By Joanna Chadwick
Derby’s Max Robinson was always the biggest kid around, which is why he played two years up when he was in youth football. The fear was that just because of his strength and size, he would hurt kids his own age.
“I was definitely one of those big kids who tried to be super nice, tried not to play too rough,” said Robinson. “In high school, in an environment where kids are as big as me, faster than me, as strong as me, that’s when I realized I can’t be nice to them on the field. I have to flip that switch.”
It paid off as Robinson earned a starting spot in Game 2 of his freshman season.
At Derby. A consistent Class 6A power.
“Max was never just given the starting role as a freshman,” Derby coach Brandon Clark said. “He earned it. He was very mature, very strong and had good size. He learned our schemes very quickly.
“His hard work and knowledge of the game made it pretty easy to start him because all of the other coaches and players saw it too during practice.”
Robinson is 6-foot-4, 275 pounds and will again be a force at left tackle.
But it took him some time to get comfortable in the starting spot.
“When I got in my freshman year, I did not know what to do. I was playing grown men,” Robinson said. “I was definitely scared. I was scared before every game, nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. I felt like everyone had caught up to me.
“Toward the end of my freshman year and going into my sophomore year, I told myself I can’t be nice to anyone anymore. I had to really focus on being more aggressive and more dominant.
“When I flipped that switch, I started standing out.”
