The Clackamas print., May 28, 2008, Page 7, Image 7

lackamas Print
Sports 7
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
fere’s to you, Mr. Robinson
r the past 18 years,
Clackamas has had an instructor who goes beyond the classroom and onto the field
Kenton Benfield
| The Clackamas Print
Robin Robinson has a great life.
As the Cougar baseball coach for 18 years run­
ning, he has found what few others have - name­
ly, a job that doubles as his life’s passion.
When not directing the efforts of his athletes,
Robinson teaches karate and swing dancing class­
es on campus as well as abroad.
“I have been here 18 years — that’s how much
I love it here at Clackamas,” he said. “It is a great
place to be; a lot of really good people (are here).
Very few people in life can get up in the morning
and love what they do.
“To get up and teach a karate class, a dance
class, maybe another karate class, go spend four
or five hours doing baseball with some really
good athletes and some good kids - it’s a pretty
good life.”
Robinson has an extensive background in
education, athletics and coaching, including two
master’s degrees from Lewis and Clark College.
He is originally from Junction City, where
he graduated from Junction City High School in
1975. He played baseball at Umpqua Community
College for a year, followed by two years at
Willamette University before graduating.
His coaching and teaching career began at
North Salem High School, where he worked
for five years. It continued at Oregon City High
School on the heels of his successes in baseball
and football, allowing him to land the positions of
head baseball coach and assistant football coach.
Before he came to Clackamas, he would often
use its sports facilities for games on behalf of
OCHS, which lacked such resources at the time.
“What we did at OCHS was we moved our
games up to play at the campus here, ‘cause we
did not have a baseball field,” he said, “so I got to
know a lot of the coaches and the athletic director.
The job opened up here, it happened to be timely
... so I moved up here.”
Beyond baseball
n Robinson instructs the baseball team on the field,
nson started coaching the team in 1990 after coaching
ball and football at North Salem High School and Oregon
High School.
Robinson’s long history of coaching has
touched more than one generation.
Tyler Waters, a former Cougar baseball player,
was coached by him last year. In addition, Waters’
father was a player under Robinson back during
their time at North Salem High.
“The way he sticks up for our team is pretty
amazing,” Waters said. “Some coaches don’t do
that; some coaches just sit back and watch every­
thing. If he disagrees, he gets out there and lets
them know and tries to get it figured out.”
Jim Hoppel has been the assistant coach for
Cougar baseball for seven years, all of in which
he has worked with Robinson.
“Robinson is the most knowledgeable guy I
know in baseball,” Hoppel said. “He knows all
of its details. But he does not just teach it - he
focuses on the life lessons learned from baseball
that extend beyond baseball.”
Not simply committed to teaching these ath­
letic arts, Robinson lives them outside of the
classroom and field.
“I go to the Portland Beavers. I go to the Salem
Keiser Volcanoes. I love those guys to watch the
minor league, to see what we’re trying to get our
guys to do one day,” he said. “I watch baseball
and go watch high school kids play. When I really
want to just be social and enjoy my life, I go
dancing and have fun social dancing.”
While at the high school games, he always
keeps an eye out for potential talent that he might
like to recruit for the college baseball team.
A common thread
It is not common to find a baseball coach who
also loves karate, let alone someone who enjoys
swing dancing as well. For Robinson, there is a
common thread of interest in all of these seem­
ingly disjoint athletics that appeals to him.
“My favorite free family time is with my three
grandkids, and I go and spend time with them,” he
said. “If you ever have kids or grandkids, it is fun
to watch them crawl, then walk, then run - just
make steps - and it is kind of fun to watch.
“You know, I will see a student come in, and
for three weeks they can’t really figure out how
to move their feet in a dance move. Then, it will
click one day, and on the fourth week, it will hit
and all of a sudden they are a dancer now. It is the
success of the students you are looking at.”
Along the same lines, he has enjoyed numer­
ous activities beyond the scope of campus athlet­
ics.
“I have worked for a couple of security com­
panies,” he said. “... Bodyguard work, security at
different concerts settings, is mainly what I have
done.
“I also teach at a couple of different dance
clubs. (With) my karate stuff, I mainly take les­
sons.”
His role as a teacher has not been limited - not
to baseball, nor to dance.
“I have taught for police departments, the
Coast Guard, the Portland Guides,” he said. “I
have taught for many different organizations
in hand-to-hand and self-defense for military
people.”
“But I don’t do a lot of that,” he continued.
“I’ve done a few more lessons trying to expand
my (skill) in the karate area, but dancing -1 take
lessons (and) teach at dance festivals.”
An entire 18 years at Clackamas has failed to
bore him.
“I believe this place is really student-oriented,”
he said of the college, “and that’s why I think I
have been very happy here. I think I want to teach
here till I can’t”
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