Reebok Top 25 Most Dynamic Athletes: Gelen Robinson

Gelen Robinson is the son of former NBA star Glenn Robinson II and the younger brother of University of Michigan basketball standout Glenn Robinson III.

Even though he never embraced basketball, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior at Lake Central (St. John, Ind.) has developed into one of the nation's premier three-sport athletes with a dominating career in football, wrestling and track and field.

"I never take a day off," Robinson said proudly. "I wouldn't have it any other way. It's just my lifestyle. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting tired, but if I wasn't in three sports, I'd probably get pretty bored. It's definitely in my personality. I think wrestling and track have helped train me all year round (for football). (The NFL) has always been one of my goals and always will be until I achieve it."

Robinson is a bone-crunching linebacker who runs 40 yards in a superb 4.5 seconds, bench presses 340 pounds and has a 35-inch vertical jump. Yet, he is a super-sensitive teammate who goes out of his way not to hurt teammates in practice - or even opponents on the field.



He said modestly, "I never intentionally have tried to hurt anyone. I try not only to protect myself and my teammates, even opponents."

See the special Gelen Robinson photo gallery

There have been times during football practice, in fact, when he has purposely fallen down when a younger lineman has attempted to block him. On one occasion he was running an opponent's defensive plays and crashed through the Lake Central line so many times that coaches ordered him thrown out of practice. It took the confused youngster a while to figure out what he had done wrong.

During Robinson's three varsity football campaigns, the Indians have improved from 2-8 to 8-2 and 8-3.

Coach Brett Germain said, "It's turned around and he obviously has been a key to that. He's kind of been the face of change in our program."

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Hometown: St. John, Ind.


School: Lake Central High School (enrollment 3,250)




Class: 2014


Sports: Football, wrestling, track and field


College plans: Committed to Purdue University


Favorite athletes: "Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor - players who have been successful at my position - because I want to be them."


Coach speak: "He's going down as one of the most celebrated athletes ever to come out of our area."
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Robinson describes himself as "a player who can be put in multiple spots on the field. I like being a person who makes the plays - always active not as much in my strength and speed but my mental part being just as strong as the physical part."

Some of his football accolades include:



* He was coveted after eighth grade by Chicago powerhouse Mount Carmel, but didn't want to leave his friends.

* He was a varsity football player from his first day as a Lake Central freshman.

* During his sophomore year he caught a squib kickoff and outraced the opposition for a 50-yard touchdown. It's still part of his highlight tape.

* As a junior, he amassed 95 tackles - 47 for losses - 13 sacks and 49 hurries.

* He will play more offense as a senior, probably at fullback.
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When Robinson was a freshman, wrestling coach Rod Wartman recalled, "We knew right away that we had something special, but he was a little raw. As strong as he was, he was getting thrown around. It was a good, maturing process for him. He had to learn how to wrestle ... He's a great example of what multiple sports can do when everybody else is doing the opposite."

More about his wrestling success:



* He said he went out for wrestling as an eighth grader just to keep active.

* He learned so well that he placed third in the state as a sophomore.

* As a junior, he went unbeaten and won the state championship at 220 pounds.

* Wartman pointed out, "He wrestled brutes, but they couldn't match his speed. Quickness gave him the power over other people."

* To avoid injuring any teammates, Robinson has to spend practice sessions working against two assistant coaches.
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The day after he won the state wrestling title, Robinson was back home throwing the shot put and discus with a friend.

Garrett Gray has specialized in the weights under head coach Rudy Skorupa, who retired at the end of the spring. He pointed out that the talented teenager threw the discus 158 feet, 5 inches as a freshman when people his age normally were doing well to reach an even 100 feet. He believes the state discus record could become Robinson's property in the spring of 2014.



Gray confided, "I'm kind of nervous to say it, but Gelen is a very special young man - if he doesn't do it (break the record), he's going to be very close. He's added about 20 feet each year."

More track and field nuggets:

* He qualified for the state finals in the discus as a freshman, but was shocked when he realized he was the shortest in the field of 24. "They were just crazy tall," the then-6-footer said.

* As a sophomore he placed third in the state discus and seventh in the shot put.

* During his junior year he was state runner-up in both the discus and shot put, but was not a happy camper because the winning discus throw (194) was something he had reached most days in practice.

* He holds school records in the discus (200-4) and shot put (59-6 1/2).



* The drive to break the state discus record (217-1) may keep him from graduating early and heading for Purdue.
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