They play with a heavy heart

Charlie Robinson was a legendary high school basketball coach. He coached teams from along the Hi-Line and around Montana for 44 years and did so to 869 victories. He won three state championships. He was one of the greats. But as great as he was as a coach, he was even better as a person.

Robinson, who passed away July 28, was the head coach of the Chinook girls basketball team at the time of his passing. And as hard as it was for the Hi-Line basketball community to accept his death, it was even harder for the Chinook girls.

Robinson was more than just their coach, he was their mentor and even though a new season has started and the team has moved on behind new head coach Molli Rose, things just aren't the same, especially for longtime Robinson players Katelyn Neibauer, Brooke Nicholson and Hannah Weber.

"It's been tough without him there on the sideline," Neibauer said. "He has been there with me since the beginning and he taught me so much. It has been hard playing this season without him. But we are staying strong and staying together because that's what he would want us to do."

Robinson's coaching career was extensive. His best moments came with K-G, where he won a total of three state championships in both boys and girls basketball. He also coached the North Star boys team before moving on to coach the Chinook girls.

When Robinson came to Chinook, the Beeters were far from a power in Class C basketball. They had recently moved down from Class B and the change was not going well. But, in part because of Robinson's magic tough, the Beeters have become a force in the District 9C.

This season would have been Robinson's fifth leading the Beeters and for the past three seasons, Neibauer, Nicholson and Weber have been a huge part of Chinook's run that included two District 9C championships.

The loss of Robinson has been particularly hard for them. Part of the reason is the time Robinson invested in getting to know them on an individual level and being a positive influence in their lives.

"He was always such a positive person," Weber said. "Everything that we know about the game we learned from him. He just always had such a good attitude and always knew just what to say. His famous 'here we go, gang' before the game, that was pretty good. So it's been hard, but we know that we are there for each other. We just kind of lean and depend on each other if we are struggling with anything."

Nicholson also talked about how it's been an adjustment without Robinson on the sidelines but that his presence is also missed in their everyday lives.

"He just really cared about you as a person," Nicholson said. "He took the time to get to know you and he cared about what you were interested in. He was also the track coach and he always wanted me to run track. But I didn't. I really like tennis and he knew that and he was happy for me. But he just cared about things outside of even basketball. He cared about basketball, but he cared about other things, too."

Now that Robinson is gone, Neibauer, Nicholson, Weber and the rest of the Chinook team are dedicating the 2014-15 season to the memory of him. The Beeters want his legacy to live on and they want to continue to help grow the program he built in Chinook.

"We are dedicating this season to him and we just want to try and do the best we can," Weber said. "Obviously, we want to try and get to divisionals, and I believe that we will. Then, hopefully to state but right now we are just taking it one day at a time and trying to get better every day. He just had so much wisdom and we know he is watching us and we are trying to do the things he taught us to do."

The Beeters went 1-1 on their opening weekend but easily defeated Hays-Lodge Pole in their first home game without Robinson last Friday. They are now 3-1 following a win over Big Sandy last Saturday.

The game goes on and it stops for no one, including the venerable Robinson. Regardless, It will be a while before the Beeters truly move on and in a way they never will.

As a coach, teacher and person in general, Robinson was in a class of his own. His fingerprints will stay on the Chinook basketball program for quite some time but the lessons he taught his players will last a lifetime. That's part of the reason why he will be missed so much.