Thursday, April 30, 1998
Fly away home
Robins returns to Hawaii to play in NCAA Championship
By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Staff
It will be a role reversal of sorts for Fred Robins and his dad
– instead of the father coming to the son, the son will be going to
the father.
The junior outside hitter of the UCLA men’s volleyball team will
be returning home to play in one of the biggest tournaments of his
career.
And for once it won’t be his father boarding the plane. Robins’
dad has been to every match throughout the first two years of
Robins’ career at UCLA. Though the elder Robins has only missed
three matches this year, he is still unhappy that he missed
them.
Traveling back and forth may seem like a financial and physical
burden, but it isn’t. Robin’s mother works for an airline which
allows the family to fly free.
"It really doesn’t affect me that much," Robins’ father said. "I
enjoy it because I feel like I’m on a mission to watch my son and
support him."
If it wasn’t for family support, the 6-foot, 6-inch outside
hitter might not be the volleyball player he is today.
It was his parents’ influence that started his two brothers and
two sisters in the sport. The Robins’ have a grass court in their
backyard which is often the sight of heated competition.
As the youngest of five siblings, Robins began playing
volleyball at the age of 12 with his brothers and sisters. His
court time, however, was limited since he was usually the smallest
of the bunch.
"(They picked on me) all the time," Robins said. "They would
make me sit on the side. They’d be like ‘you’re too small, you
can’t do anything, you sit on the side.’ Then I would have to watch
them play. But as I slowly got bigger, older and than a little
better than they would let me play, slowly. But if they were one
man off, I would be sitting for sure, always."
Robins took advantage of the times that he was allowed to play
to gain valuable passing and defense skills since his brothers
usually did not allow him to play in the front row. His exposure to
the sport at such a young age made him one of the most advanced
high school players and a top recruit.
Despite the fact that his sister Mary and his brothers, Duke and
Ali’i had all played for the University of Hawaii, Robins decided
to come to UCLA.
"I actually wanted to get away from Hawaii for a little while,"
Robins said. "I know that sounds kind of dumb. I’ve been there all
my life and I just wanted to see what the mainland was like. The
UCLA program is so known for its winning. I really wanted to win a
national championship so I decided to come here."
He made the right choice as UCLA defeated Hawaii in a tight
five-game match for the national title during his freshman
year.
Barely recovered from a sprained ankle, Robins started the
championship match and hammered 11 kills, served an ace, dug six
balls and had one block. He delivered consistent performances
throughout his rookie season and started in 22 matches while
tallying 244 kills, 148 digs and 20 aces.
After a great freshman season, Robins experienced a bit of the
sophomore slump. Though he played in all 29 matches, his play did
not seem to improve from the previous year.
"It seems ever since the middle of the season last year, play
has just dropped off in every aspect of my game," Robins said. "And
not to be an excuse, but ever since my grandmother passed away in
the middle of the season, my play hasn’t really picked up at
all."
This year, the two-year starter has had to battle freshman Mark
Williams for his spot. And Robins has won the spot late in the
season. While his passing and defense have been steady, it is his
improved hitting that solidified his starting role.
"Freddy has really picked up his hitting," UCLA head coach Al
Scates said. "He’s really been practicing hard and hitting hard in
practice which is exactly what he had to do.
"His ball-handling skills are incredible. He’s a starter because
of his ball-handling. His good passing, his good serving, his good
digging, that’s why he started."
His ability to pass and play defense have allowed Scates to
entrust Robins with the role of directing defense on the court.
Robins realizes that it is his ball-handling skills that he
developed as a young player in Hawaii that keeps him in the game.
But, he hopes that he can contribute to the team in more ways than
that.
"Defense is a fun part of the game," Robins said. "You get to
take control of the game with your defense but I really want to try
and pick up my offensive play. I want to be out there for every
part of the game."JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Junior outside hitter Fred Robins