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Apr. 17—JAMESTOWN — Throughout his four years at the University of Jamestown, Isaiah Roebuck has become an expert at balancing his responsibilities as a wide receiver for the Jimmies football team and an outfielder for the university's baseball team.
"You gotta be good at planning honestly, knowing when practices and meetings and stuff are for both sports," Roebuck said about what it takes to do both. "Then I would say communication is huge. As long as you're communicating with your coaches, you'll be fine."
Roebuck said one of the biggest keys to playing both sports is the understanding and help he has received from baseball head coach Tom Hager and football head coach Brian Mistro.
"I think it's a learning process. We've talked about how as long as he communicates about the balance then coach Mistro and I can work together to make sure that we give him the best possible experience," Hager said. "Both teams are better because of him. We've tried to communicate between the two programs and make it the most beneficial for not only us but for him."
Roebuck said his organizational skills off the field and his ability to keep both Mistro and Hager apprised on his whereabouts are one of the areas he has improved at the most. Hager said he sees time management as the biggest challenge for Roebuck as he balances playing both sports.
"My freshman year I wouldn't give coaches a heads up on anything," Roebuck said. "I would just show up. ... But I think I've been so much more mature over the last few years."
This season with the Jimmies baseball team, Roebuck has played in 32 games, hitting .371 with one home run, 22 RBIs and a .937 OPS. He also has 46 putouts, one assist and a .959 fielding percentage.
During football season, Roebuck had 36 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns.
"It's gone good but I know we can do better," Roebuck said. "I started off pretty hot then I cooled down for a little bit and then got hot again. Baseball's a game of ups and downs, it's just how you deal with it. I think the team has done really good. I just know that we can do a lot better."
This campaign, he has eight stolen bases and has only been caught three times.
"Speed never fails, honestly, you could have a really bad swing and beat it out and that's still a base hit," Roebuck said. "... So just having speed helps a lot in every aspect, you can have a bad read and have catch up speed."
Roebuck said the two positions he plays require the same skills. Both require him to be fast to reach passes and fly balls and have good hand-eye coordination, he said.
"I think they're very complementary, especially because you're basically running routes if a ball is hit over your head and then diving plays seem a lot more easy just because you've done it in football," Roebuck said.
Over the course of his four years, Roebuck said he has improved on the turf and the diamond but there are two areas where he has especially stepped up his game. He said he believes his best skill in both sports is his speed and in baseball, he is proud of his contact ability.
Roebuck said when he looks ahead to the rest of the season, he wants to be more aggressive at the dish and on the base paths and make smarter throws in the outfield.
"I'd say I've grown a lot physically and mentally. I think my game's improved a little bit, my route running especially for football and then for baseball, my IQ has gotten a lot better," Roebuck said.
Roebuck has played in 135 total games for the baseball team and started in 96 of those.
"He has grown every year but I believe within the past year is where he's made the most leaps and bounds and I think part of that is because he has been able to string together multiple seasons, he's been injury free and he's been able to take advantage of summer ball," Hager said.
While he is one of 17 seniors on the baseball roster, Hager said Roebuck is viewed as a leader among his peers.
"I think they look to him as a role model and they look to him as a leader," Hager said. "They know that he's done it on the football team and he's doing it with the baseball team. There's no question we look up to him."
This season, Roebuck and his teammates have scored double digits in 14 of their 29 wins as of Wednesday, April 16.
"When we can help out our pitchers and score runs, our energy goes up a lot, you can tell, and we don't stop, we won't let up, it doesn't matter what the score is," Roebuck said. "I think that helps."
Roebuck was also recently named the recipient of the Kennedy S Warner Award, which has been given annually since 1949 in memory of the former student who lost his life in World War I, "based on the student's scholastic record, participation in intercollegiate athletics and high ideals." According to the Jimmies athletics website, the award is given in conjunction with the athletic department's coaching staff, the athletic director and the chairman of the kinesiology department.
