Buckskin86
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Setting a perfect example
The father-son relationship of Brian and Terry Robiskie could be portrayed as somewhat typical when it comes to sports. The father pushes the son to perform flawlessly to the point where good is sometimes not good enough.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
The reaching, athletic, one- handed touchdown catch by any other high school player would have impressed Browns coach Terry Robiskie.
But this was a catch made by his first-born son, and this father doesn't think that way.
"I couldn't wait to get him in the car," Robiskie remembered two years later, "and say, The object is to catch the football, not to look pretty.' "
During Ohio State's spring football practice, Brian Robiskie was both catching passes and looking good, singled out for praise as much as any member of the loaded Buckeye offense. After excelling on special teams as a freshman in 2005, this fall, he might see time as the Buckeyes' third or fourth receiver. But he still remembers that message delivered by his father after a Chagrin Falls High victory in 2004, because the message hasn't changed.
"It was an all-around good game," Brian said, "and the first thing he said to me after the game was, Why did you catch that ball one-handed?' I was thinking, OK, I made a touchdown catch and it was one-handed -- I guess I could have made it better.' "
In his 18-year-old world, Robiskie's sympathetic and protective mother, Cynthia, has hold of his heart. The Ohio State playbook fills his head. Brian's father is in his hands, their receiving connection having started with passes thrown in the backyard.
"With my dad coaching the position I'm playing, some people would think he's my biggest critic, which he is," Brian said. "But they might think it hinders me more than helps me, and that's not the case at all."
"If Brian asked, Terry was there," Cynthia Robiskie said. "But Terry was never like, Let's go run that route.' It was the other way around, actually. Brian doesn't want anything given to him because of who his dad is."
In the ’60s, Terry’s father, Ray mond Robiskie, used his hands to build Navy ships in New Orleans. With his hands, Terry packed up everything he owned after he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders, driving west while never considering he might be cut. Having dreamed of life as a carpenter, Terry later used his hands to connect with his boys, Brian and younger brothers Andrew and Kyle, chopping wood, painting walls or hanging drywall.
“People have discussions about bonding, it means going to Ha´ waii for a couple of days,” Terry said. “If you’re working and they’re working with you, why is that not bonding?”
Now entering his 25th year as a coach after a five-year playing career in the NFL, Robiskie has coached both Pro Bowl receivers and busts who squandered their talent. His players respect him for his honesty. Yet, in his understanding of his profession, there are some things only a father can say. And there are other things this father won’t say, words bet ter left to the coaches.
Brian’s receivers coach at Ohio State, Darrell Hazell, said of him, “I think he’s going to be special.
Right now, we’re working on one or two things, but his hands are very natural and very soft.”
The best hands Terry Robiskie says he has seen in 30 NFL seasons belong to former Brown Kevin Johnson. “I’ve seen Brian,” Terry said, “do some Kevin Johnson-type things.”
Strong words. But, said Brian, “He’s never told me that.” When Terry speaks of the life his son leads, he calls Brian’s study habits impeccable, his focus unbelievable, and he gives him an A-plus for carrying him self as a gentleman. When it comes to the game in their lives, well, listen what happened when Cynthia asked him to call Brian after he dropped some balls during spring practice last year.
“I called him,” said Terry, “and told him, ‘Don’t worry, Jerry Rice dropped balls.’”
Two days later, Terry got his hands on a tape of the OSU prac tice. All three drops were one- handed. He called back.
“You’re out there trying to im´ press people catching it with one hand,” he said. “Don’t let the de´ fensive back hold your hand down. Get two hands up and catch the ball.”
Cynthia called Terry and said, “You called him up and ripped him. Find a nicer way to tell him.” “I don’t know a nicer way,” Terry said.
Nice isn’t the goal. But Terry doesn’t only offer his advice, Brian seeks it, and is as hard on himself as his father is.
Chagrin Falls coach Mark Iammarino tells a story of the film he sent Terry when he missed one of Brian’s sophomore-year games in which he caught 10 passes. Iammarino called later that week to find father and son watching the film at Browns headquarters in Berea at 10 p.m. and working on blocking and running after the catch. “I realized after that this was going to be big-time,” Iammarino said.
Terry didn’t allow his sons to play football when they were young, but after Brian begged to play, the big-time followed him, particularly when Terry was named the Browns’ interim head coach during Brian’s senior year of high school.
Terry can be a ubiquitous Cleveland presence, from Cavs games to his favorite restaurants.
Yet, Brian is so close to his mother, with Terry working long hours, Terry thinks outsiders sometimes assume he’s actually out of the picture, forcing Cynthia to parent on her own. So, he took pride in being there on Friday nights in high school, holding his tongue in the stands, reminding himself to find some positive in the postgame.
He knows how fathers can be, how tough, how proud. He recalls talking with former NFLer Calvin Hill years ago when Hill’s son, Grant, wasn’t yet an NBA All-Star, just a high school kid headed to Duke.
“I think I have a chance with this one,” Calvin Hill told him.
Terry Robiskie might never say those words to Brian. But if he didn’t believe it, he wouldn’t con´ tinue harping on his son to catch with two hands.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4479
http://www.cleveland.com/osufootball/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1150619910219900.xml&coll=2
About the Robiskies
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Terry Robiskie
Age: 51
College: One of the top recruits in the nation out of high school, was a running back at LSU from 1973-76 and was named SEC MVP as a senior.
Pro: Running back with the Oakland Raiders (1977-79) and Miami Dolphins (1980-81).
Coaching: Raiders running backs coach (1982-84); Raiders assistant special-teams coach (1985-87); Raiders tight ends coach (1988); Raiders offensive coordinator (1989-93); Washington Redskins assistant coach (1994-2000); Redskins interim head coach (final three games of 2000); Browns receivers coach (2001-03); Browns offensive coordinator (2004); Browns interim head coach (final five games); Browns receivers coach (2005).
Brian Robiskie
Age: 18
High school: Set career receiving records at Chagrin Falls with 118 catches for 1,885 yards and 34 touchdowns, first-team All-Ohio selection in 2004.
College: As a true freshman at Ohio State in 2005, played in every game on special teams and caught one pass for 13 yards against San Diego State.
http://www.cleveland.com/osufootball/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/115063021527850.xml&coll=2
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