Alabama Track & Field Q&A: Ruebin Walters
3/29/2017 10:35:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
RollTide.com will be posting Q&As with members of the Alabama track & field teams throughout the season so fans can get to know the student-athletes competing for the Crimson Tide. This week, we visit with junior hurdler Ruebin Walters. The Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago native, earned All-America honors in the 60-meter hurdles during the 2017 indoor season and will run the 100- and 400-meter hurdles for the Tide outdoors this season.
When did you begin running track & field and why?
Ruebin Walters: I started competing at the age of 12. One day I told my P.E. teacher, 'Let's go run!' so I just tried it out, and I was good at it and I never stopped. I started off running the 100, 200 and 400 but it didn't last that long. I had a friend who was a professional and he used to do the hurdles, but it was just him. I wanted to try to do it too, so I tried it and was really good at it.
When did you decide you wanted to continue with this sport in college and come to college in the United States?
RW: My plan was to go professional if I came in the top three in the World Junior Championships in Oregon; that was my goal to place in the top three and try to get a professional contract. Unfortunately, I came in sixth place and you can't get into anything placing sixth so I had to come to college. After placing sixth, I was being offered in the U.S. and that is where there is the best competition. I wouldn't have competition anywhere else besides America. I went to Central Arizona College and I was the NJCAA indoor (60-meter hurdles) and outdoor (110-meter hurdles) champion in 2016.
Knowing that going to college was your back up plan, but being an NJCAA champion, how did that make you feel?
RW: It gave me some more confidence to compete at the Division I level. I compared the times I was running in junior college to the times guys were running at the Division I level and they were similar. That's why I wanted to come to the SEC, because it was more competitive. None of the other conferences were running as fast as I was, except the SEC. I knew that the SEC was the place for me to go if I wanted to run faster. The college experience isn't something I would trade for anything. I didn't go professional right away like I wanted too, but I've enjoyed my college career.
How was your transition from Central Arizona College to Alabama?
RW: Well, I wouldn't say that I am fully adjusted to this place yet, I just got here in January. Coming from a small junior college, where everything is so close and classes would consist of only 30 students, the teachers would know your name and say hello to you because they would know you. Then I came to this school and everything is so big. My classes have around 100 students, the teacher doesn't even know your name because there are so many people. It was kind of shaky and first and it was pretty hard adjusting. I knew Jereem [Richards] and Dominique (Williams), and there are a few other people from Trinidad here as well. They helped me transition here and I live with them now. I like where I live now because I live with two other people from the Caribbean, so it's like home. We are getting used to everything together.
You mentioned that you wanted to compete in the SEC because of the competition in the conference, but did you know anything about the University of Alabama before you committed?
RW: I knew a little bit about football. I knew about my coach (Dion Miller); he's a good coach and has a world championship and All-Americans under his belt. So when I was getting offers from these schools, I was looking at their programs as a whole. And Alabama seemed to have a good program. My visit here was good, really good. It was during football season and I was able to go to the game against Texas A&M. I'm not a big football fan, but it was a really good game.
At what moment did you know that Alabama was going to be the right fit for you?
RW: It was a hard choice for me, really. I didn't make my decision until the last possible point. I was also looking at Kentucky, South Carolina and Mississippi State. I just wanted to be in the SEC, and in the end Alabama stood out to me.
What are a few things that you enjoy about being on this team?
RW: The team has a really nice chemistry. I can speak for the sprint group, we are just like a family. If you need something, or if you need that extra push in practice, somebody is going to come and help you. I think that is one of the biggest things with the track team, we are very family-oriented.
Q: What were you goals coming to Alabama?
RW: My goal was basically to medal at SEC championships and at least make the national finals. I didn't medal at the SECs because I messed up in the final. I was ranked second going into the SECs, after the heats I was ranked second, and then in the finals I messed up. I placed fifth at the SECs. Then I went into Nationals ranking eighth and I finished in fifth. That was good.
Do you think you accomplished the goals you've set so far?
RW: I think I've accomplished what I've wanted, but I know I could have done much better. Next year, same goals. I want to medal at SECs and medal at Nationals.
You've set personal records and school history records, you've only been here for three months. How much of an impact does that have on you?
RW: Well, Coach Miller and I have been working super hard. We weren't really working toward a record, we were working to run hard. Breaking as many records in this short space of time is something that I appreciate doing, but I don't think the records are the most important thing to me. I just like to win.
Tell the fans about how track and field has been a way for you to travel all over the world.
RW: The countries that I have traveled to that have stood out to me were Spain, France, Jamaica, Bahamas, Mexico and El Salvador. Those were the ones that really stood out to me. But I have been to many places, I can sit here and list out many more.
Thinking back to when you were in your P.E. class and you decided you wanted to just try and see if you were a good runner, did you ever think that your hobby would turn into something this big?
RW: I've always known that I would be good, but I didn't know that I would have come to America for school. I knew that I was going to be good enough to make my country's national team, and to represent my country. But coming to school in America, that wasn't part of my plan. But stuff happens, and I've had a great experience.
What are your future goals and any hopes to make the Olympic team?
RW: This summer I am hoping to make Trinidad & Tobago's national team this summer and run in the World Championships in London. That is my main goal right now. I want to run track and field professionally. Every track athlete's goal is to make an Olympic team, but the next Olympics isn't until 2020.
Who is the one person who you look up to the most?
RW: One of my training partners back home, Jehue Gordon. He won the world championship in the (400-meter) hurdles in 2013. He has been a big motivation for me.
What is the best advice you would give someone that you've learned from your own journey?
RW: Don't mess around in school, it will just bite you. I'm not sure if it's like this in America, but back in Trinidad you don't see how serious school is until you really need it. In high school, we all just mess around and then when you try to get a job or something, you realize that you really shouldn't have been messing around. That's what happened to me. My plan wasn't to come to America, so school wasn't my biggest priority. I was just thinking, 'Okay, you're running fast already, you're going to go pro.' So I wasn't taking my school work seriously. But then, when I realized that I wasn't going to go professional, I had to fall back on school. I didn't have the grades to come to a Division I school so that's why I had to go to a junior college. But, I do not regret going to a junior college at all. It was a great experience and it set me up in the right position to come to a Division I school. I know the system now, I know how important school is, I know how to live in America now.