Balancing act: Middle grad adeptly juggles two sports, high academic responsibilities at Stockton University

Posted: December 9th 2024

Middle Township High School graduate Brianna Robinson, shown here competing against Albright in basketball earlier this season, is a two-sport athlete at Richard Stockton University. (photo courtesy Stockton University athletics)

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

There aren’t many people who can pull off what Brianna Robinson has been doing for 2 ½ years now.

The Middle Township High School graduate is competing in two sports at Division III Richard Stockton University, all while finishing up undergraduate studies in health science while also taking graduate-level courses in pursuit of certification as a physical therapist.

“I have people ask me, ‘How are you able to do all this?’” Robinson said with a laugh. “And I really don’t know. I guess it’s a lot of discipline and sacrifice.”

Not only is Robinson competing in two sports, she’s also a key player for both teams. A junior by NCAA eligibility standards, Robinson is a starter for the women’s basketball team, which is coming off a 53-48 loss to William Paterson University over the weekend. The 5-7 guard is averaging 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds and is one of the best defenders for an Osprey team that enters this week at 4-4 overall, 1-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Robinson also stands out on the lacrosse field. Last spring, the attacker played in 16 of 17 games, with 12 starts, and finished third on the team with 25 goals. Stockton finished the 2024 season at 14-3.

The commitment to play college athletics is such that Robinson is involved in athletics virtually the entire scholastic year. She’s with the basketball team from the moment she steps onto campus in the fall through the season’s end, then joins the lacrosse team as soon as basketball is finished.

“When I was senior in high school, I was actually recruited for both sports and I was a little leery about it because I thought something would have to give,” Robinson said. “I’m basically with the basketball team from the moment I get on campus until the season ends and then I just head immediately to lacrosse. So I miss all of fall ball and all of winter practice for lacrosse.”

Robinson does all this while maintaining excellent grades. She was named a College Sports Communicators All-District selection and to the NJAC All-Academic Team in basketball last winter. Last spring, Robinson was named to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll and an NJAC All-Academic honorable mention selection.

Robinson has been helped with her course load through her academic prowess at Middle Township, from which she graduated in 2022. Through the honors and AP program at Middle that partners with Atlantic Cape Community College, Robinson entered Stockton with 46 college credits, which is why she is able to take graduate-level courses in just her third year as a Stockton student. She'll earn her bachelor's degree in May before spending two more years in school to finish her studies to become a physical therapist.

Still, there are great challenges in juggling myriad academic responsibilities with two sports. Robinson, though, said she gets lots of support.

“I have two amazing coaches in Devin Jefferson (for basketball) and Denise Roessler (for lacrosse),” she said. “They are super understanding, they’re really flexible for me and they’re very supportive. They bring me a lot of peace within all the stress of it.”

Since she misses the offseason work and even some of the preseason for lacrosse because of basketball, Robinson said there’s always a challenge in maintaining her place in the program in her spring sport.

“Because I come late, there’s a fear that I have to show what I’m made of right away because the coaches have already seen the other girls playing all fall and winter,” she said. “There’s definitely that pressure of having to outperform other people and learn all the plays and everything right away. But my coach has always been great. She’s always been willing to work with me.”

Robinson, who has eight older brothers and sisters, posted in the Middle Township High School yearbook during her senior year that she hopes to one day work for a professional sports team. That dream is still alive.

“I’d like to work in sports and I think I’m heading toward that but I still have two more years of school,” she said. “But things can change and I’m pretty flexible that if something else interests me I’d be willing to take another route as well. But this has been a goal of mine since I was in high school, so I’m trying to make that happen. I’ll have the academic experience and I’ll also have the athletic experience as well.”

Speaking of experience, the one Robinson currently has at Stockton has been thoroughly enjoyable, she said.

“It’s awesome,” Robinson said. “It’s truly a privilege to be able to play two sports in college under amazing coaching staffs who work with me day in and day out. They genuinely want to see me do well in sports but also in life. And I’ve made so many friends, given that I get two large groups of friends from both teams. It’s a balancing act, but it’s truly a privilege. I have no complaints about it.”

Middle Township graduate Brianna Robinson finished third on the Richard Stockotn University women's lacrosse team with 25 goals last spring. (photo courtesy Stockton University athletics)