EMILEE ROBBINS – Sallisaw Soccer
By Buck Ringgold
Although she isn’t a senior just yet, Emilee Robbins has taken on the responsibilities of one.
Robbins, a junior on Sallisaw’s girls soccer squad, is one of the team’s top leaders and someone who has earned the respect of her younger teammates.
“My junior season has been great so far; I’m so glad to be an upperclassman and be able to be a leader and good role model for my teammates,” Robbins said. “I love the challenge of taking on responsibility and giving it my all, and showing my teammates what leadership should look like.”
To be that type of leader her younger teammates look up to, Robbins sums things up by being just that, displaying proper leadership qualities.
“One of my biggest strengths is being a natural leader,” she said. “I’m never the one following the team, I always want to be the one to lead it and take charge.
“I also think that taking accountability for my actions and my teammates, I believe that we should always be united, and if one fails, we all fail.”
Robbins, who primarily plays wing along with some midfield, originally was a wrestler. But a chance meeting with Mya Thomas, a senior who is one of Robbins’ soccer teammates, convinced Robbins to try her hand at a different sport.
“Mya Thomas is actually the reason I started (soccer) in the first place,” Robbins said. “She invited me to come to a summer practice the summer of my freshman year. I went to it and I had a blast, so much that I dropped the other sport I was playing and did soccer full time.
“What I love most about soccer is the adversity and challenge it is. My coaches would tell me that adversity is good and making yourself uncomfortable is what makes a great player and team.”
While Robbins has asserted herself into a leadership role, she knows there is still room to improve when it comes to her playing skills.
“Some goals that I have for this season is to work on ball control, and learning to take better touches and passes under pressure,” she said. “Another goal I have is to get better endurance, and to be able to play a hard game without being exhausted and tired.
“As I play in the midfield, I want to increase my assists, and have more control in the game and set the pace. And a goal I have for my team is to be a supportive teammate, and always be there to encourage my teammates.”
Robbins works just as hard in the classroom, carrying a 4.0 grade-point average and not getting a grade lower than a B.
“I always try to pay attention in class, and take the time to be a STUDENT athlete, and not just an athlete,” she said.
