toney, a suburb about 30 minutes north — says the biggest surprise is how many people still think there’s nothing to do here. “I feel like there wasn’t as much of that when I was growing up,” he said, “but now I feel like I could spin a bottle and find somewhere new to go every single day, and it’s wonderful.”
What Sets the Huntsville Location Apart
Stars and Strikes has 17 locations, most of them in Georgia, but Cooper is quick to point out what makes Huntsville’s stand out: axe throwing, which is especially popular with the adults around here, and the staff. Every location has its own restaurant team and dedicated party hosts, he said, but what he’s most proud of is the location’s involvement in the community — which is, not coincidentally, his entire job.
“It’s really just our incredible staff,” he said. “We have dedicated party hosts who are going to make sure your birthday is as fun as it can possibly be.”
Why He Keeps Showing Up
Underneath all of it — the writing, the door-to-door visits, the community events — is a simple belief Cooper kept coming back to throughout our conversation: you never know who’s listening, and you never know who needs to hear it.
“You never know who’s going to benefit from me talking about Stars and Strikes, or just mentioning something in passing, right?” he said. “Someone might benefit from that, and that’s what really drives me.” He calls it a way of giving back — through writing, through outreach, through getting to meet, as he put it, “more like-minded people who are trying to build more community in Huntsville.”
Come Say Hello
If you want to connect with Cooper, LinkedIn is your best bet, and keep an eye on coopersmitherman.com — a portfolio site he’s still building out with his newest writing. He also promises he’s easy to spot at community events around town, so feel free to say hello.
As for Stars and Strikes: look them up, follow along on Instagram and Facebook, and if you’re bringing kids this summer, ask about Kids Bowl Free. Cooper’s whole job is convincing people there’s a reason to stop by. Consider this your reason.
Listen to the Full Conversation
There’s quite a bit more from my conversation with Cooper, including his take on why Huntsville’s growth sneaks up on even the people who live here, his favorite arcade games (Donkey Kong, for the record), and what it’s like to balance a master’s degree in English with a job that occasionally involves handing out free arcade tokens at a field day. To hear the full episode, tune in to Unexpected Adventures in North Alabama on your favorite podcast platform and search for the episode featuring Cooper Smitherman of Stars and Strikes.
All links are in the show notes. Start with a visit, say hello to Cooper if you see him, and go build your own experience.
