For the past four years, Ruby Jobe has been the face of the San Rafael girls lacrosse program.
Part of that was because of her talent as the four-year captain led the Bulldogs in scoring in every season.
But arguably the main reason why Jobe and San Rafael girls lacrosse have gone hand-in-hand the past four years is because without Jobe, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that there may not be a program at all.
When Jobe arrived at San Rafael four years ago, there was no girls lacrosse team. But Jobe, who had fallen in love with the sport after picking it up at age 10 playing for the Central Marin Bluejays, set out to change that.
The process began with a pitch to then-first-year athletic director Jose De La Rosa. Jobe’s dad, Michael, had learned there were other families at San Rafael interested in starting a team and took the idea to De La Rosa. Being a new AD and already wanting to grow the girls sports programs at San Rafael, he was open to the idea. He just needed their help in getting things off the ground.
The Jobes, along with the other interested families, set about raising money to cover the costs of starting the program. That meant buying new equipment and uniforms as well as covering officials fees, the coach’s stipend and more. It didn’t take them long. One online fundraiser with the goal of $500 ended up raising over $2,000.
With starting costs covered, the team began with humble origins as an afterschool club with Jobe serving as a de facto coach. She taught a mishmash of soccer, track, basketball and tennis players the basic fundamentals. Only Jobe out of that first roster of 18 had any prior experience in lacrosse. Needless to say, Jobe didn’t exactly have the highest of expectations for that first season.
“I won’t sugarcoat it, we were awful,” she said, laughing. “At tryouts I was like ‘Oh my God, this is going to be the worst. I’m going to hate this.’ But we were fast, that really was our thing. We would just sprint, not cradle, and just hope it would go in, and it did, which was nice.”
The Bulldogs played as a JV team in their inaugural season and were actually much better than Jobe had expected. They lost their first game by one and then got blown out by powerhouse Novato. But they won their third game and took off from there.
“I was really surprised about that,” Jobe said. “And then we went on like a six- or seven-game winning streak after that. It was crazy. I couldn’t believe it when I was playing.”
Jobe, as well as De La Rosa, saw that early success translate into confidence, which proved crucial as the team was set to jump up to a varsity program for its second season.
“I think them being successful at the JV level kind of helped make those girls stay and become really dedicated to it,” De La Rosa said.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates flying in Year Two. They started the season 8-0 and went on to finish 9-9 after a tough MCAL slate. Still, their success in non-league was enough to earn the 12 seed in the Division II North Coast Section playoffs. While fifth-seeded Marin Academy dispatched the Bulldogs in the first round, just making it that far was an accomplishment in itself.
“Even though we went up against a first-tier team in Marin Academy, I still couldn’t believe in our first year of varsity we already made it that far,” said Jobe, who earned All-MCAL honorable mention honors after scoring 61 goals that season. “It really blew my mind.”
Jobe and the Bulldogs had high hopes heading into the third year of the program in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out their season after just five games. The biggest loss was having to say goodbye to eight skilled seniors, most of whom had also played an integral role in getting the program started.
Luckily for the Bulldogs, they still had Jobe.
“She basically took on that role of teaching and providing the opportunity for a bunch of girls who have never played the sport before and she’s given them the opportunity to fall in love with the sport,” said San Rafael girls lacrosse head coach Jeremie Brunet, who had never coached lacrosse until that first season in 2017.
The Bulldogs had a bit of a rebuilding year this past spring with 13 of their 17 players new to the sport. But thanks to Jobe’s guidance, the rest of the team is set to return next season. Additionally, a few of this year’s freshmen have even decided to play club, the first girls from San Rafael to do so since Jobe.
Jobe was the Bulldogs’ lone senior this year so senior night was effectively Ruby Jobe night. The team gave her a framed jersey that everyone had signed and a block-letter “R” with pictures of her on it. They even made a video tribute with each player telling Jobe what she meant to them.
“She’s obviously a huge part of the team,” said sophomore Tenley Brovelli, who had also never played lacrosse until picking it up her freshman year. “She started the program. Without her, it wouldn’t have happened. She makes sure all the players know what they’re doing, puts so much effort into everything she does in practice, games, no matter if we’re getting blown out by 30, she still puts in her all.”
Jobe shies away from taking the lion’s share of credit for starting the program. She instead highlights the work of Colleen Davis, Leslie Allen and Phil Abey, the parents who led the initial fundraising efforts. Still, Jobe’s impact on the program was significant. Her mentorship and inclusion of younger players over her prep career has helped create a solid foundation that has set the program up for years to come.
“We look back now, four years later, and we have a well-established girls lacrosse program that I think is going to continue to grow with Jeremie’s leadership and the girls he has right now,” De La Rosa said. “A lot of that is big thanks to Ruby.”
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