"It means a lot. The people before me to win this award and Kennedy himself were highly respected," Roebuck said. "It also means a lot of me because of how much work is done behind the scenes. It's an honor and it makes me feel proud to be a Jimmie."
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"You gotta be good at planning honestly, knowing when practices and meetings and stuff are for both sports," Roebuck said about what it takes to do both. "Then I would say communication is huge. As long as you're communicating with your coaches, you'll be fine."
Roebuck said one of the biggest keys to playing both sports is the understanding and help he has received from baseball head coach Tom Hager and football head coach Brian Mistro.
"I think it's a learning process. We've talked about how as long as he communicates about the balance then coach Mistro and I can work together to make sure that we give him the best possible experience," Hager said. "Both teams are better because of him. We've tried to communicate between the two programs and make it the most beneficial for not only us but for him."
Roebuck said his organizational skills off the field and his ability to keep both Mistro and Hager apprised on his whereabouts are one of the areas he has improved at the most. Hager said he sees time management as the biggest challenge for Roebuck as he balances playing both sports.
"My freshman year I wouldn't give coaches a heads up on anything," Roebuck said. "I would just show up. ... But I think I've been so much more mature over the last few years."
This season with the Jimmies baseball team, Roebuck has played in 32 games, hitting .371 with one home run, 22 RBIs and a .937 OPS. He also has 46 putouts, one assist and a .959 fielding percentage.
During football season, Roebuck had 36 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns.
"It's gone good but I know we can do better," Roebuck said. "I started off pretty hot then I cooled down for a little bit and then got hot again. Baseball's a game of ups and downs, it's just how you deal with it. I think the team has done really good. I just know that we can do a lot better."
This campaign, he has eight stolen bases and has only been caught three times.
"Speed never fails, honestly, you could have a really bad swing and beat it out and that's still a base hit," Roebuck said. "... So just having speed helps a lot in every aspect, you can have a bad read and have catch up speed."
Roebuck said the two positions he plays require the same skills. Both require him to be fast to reach passes and fly balls and have good hand-eye coordination, he said.
"I think they're very complementary, especially because you're basically running routes if a ball is hit over your head and then diving plays seem a lot more easy just because you've done it in football," Roebuck said.
Over the course of his four years, Roebuck said he has improved on the turf and the diamond but there are two areas where he has especially stepped up his game. He said he believes his best skill in both sports is his speed and in baseball, he is proud of his contact ability.
Roebuck said when he looks ahead to the rest of the season, he wants to be more aggressive at the dish and on the base paths and make smarter throws in the outfield.
"I'd say I've grown a lot physically and mentally. I think my game's improved a little bit, my route running especially for football and then for baseball, my IQ has gotten a lot better," Roebuck said.
Roebuck has played in 135 total games for the baseball team and started in 96 of those.
"He has grown every year but I believe within the past year is where he's made the most leaps and bounds and I think part of that is because he has been able to string together multiple seasons, he's been injury free and he's been able to take advantage of summer ball," Hager said.
While he is one of 17 seniors on the baseball roster, Hager said Roebuck is viewed as a leader among his peers.
"I think they look to him as a role model and they look to him as a leader," Hager said. "They know that he's done it on the football team and he's doing it with the baseball team. There's no question we look up to him."
This season, Roebuck and his teammates have scored double digits in 14 of their 29 wins as of Wednesday, April 16.
"When we can help out our pitchers and score runs, our energy goes up a lot, you can tell, and we don't stop, we won't let up, it doesn't matter what the score is," Roebuck said. "I think that helps."
Roebuck was also recently named the recipient of the Kennedy S Warner Award, which has been given annually since 1949 in memory of the former student who lost his life in World War I, "based on the student's scholastic record, participation in intercollegiate athletics and high ideals." According to the Jimmies athletics website, the award is given in conjunction with the athletic department's coaching staff, the athletic director and the chairman of the kinesiology department.
"It means a lot. The people before me to win this award and Kennedy himself were highly respected," Roebuck said. "It also means a lot of me because of how much work is done behind the scenes. It's an honor and it makes me feel proud to be a Jimmie."
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