HS Sensation Robby Andrews: “I Need to Get the Hell out of New Jersey”
Robbie Andrews has been trying to run his way out of New Jersey since early January.
High school middle-distance sensation Robby Andrews, has burst onto the national scene and into the record books so fast this year it has got the American track community left pondering, “Where did Robby Andrews come from? The senior from Manalpan High School dished on the source of his major breakthroughs this indoor season in an interview Monday night.
Via phone from his home, Andrews revealed, “What drives me? It’s simple actually. I need to get the hell out of New Jersey. It’s literally crushing my soul.” Before his senior year, Andrews sat down with Coach Ralphie Commigliano to write down his goals. Asked for the top three, Andrews laid them out, “One: Never again smell the pungent odor of Axe body spray; Two: Run fast enough to earn a scholarship to a university located at least 200 miles from New Jersey; Three: Find a nice girlfriend without fake boobs or a belly button ring.”
To keep his young athlete motivated, Coach Commigliano has taken Andrews across the state for rare training exercises over the past nine months. After a mid-summer pep talk dubbed “Leaving the Grease Behind”, the coach brought Andrews south to Sea Isle City for a long run up Landis Ave. at midnight. Facing insults, beer hurlers and literally hundreds of popped collars, Andrews responded by running the last four miles in a new personal best. Just three weeks before his coming out party at the Millrose Games, the coach had him do short sprints across the New Jersey Turnpike. “When I dropped him on the side of the road, he got in this zone that I’d only read about. He had no problem dodging hundreds of cars and beer cans.”
With his physical preparation completed, Commigliano brought Andrews to the Tropicana Hotel and Casino last Tuesday for one final motivational exercise prior to his high school record 800m. As Andrews stood over his shoulder, Commigliano deposited his $425 paycheck in a Wheel Of Fortune slot machine and began gambling. Forty-five minutes later, the coach had run through it all. The pair exited with a sullen Commigliano asking his star athlete for gas money for the two hour ride home. “All I could think of was how much I hated Atlantic City,” a visibly emotional Andrews relayed. “Coach really cares about how well I do and this is just another example, because it really worked,” Andrews said. “I used to prepare for races by perusing Google Maps for an elite university located the farthest from my high school. Now all I think about is that smoky casino and the levers on those god damned slot machines!”
Thought of as an innovator among New Jersey coaching circles, Commigliano has even used mental tricks during races to inspire his young athlete. “How do you think I ran that 1:52 last 800 to set the 1000m record?” Andrews asked rhetorically. “Guts? Nope. Coach had the Armory deejay put on “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi. I was so angry I destroyed myself that last 200.”
Andrews achievements this year have not gone unnoticed. He was heavily recruited by a dozen coaches at elite universities throughout the country. University of Virginia Coach Jason Vigilante recalled his first, and only, recruiting call to Robby Andrews. “Robby really only had one question for me. He didn’t care about my training philosophy, my vision for the team, or even my credentials. He just wanted to know the percentage of the student body from New Jersey. I guess he was was satisfied with our answer, because he overnighted an application and signed a letter of intent 72 hours later.”
Andrews looks forward to the outdoor season, where he’ll be competing at the Arcadia Invitational, the Golden West Invitational, and the Alburquerque Metro Duals. Discussing his plans, Andrews says,”Why travel to New Mexico for a dual meet? Because it’s 1,500 miles from New Jersey, that’s why.”