First-year Alamo Navajo girls basketball coach Baylee Robinson’s college career took her to several stops and, along the way, helped develop her coaching philosophy that it takes five to be successful in the sport.

Robinson isn’t talking about having five great players but instead developing a team’s mental toughness where players know they can depend on each other.

A former Roswell resident and graduate of Goddard High School, Robinson attended college and played basketball for Trinidad College, Barton Community College, and finally with the New Mexico State Aggies.

While at Barton, Robinson started 31 of 32 games and scored a career-high 36 points and 13 rebounds against Northwest Kansas Technical College, which led the team to an overtime victory in the first round of the Region VI playoffs.

Before arriving at Alamo Navajo, Robinson was the head volleyball coach in Hatch Valley, where she also served as an assistant coach for the boys varsity. She didn’t hesitate when the opportunity to coach at a remote school like Alamo Navajo became available because she’s well-versed in living on a reservation.

“I have family who lives on the reservation in Mescalero, so I’m familiar with the life. I wanted to get out and try something new,” Robinson said.

It’s a daunting task, considering Alamo Navajo is coming off one of its best-ever seasons, and leading scorer Hailey Apachito is now busy averaging 15 points a game for Trinidad College. Still, Robinson has her Lady Cougars off to a solid 4-4 start as they learn her basketball system and the culture she brings to the basketball court.

“One thing we have talked about is we’ve just kind of said it takes five,’ Robinson said. “It takes a team of five players that know they can depend on each other. Players must realize there will be times when we need them to step up when someone else may be struggling.”

One notable change among the Lady Cougars is the support Robinson’s bench provides from the sideline. Their new coach wants her bench to have more fire and to get noisy, and the girls did just that at Magdalena Steer Stampede.

“Our on-court players feed off that energy. We talked before we came out, and I said we’re not in our gym. We’re away. I said the more you talk — the more your players will feel better,” Robinson said.

While Robinson is early in her coaching career, she’s already well-versed in taking care of the little things, and she never seems to miss an opportunity to build up her younger players. She’s kneeling to explain situations to her bench, even amid scoring runs.

“I got cut from seventh and eighth grade from both volleyball and basketball. My freshman coach coached me while he was running up until half-court, telling me what to do, and it made me feel better. And I was like, even basketball is a very fast game. I constantly talk to remind them. I’ve always been told don’t ever get out coached. I took that to heart. I was like, we may lose. It may be ugly. It may be sloppy, but I will never stop coaching.”

Early on, the biggest challenge for Robinson in the Lady Cougars is taking care of the basketball, and with a young set of players, that will happen over stretches. Robinson’s short-term goals for her team include establishing her basketball culture and a foundation where her players can rely on each other.

Robinson already has those goals well laid out when it comes to what she wants in the long term for her Lady Cougars. My long-term goal is to build a program with consistency and no significant drop-offs from season to season. We don’t want to be good one season and tank the next because our players aren’t ready

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor