Alabama Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Kennedy Robinson
8/16/2016 5:18:00 PM | Volleyball
Alabama Volleyball welcomes eight newcomers to the 2016 team and all eight will have Q&A features posted on rolltide.com over the next eight days heading into the season. The seventh featured newcomer is freshman Kennedy Robinson from West Orange, N.J.
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"At the end of fifth grade, my school coach saw me in the hallway. I was tall and kind of awkward but he asked me if I had ever played volleyball before. My school's organized sports started with sixth graders so that was about the time I started to play. I did some camps over the summer and then tried out for the middle school team."
What other sports did you play?
"When I was younger I played basketball, lacrosse, soccer and I swam. I really liked lacrosse for a while but freshman year of high school I stopped playing other sports so I could focus on volleyball."
When did your recruiting process start?
"Recruiting started around the middle or end of my sophomore year. At first I hadn't really thought about playing in college but once I realized it was a possibility, it really caught my interest."
When did Alabama come into the picture?
"Alabama really didn't come into the picture until around my senior year. My coach introduced me to the idea so I decided to look. I was already looking at other schools in the south, partially because of the weather but I also wanted to experience something different having lived in the northeast my whole life."
What were your first impressions of Alabama?
"The campus itself was beautiful. The tour was great and I loved everything about it. The team was very nice and really informative. Coach [Ed] Allen really spoke about his focus and goals for this team and specifically this season. The girls were very clear about what the expectations were. There was no miscommunication between the coaching staff and the players. In the end, I liked the environment best at Alabama. It had a very strong team feeling."
What is it like playing volleyball for at Alabama?
"It's very clear what Coach Allen wants from this team. We have a goal and we want people that will help contribute towards that goal. I love the team, the facility and all the support we have with academics and athletics."
What about the transition the college life in the classroom?
"My high school was pretty rigorous so the transition wasn't as hard as it possibly could have been, but the support here with mandatory tutors and study hall hours is really helpful. Knowing we have to get in the hours during the week will help with developing time management skills."
What are your goals for this season?
"I just want to work on my timing and getting used to the pace of the game. As a hitter, I really want to develop a rhythm with the setters. As a team, we want to improve on our win total from last year, win the SEC and make it back to the NCAA Tournament."
What advice would you give to young volleyball players who want to play in college?
"Start club and narrow your focus as soon as you know you want to do this. As soon as you feel you want to play this sport for the rest of high school and college, narrow your focus and really get into it."
