Ruthie Robinson doing a whole lot of "NEW" but opening eyes along the way

This admittedly was not my best interview. I stumbled and bumbled questions to Ruthie and she was admittedly nervous during the interview. Which is kind of symbolic of her last year + of volleyball and her new position as a Middle Blocker and even more recently her new attention as a potential D1 2027 Prospect at MB. Ruthie bounced around the Kairos program early on, playing Setter and then "everywhere" as she explains before finally getting put at the middle. This is first year with the Alpha Team and definitely her first season playing Open Volleyball.

Just over 6'0" with a frame to grow and extremely raw skills Ruthie may have her picture in the recruiting dictionary next to "high college ceiling". She shows glimpses of greatness though she will admit she doesn't know the position yet or the techniques. Her high school coach and also a coach in her club talks highly of her work ethic and attitude learning a brand new position. Even during our recent Summer Slam Tourney, there were moments of frustration for Ruthie and then moments of really athletic volleyball.

I tell Ruthie's story for two reasons. First, she is coachable and has a great attitude and is completely naive to anything with this "recruiting process". When we talked before the interview I asked a couple of questions and she almost gave me a look like "Hey buddy I'm still learning how to hit a slide what do you mean what homework am I doing for next year?" So to me, it was another great reminder just how fast the recruiting game can sneak up on people and how overwhelming it can be for athletes and families while trying to do everything else.

The main reason I tell Ruthie's story is because it is just another perfect example of how you never know when you will get "your shot" and will you take advantage of it.

Ruthie really wasn't thinking of D1 prospect camps at all, but luckily her club Kairos does an amazing job of bringing in college coaches of all levels. Ruthie attended the D1 camp held in her own gym (she talks of it in the interview) well she tears things up. So much so that I get two phone calls after the camp basically to the effect of "Who the heck is this 2027 MB Ruthie something, something? So on that night, Ruthie had made her impact when and with who it counted.

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She has a long way to go, but will be a fun one to watch work, develop and figure the position out vs. the best competition in the country. Make sure you get her on your lists for next year and give her a look