Sky’s the limit for Seyler

by Eric Keppeler
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, January 20, 2007

Robby Seyler, No. 24 at right, has become the focal point
of opposing defenses in just his sophomore season.

The scary thing about Robby Seyler is that he’s only going to get better.

The Lewiston-Porter sophomore, already in his second year as a starter for the Lancers’ varsity boys basketball team, has become the focal point of the team’s offense – and first-year head coach Pat Krawczyk thinks that Seyler’s numbers will continue to improve.

“I think he has a chance to break the school scoring record – at least be right up there in the top three, for sure,” Krawczyk said. “He expects a lot out of himself, and he’s doing a wonderful job, especially since he’s still only a 10th grader. We rely on him an awful lot – he’s our main man right now.”

Circumstances have forced the Lancers to rely on Seyler more this season than perhaps they expected. Senior captain Dave LaChance – who with Seyler led the team in scoring last year at 12 points per game – broke his elbow in the first game of this season.

Everyone picked up their game, and Seyler tried to assume more of the scoring load, but he’s just as happy that LaChance returned to the lineup a few weeks ago.

“Everybody tried to play with the same kind of intensity that Dave did,” Seyler said. “It’s hard to replace him, and no one person did it alone. It was a team effort. Everyone just did the best they could.”

Seyler actually came up to the varsity as an eighth grader before asserting himself into the starting lineup a year later as a freshman.

Now he’s a battle-tested veteran with two more years still ahead of him.

“I was really nervous when I first came up, but once you get into the flow of things, it’s really not any different,” Seyler said. “It’s still the same game. It gives me a big edge, knowing what the competition is like”

It’s uncommon to find a sophomore so talented and polished, and Krawczyk is thrilled with Seyler’s progress. His skills were never in doubt, but he’s adding leadership and more of a team game to his repertoire.

“Robby works very hard at his game,” Krawczyk said. “He’s an excellent shooter, and a very good rebounder for how tall and lanky he is. He’s learning to play more of a team game. Other teams are all over him, so he understands that he can’t do it all himself.”

Seyler is driven by a constant need to make himself better. He wants to work on his defense, and also add some upper body strength without losing any of his quickness.

The ultimate goal for Seyler and his teammates this year is to advance in the Section VI Tournament at least as far as the semifinals, so they can play a game on the floor of Buffalo State College.

And the Lancers figure to be a battle-tested bunch after surviving another challenging season with the bigger schools in the Niagara Frontier League.

But Seyler says that gives the team an edge.

“It really gets us ready for sectionals,” Seyler said. “When the playoffs start, we’re going up against kids that aren’t as big as what we see during the season. The competition is really strong in the NFL, and that just makes us better.”