Anybody who saw Renee Robinson play basketball in her four years at the University shouldn't be surprised that she has continued her athletic career beyond college.
Robinson arrived in Charlottesville touting a laundry list of high school accomplishments including four state titles at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, Calif., and state player of the year honors her junior season. Once she became a Cavalier she didn't disappoint, earning a spot on the freshman All-ACC team and finishing her career as a strong ACC Player of the Year candidate.
Those credentials should be enough to convince people who weren't lucky enough to see Robinson leading the Cavalier offense that she's still in action. What the accomplishments neglect to foreshadow, however, is exactly what kind of action.
Robinson has been playing in the Independent Woman's Football League for the past four seasons. That's tackle football, pads and all, just in case there was still any confusion about the current activities of this 5-foot-6-inch, 155-pound former point guard.
Shocked? Robinson's former coach Debbie Ryan certainly isn't.
"Renee was a very very aggressive, strong, powerful player," Ryan said. "She was very physical in her style so playing football does not surprise me one bit."
No one who knew Robinson in her youth would have been shocked either. She played football from fourth until eighth grade and actually made her community Pop Warner club until her dad made her call it quits.
That point would have been the end to a young football career if not for a chance meeting with a waitress at a local restaurant many years later. The woman was a friend of the San Francisco Stingrayz owner, and told Robinson she should try out for the team. Robinson went to a practice shortly thereafter and started at wide receiver in a game the following day.
Since that first game, Robinson has played safety, quarterback, running back and currently linebacker in her four years in the league. Even in her daily life, that sort of versatility is a recurring theme. Robinson works in human resources for Macromedia, as an athletic trainer, as a basketball referee and she plays for a semi-pro basketball team.
Robinson hasn't always been up to those things since the end of college. She was drafted to the WNBA, but after a couple of years of injuries and trades, she was finished.
"I was plagued by injuries," Robinson said of her time in the WNBA. "I didn't get cut because I suck. I couldn't walk."
In this case, the WNBA's loss was definitely the San Francisco Stingrayz gain. Last season, the Stingrayz tore through their opponents on the way to a 5-1 record and a No. 1 ranking, but were held out of the playoffs because of a forfeit earlier in the year. Next season, Robinson will play for the defending league champion Sacramento Sirens.
The five month IWFL season, which runs from February to June, ends up being only supplementary to all of these other activities. This adds up to the simple fact that, as Robinson herself put it, "there is no such thing as off-season for Renee."
Robinson's story just goes to show that sometimes when the door you've been walking through your entire life closes in your face, another might open. Another door that lets you relive your youth and bust some heads while you're at it, if you're lucky.
Read More
Katie Grimes posts historic debut as women’s swimming and diving annihilates Virginia Tech
By Xander Tilock | 16 hours agoGrimes broke out as a new superstar for Coach Todd DeSorbo's squad.
Women’s basketball displays stingy defense, but falls short versus No. 14 Duke
By Xander Tilock | 21 hours agoThe Cavaliers nearly conquered a ranked rival but could not generate consistent offense.
You cannot say money is the problem for Virginia football
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayMoney, after all, is just one aspect of a winning program.
