By Peter Sblendorio
Sports Editor
Video by Kiley Bratton

Over the last four years, senior Hunter Robinson has been perhaps Coppell High School’s most impressive student athlete.

Hunter Robinson will playing golf for the University of Santa Barbara next year.

During his high school career, Robinson has played three sports (golf, basketball and track) at the varsity level, and has consistently been among the most successful performers in each. His aptitude for athletics has been noticed by his peers, as Robinson was voted “most athletic” by the class of 2011 three times in four years due to his excellence in a trio of sports.

Next year, however, the senior will make the transition to being a one-sport athlete, as he will be attending the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) to play golf for the Gauchos.

Robinson, who led all Coppell golfers in scoring average during both the fall and spring seasons in 2010-11, was drawn to UCSB for a number of reasons. His father lives near the campus and, because of this, he was able to participate in several rounds of golf with a nearby community college’s team in order to garner the interest of the UCSB coaching staff.

In addition, Robinson decided to take part in the fall golf season at Coppell for the first time in his four years on varsity, and started talking with UCSB soon after.

“[Contact] started after the fall of this school year,” Robinson said. “I decided to do golf only in the fall this year and it sort of delayed basketball so I could be noticed by colleges.”

This decision turned out to be a wise one for Robinson, as he was able to secure a spot on the Santa Barbara golf roster. Robinson believes UCSB is a tremendous fit for him due to the school’s location and solid golfing program.

“[The school is] right out on the ocean, I have lots of family there, and my dad lives two hours away,” Robinson said. “The coach [Steve Lass] seems really smart and he gets his players onto the Nationwide Tour, which is a one step below the PGA Tour.”

Golf has always been Robinson’s preferred sport. At age 3, his father introduced him to the sport, and by fifth grade, Robinson was competing in summer golf tours for his age group, such as the North Texas Junior PGA and the Texas Legends tour.

Robinson took his golfing career to the next level in high school when he joined the varsity Coppell roster as a freshman. He has since been one of the Cowboys’ most consistent performers, and because of this, Coppell head golf coach Terry Galbraith believes Robinson will be successful as a collegiate golfer.

“He has a very strong will and he’s a very accomplished player,” Galbraith said. “He has good fundamentals. It’s been a longtime goal of his to play college golf, and he is definitely enthused to make that happen.”

The senior’s humble demeanor and success on the course have made Robinson a leader on the golf team, and his teammates are excited about his opportunity to play at Santa Barbara next year.

“He’s been on varsity all four years, and he has always been a leader by example,” senior golfer Troy Hansen said. “He works really hard and we are all really proud of him, because everyone knows that he deserves [this opportunity].”

Although golf is the sport Robinson will continue to play at the collegiate level, it is hardly the only one that he excelled in during high school. He played three years of varsity basketball as a shooting guard, and was a starter during his junior and senior seasons. Robinson was second on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game in 2010-11, and he averaged 7.7 points per game one year earlier.

Robinson has also been a standout in long jump for the Coppell varsity track team during the last two years. In 2010, he won the district title in the event and finished ninth in regionals. This season, he came in second place in the district tournament and tied for fifth at the 2011 regional tournament.

It will certainly be a change of pace for Robinson to focus on just one sport year round, and he is eager to see how devoting all his focus to golf will improve his game.

“I think that it will be cool to specialize in one sport,” Robinson said. “I used high school to do lots of sports. When I specialize [next year], we’ll see how far it’ll take me.”