Friday Features: Team leader Kayla Robles finds her voice at Valdosta State
By Mike Perrin
When
Kayla Robles was a child, she knew she was different from other kids. She stuttered. Now, as a junior defender on the
Valdosta State University soccer team, she’s different because she spends time off the pitch and outside the classroom speaking to groups large and small about her school and issues that affect collegiate student-athletes.
“I have had my stutter as long as I can remember,” she said. “When I was in elementary school, I knew I was different from the other kids. I went to speech therapy once a week during the school day. I would be sitting in class minding my own business and my speech teacher would knock on the classroom door. Everyone would look at her as she called my name, then everyone would turn and stare at me as I walked out of the room.
“I was different from other students. The other kids would laugh at me when I tried to talk and ask me questions like ‘What’s wrong with you?’ and ‘Why do you talk like that?’ I had no other response but tears running down my face.”
Robles found solace in sports, excelling at Flowery Branch (Ga.) High School in cross-country, soccer and basketball.
“Soccer and the other sports I participated in was my outlet. I loved going to soccer practice and basketball practice because I could express myself in a different way besides speaking."
“My teammates who were around me made it a little bit easier every day,” Robles said. “My teammates were like my family, I could speak and even with my stuttering I knew they would not make fun of me. They stood up for me when someone did not have the nicest things to say and I could not be more grateful for my teammates on and especially off the court.”
Robles also worked on her own to tackle her speech impediment, she said. “I knew sports would only take me so far. I realized this when I got my first job as a cashier at Firehouse Subs during my senior year of high school. Knowing I had a hard time speaking, I sat in front of the mirror and said every order combination there possibly could be. No matter how much I practiced I would go into work and get stuck every time. I could not go a sentence without some kind of stutter slowing me down."
“I felt like I had to accept the fact because I had a stutter it would affect my future career and I would be limited to the things I could do,” Robles said. “Right then, I had to make a choice, it was either to let my stutter control me and my future or I control myself and my future."
“I decided from then on to not let my stutter hold me back from the things I want to do. I really enjoy talking with people and I am not going to let a small problem stop me from doing what I love. It is a daily battle between me and my speech. There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t get nervous talking in front of people. There are days someone will make a comment without realizing how it affects me and I will have a moment where it does bother me. I handle it by staying positive and reminding myself I am in control.”
Robles chose VSU after a great visit that was only suggested as an afterthought by her father during a college-visit road trip during spring break of her junior year in high school. “I emailed then-women’s soccer coach
Mel Heinz,” she said. “She couldn’t have been more gracious and welcoming for my family and I as we made the short visit. We had a great conversation with her, not only about soccer but everything else I was involved in. Out of all the coaches I met on that trip, she stood out to me the most because when I talked to her I didn’t feel like a recruit.”
The then-prospective Blazer said Heinz also stressed the college life off the field. Once she arrived on campus, another VSU staffer encouraged her in her plan moving forward.
“I am very involved now because when I came to college, I made it a personal goal to get myself out there like I’d never done before,” Robles said. “I wanted to do more than be a student-athlete with a jersey number. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and make the most of my experience in college. I felt like there was no other way than be a part of other organizations besides soccer. I have also met so many wonderful people while being active in leadership activities. Other student-athletes, some non-athletes, just great people that I’m so glad that I’ve met and can call friends."
“My leadership all started with freshmen orientation. I met a wonderful faculty member who helped me think differently about leadership, (Coordinator of Orientation and Leadership Programs) Brenda Beasley. She got me involved with Emerging Leaders, which was a freshman seminar. She taught us the ropes of getting the most out of our college experience. Her class led me to be a VSU Ambassador as well as a VSU Orientation Leader."
“I get to be involved with multiple events happening on campus and meet people I would otherwise not have the opportunity. As a VSU Orientation Leader, I get to be involved with the upcoming freshmen to make their VSU experience a great one. I love being able to talk with parents and students about what opportunities VSU has and help them start their college experiences.”
Coach Heinz, who left the program to go into private business after Robles’ sophomore season, suggested she pursue a spot on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) – a program that allows athletes to provide insight on the student-athlete experience to the NCAA, conference and school administrators.
“I did not know a lot about SAAC going into it, but I quickly learned how much SAAC is important and how much we can do as a SAAC to impact our campuses,” Robles said. This year, the Blazers’ defender who started 16 of 17 games this season and finished fourth on the squad by playing 1,480 minutes, was named the Gulf South Conference’s National SAAC Representative."
“Being a representative, for our team, our university, and our conference to the national level is exciting, humbling, important and an experience like no other. My duties as the National SAAC representative is to reach out to all the universities in the Gulf South Conference and keep them in the loop with what is going on nationally.”
The Blazers finished 4-10-3 this season in coach
Rebecca Nolin’s second year, a disappointment following a 12-7-2 GSC tournament championship season in 2014. “I am very excited to see what the future holds for us,” Robles said. “We have a lot of young talent and skill as well as veterans with experience and power. Our team chemistry is the best it’s ever been and everything we do on the field is for each other. Not to mention we had a very big signing class this winter. We have 11 girls coming in as freshmen and some transfers. I look forward to what our team’s future holds.”
Robles, a business management major with a minor in human resources, plans to work in intercollegiate athletics administration when she graduates. She will also leave with a heartfelt love for her university.
“Valdosta State has given me opportunities I never even knew were possible,” she said. “I was never looked at like a student with a speech impediment. Valdosta State gave me the chance to conquer my fears and help me grow into the student-athlete I have always wanted to be.”
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