May 15, 2009
Rowland is a twin-sporter
Forget the oxymoron of clean coal. As for “drill, baby, drill” mantra, oil is so yesterday. What energy companies have yet to discover is that the answer to this country’s energy independence resides in Cloverdale, California and his name is Robby Rowland.
Rowland is an inside/outside threat
Not only does the senior-to-be Rowland participate in prep baseball and basketball as a Cloverdale Eagle but in club hoops as a member of the Bay Area Hoosiers. Plus, he works out with a trainer just about every night there isn’t a team practice. Of course, there’s also attending school and the resulting homework. Maybe some sleep. Just call him the human Las Vegas because he’s a 24/7/365 type of workout warrior. Rowland makes the Energizer Bunny seem like a slacker.
Never was Rowland’s missing off-switch more typified than when he recently took the SAT. He labels it as part of "the worst day of my life" and that has nothing to do with the results. It’s because the test taking required him to sit for five hours. "I was tapping my feet and dying to get active," Rowland said. Of course, wearing a pink tuxedo to the prom later that night also played a role.
He is a pitcher in baseball, in a family of baseballers. Rowland’s older brother Richie is a catcher at Santa Rosa Junior College. He was drafted out of high school in 2007 by the Colorado Rockies. The matriarch of the family, Rich, is a former catcher for the Tigers and Red Sox in the 1990s.
On the basketball court, the 6-foot-5 Rowland is a well-rounded jack-of-all-trades -- "I’ll play wherever the coach needs me to be." Obviously he does it well enough -- to the tune of 27 points per game and 15 boards a contest. His mantle is chock full of multiple most valuable player awards and all-league honors plus Rowland just may become the all-time leading scorer in the Redwood Empire before he is done.
Nobody out works Roland
Here’s Bay Area Hoosiers Director of Basketball Operations Philippe Doherty on one of his favorite Hoosiers. "Robby is a great kid who is full of life and energy and yearns for competition. He is always looking to get better. Robby is extremely intelligent and very coachable. He comes from a great family and is playing for a good coach at Cloverdale High [John Gastineau]."
Doherty sees Rowland in a college backcourt. "He’s the prototypical 2 guard and yet is very unselfish. I see him definitely filling a need for a college team. We’re working on his ability to create because putting the ball on the floor will only make him more diverse. You want him taking shots for your team."
Rowland may play both sports at the next level, if possible. "At this point, I have no preference," he said, "it probably will depend on how I develop in each sport."
Asked about his best moments in sports to date, Rowland said, "I actually haven’t had that great moment in basketball yet." But it’s different for baseball. "I was 13 or 14 and my brother and I got to play together on a travel team my dad set up. We were getting blown out that day so my dad put me in to pitch and I got to throw to my brother. That was special."
As for his biggest sports influences, it’s divided. "Definitely my dad in baseball. With basketball, it’s my brother. He’s the guy who would pound me day and night so I got better and that got me to where I could give him a battle. But my brother stopped playing organized basketball after high school while I continued, so when we go out to play for fun, it’s a little bit easier."
But there’s also his mother, Carol Rowland, who introduced her youngest son to basketball. "She has been such a big influence in my life. She was the one who really coached me in basketball when I began the sport in the second grade," Rowland said.
Cloverdale High basketball coach John Gastineau is also part of the influence equation. Rowland offered, "He really has helped me become a good player and a good young man. [Besides his regular coaching duties] Coach Gastineau will work with me when I really have the urge to play and there is nowhere to go."
Rowland also notices the differences between playing freshman hoops and now soon to be entering his final year. "It’s a whole different game. I’m so much more mature physically and mentally. I know what kind of shots to shoot and when. I’ve learned that you cannot hang your head in basketball. It’s a very fast-paced game and, if you miss a shot, you have to have a short-term memory, just forget about it and move on."
Regarding the future, Rowland is unsure where he’ll be say 10 years from now but (of course) "I want to be active, I don’t want to stop."
Just plug him in.