Karen Robinson: A Career Cut Short

KEENE, N.H. 11/18/09 - In the sport of field hockey, a quick whistle by an official can instantly change the direction of the ball and ultimately determine the course of the game. Karen Robinson's life changed just as abruptly two years ago.

The ball appeared to have taken a positive turn for Robinson at the time. Then a sophomore at Keene State College, the Phillipston, Mass., native and her teammates were still basking in the afterglow of another successful field hockey season that saw the Owls capture their fourth-consecutive Little East Conference championship and NCAA tournament berth.

After spending a couple of days hanging out with her teammates and her boyfriend Mike, Robinson decided to head home to do some laundry and go apple picking with her mother Kathy. However, Instead of picking apples, Robinson was forced to pick up the pieces of a life that would take a drastic turn at an intersection.

Heading to the post office later that afternoon, the Robinson's car was broad-sided by another vehicle that failed to halt at a stop sign. Before passing out, Robinson vividly recalls the disturbing details. "I saw the car coming, so I just braced myself," she said. "I woke up in the road. I remember trying to take off my jacket because there was blood everywhere. I also remember my mother coming over and wrapping my head in a Keene State blanket we had in the car."

Robinson woke up the next day in the hospital. The prognosis was grim. The accident had left her with multiple head lacerations, bone fractures in her face, and damages to her ear and eye socket. "They weren't sure if I was going to make it," said Robinson. "They told my family to say their good-byes."

"I'll never forget the moment when I heard about the accident," said Lindy Caslin, now a senior on the team. "It's like remembering a special time in history."

Little did Robinson know it at the time, but the sport she had played since third grade would ultimately help save her life. "The doctors told me that my body was in such great shape from playing field hockey that I would survive," she said. Robinson remained in the hospital for 28 days before returning home where her mother, who suffered back and arm injuries in the crash, helped her get over the physical and mental trauma. Her coaches and teammates back at Keene State didn't forget her. In addition to sending enough cards and letters to fill the net at Owl Athletic Complex, they also made several trips to see her. On one occasion, they all got together for an ice cream sundae party at her house.

Initially, Robinson didn't let her mind gravitate to the thought of playing field hockey again. But her love of the sport was overwhelming and left a deep void in her life. Unfortunately, the yearn to get back on the field was always tempered by the harsh reality that her body wasn't ready to sustain the pain of picking up a stick.

After enduring several surgeries and endless hours of rehab, Robinson returned to school in the fall. Unable to play and still wanting to help the team, she went to every practice and every game. "My closest friends on the team were seniors, so I wanted to be out there for them" Robinson said.

No one cheered more loudly when the Owls won the LEC title again. "I cried when they won the LECs. I was so happy for them," said Robinson. "I tried to be as loud as possible to make up for the fact that I wasn't wearing a uniform that day."

Putting on a field hockey uniform transformed Karen Robinson. Magically adapting to a sport that few understood, Robinson loved putting on the skirt and picking up a stick. A two-year captain at Quabbin Regional High School, Robinson earned multiple honors playing for the Panthers, including a selection to the prestigious "Best of 60" all-star team.

After a brief adjustment to the College game and the Owls slick turf field, Robinson became a key member of Keene State's potent offensive arsenal. "We recruited Karen, so we knew what we were getting when she came here," said KSC Coach Amy Watson. "Once she adjusted to the pace of the game, there was no looking back."

Finishing her brief but productive career (2006-07) with 18 goals and 16 assists, Robinson, who was named to the womensfieldhockey.com All-Rookie team and earned LEC first-team honors as a sophomore, had a knack for scoring big goals in big games. Playing in the Little East tournament as a freshman, she netted the game-winner on a penalty stroke in the semifinals that catapulted the Owls into the finals. Robinson continued her heroics in the championship game, scoring a goal and drawing an assist on the game-winner to earn tournament MVP honors.

"I'll never forget when she got MVP as a freshman," Caslin said. "I think my jaw just dropped. I couldn't clap hard enough."

Robinson continued to be a force in front of the cage in what turned out to be her final season. She netted the go-ahead goal in a key 3-2 double-overtime regular-season win against Southern Maine that secured the top seed in the tournament for KSC. Saving her best for last, Robinson found the back of the net on a corner with no time remaining in regulation to give the Owls a dramatic 3-2 victory over Bridgewater State in the semifinals. In the finals, a 2-1 win over Southern Maine, she set up the deciding goal in overtime with a well-placed crossing ball that teammate Erin Dallas knocked home.

A determined Robinson made one last attempt to rejoin the Owls this year. However, after participating in the team's spring drills and later attempting to do pre-season training, she sadly determined that her playing days were over. "I didn't want to accept the fact that I couldn't play, but the workouts brought new symptoms, and there wasn't anything they could do about them," said Robinson. "I could come back and play, but I'd be completely miserable. I wouldn't be happy if I couldn't perform at the level I was accustomed to playing in the past."

In retrospect, Robinson says she leaned a lot from the experience, including the obvious lessons of always wearing a seatbelt and never taking things for granted. "I knew I couldn't play field hockey forever; it's just that my career was cut two years short."

Back at school working toward her degree in elementary education, Robinson attended a few games this season. She would visit with coaches and players before the game, but many times left before the conclusion. The memories were too strong and painful.

"Of the group graduating this year, Karen was the one with the most talent," said Watson. "I can only imagine how much she would've improved in time. Players like Karen don't come around too often. She could've of been one of the best at Keene State."

"I think about her every day," said Caslin, who has pictures of Robinson all over her dorm room. "She has always been a part of the team the past four years."