Four years old and already fearless, Bree Robinson scurried up trees like a squirrel.
Her mother Linda was usually close behind.
"You really could never take your eye off her," she said. "When she was little, she was just full of beans."
Linda stood below, at once amused and bewildered by her young daughter.
"I was always watching," Linda said. "If she fell, you'd catch her."
The fall never came and the climbing never stopped.
Robinson's still at it today, although trees are no longer her playground. Tracks and soccer fields are where she soars. After dominating her final season at Pinkerton Academy, she is the winner of the annual Max Bishop Award, given to the best all-around athlete in the region.
"Competitiveness drives me," she said. "I believe that definitely."
Talk to her and you might not believe it. The University of Hartford-bound Robinson is unflinchingly upbeat and polite. She always seems to have a smile on her face, even under duress.
It is not, her friend and track teammate, Brittany McNally said, a front.
"She's bubbly and energetic all the time," McNally said. "She just goes out and does her thing. She's never really down."
Competing with a sore knee and the remnants of a stomach bug, Robinson still repeated as New Hampshire heptathlon champion, racking up 3,993 points to clinch the title.
Water and ibuprofen was the only fuel she needed to get through the day.
"This is my last time to shine," Robinson, The Eagle-Tribune's indoor and outdoor track MVP, said to herself. "Just do it."
The year was filled with similarly impressive performances, the best of which came May 30 at the Class L championships. She didn't just break the 31-year-old state long jump record; she smashed it with a sledge hammer.
Concord's Tina Guerin hit 18-111/2 in 1977. Robinson topped it with a 19-41/2.
"That day, I just felt good," said the Hampstead resident. "My muscles felt good. I looked at the board, it had no spring to it, but it was on a downward slope."
The jump, her first of the finals, was a blur. "I blanked out," she said. "I was so excited."
She went on to win the 100 meters, take second in the triple jump, and fourth in the 200 that evening, but the long jump is what people will remember.
"See you in the Olympics," someone joked.
"That," Robinson said, "was great to hear."
...
As effortless as Robinson made it look, greatness wasn't always easy.
For months, she wondered if she should give up soccer, her passion, for track in college. No Division 1 school would let her do both.
In the end, the three-time Eagle-Tribune soccer All-Star stuck with her first love.
It meant saying no to Boston College (her "dream school"), which wanted her to run track.
The recruiting process taught Robinson's to make decisions without regret. As wonderful as many of the coaches made their schools sound, her instincts are what mattered most.
"You're playing a game basically," she said. "You don't want to say something wrong. In the end, you just have to tell these coaches, 'Sorry I'm not going to attend your school.'"
Hartford, she thought, was the best fit. Last fall, she officially accepted a scholarship worth $164,536 over four years.
"Once it was over," Linda said, "the stress was off her."
Not even a fractured ankle could keep her down. She led the eighth-seeded Astros to the Class L final, finishing the season with 13 goals. Over her final three seasons at Pinkerton, she scored 50 goals.
"She's an amazing athlete," McNally said. "She really made a huge mark on New Hampshire athletics."
The seeds clearly were sown early. As a small child, she never seemed to stand still.
"They used to double bolt the doors," Robinson said. "Somehow I'd open them."
By the time high school hit, she wanted to play every sport imaginable. The spring of her freshman year at Pinkerton, she told her mom she wanted to play AAU basketball, club soccer, school softball and recreational league softball.
"When do you plan on attending school?" Linda asked.
Robinson may have eventually given up softball and basketball, but her competitive nature remains. Her spectacular track and soccer feats haven't surprised anyone.
"That's just Bree," McNally said.
Now, it's off to college, where "She'll just be successful," McNally assures.
For Robinson, the climbing never stops.
Robinson's 2007-08
FALL: Scored 13 goals, notched four assists to lead Astros to the Class L final. Did it all on a fractured ankle.
WINTER: Won 55 meter-dash (7.32) and the long jump (18-01/2) at Class L meet, then won the long jump at New Englands (18-21/2).
SPRING: Set the state record in the long jump (19-41/2), won the 100 (12.61) and placed second in the triple jump (35-10) at Class L meet. Despite a sore knee, won the long jump at the Meet of Champions (17-8) and placed second at New Englands (17-101/4). Repeated as state heptathlon champion.
