WS Chronicle

The Calvary Day School Cougars have hired Barbara Robinson as their new head varsity girls’ basketball coach.  The Lady Cougars are looking to rebound from a couple of down seasons and their hope is that Robinson has the magic touch to do so.

Robinson was recommended for the position by renowned local coach Brian Robinson. She felt good after the interview and felt confident she had a good shot at getting the job.

“Anytime you’re going for a job, you are kind of nervous because you never know if you did as well as someone else who is going for the same position,” said Robinson.

She said she was “nervous and excited” after hearing the news that she was selected for the position.

“I have been around basketball for a long time, so this is just a different role with different responsibilities,” she said. “Coaching is something I have done for a while now, so I am just excited for this new journey and where it takes me.”

This is the first time Robinson will be a head coach on the varsity level. She has been coaching for 10 years, so she is positive she is ready for the job.

“My dad has coached a long time and I have run every team that I have had based mostly off of what he has taught me over the years,” she stated. “I am confident that he has instilled some wisdom and good things in me that will carry over and produce some good results.”

Robinson says you have to look at the game from different perspectives and love kids to be able to coach them.

“I love kids, so I know once they trust me and trust that I have their best interest at heart, I think we will be fine,” Robinson said.

Robinson has not had the chance to meet any of her returning players and the Cougars will hold tryouts soon. She said their goal is to grow the program on and off the court.

“We just want to see what we have and what we need to do to get the program better and add to it,” she said. “We want to make sure we not only have skilled athletes, but good human beings. Just good solid people, so when they leave Calvary Day, they will be better people and better prepared to help the world.”

At 24 years of age, Robinson is a young coach and looks at it as an advantage in some ways, but not so much in others. She says kids have changed over the time she has been a coach, so she knows there are things she can and cannot relate to them on.

“I have coached and been in a position where I’ve been in charge of a lot of stuff at a young age, so I have matured a lot faster,” she said about her age. “I hope they are ready to be coached at a higher standard in the way they think, the way they move, and the way they operate.”

Win, lose, or draw, Robinson is looking for her team to fight to the end in every game they play.

“I would want any team I coach to be the hardest working team and the most disciplined team on the floor,” she continued. “That translates to life outside of sports.”

Robinson says she is looking for players that are going to buy into her system, work hard and listen.  

Robinson says she is really appreciative of Brian Robinson for mentioning her name for the position. Robinson provided her with her first opportunity to coach at the age of 14.