It’s the summer of 2012, and August 5th is conditioning day for football. I had no idea what to expect. But Coach Young had just arrived to talk to the incoming freshmen team. I’ve heard stories from a countless people about how intimidating he is. I had never seen him until that day, and I always imagined him as a drill sergeant. Once he came to us, he told all of us to take a knee, and then he explained the lay of the land about what to expect from this season, and gave us that inspiration to always give it your all, and never give up. After that day, I was looking forward to the next time I’d see him, so I could find out what words of wisdom he had to share.

After my freshman year, I got the choice to take a weightlifting class Coach Young taught. Once I found out that he was teaching it, I signed up for that class immediately. Once I told my friends that I was taking that class, they just stared at me wondering if I was serious. But I thought that I could really get something out of this class, learn more about myself, and do things that I didn’t know I could do, because his teaching skills were very unique and convincing, compared to other teachers..

Coach Young never gave up on me, and he pushed me to new limits that I started out not being able to achieve, and in the end, made them achievable. Such as when I started out lifting the bar with a few pounds on, and now I can bench about 180. At the end of each class, I felt accomplished, proud, and honored with the skills he taught me, and the effort I put in to achieve those goals.

Over the few years I had with Coach Young as my teacher, mentor, and coach, I feel like we had a better bond than I would have with any other of my teachers. Everytime he’d see me in the office or in the halls, he’d give me a pat on the back, and say “McCormick!” and gave me a big smile, also putting one on my face.

Without Coach Young being in my life, I wouldn’t nearly be the person I am today. He taught me to always strive for the best and never give up. This lesson improved my personal goals in football, such as just tackling the opponent, and giving me the courage to go through with football for the rest of freshmen year. Even though I don’t attend Catholic Memorial anymore, his lessons and teachings still have stuck with me through everything that I do. Coach Young is my definition of a true teacher, so thank you for all that you’ve done for me. All the little things you did really did go such a long way.