Athlete of the Week: Jimmy Young

As a faculty child, senior Jimmy Young could be found cradling a lacrosse ball and practicing his stick work on campus from an early age. “I’ve always loved lacrosse,” Young said, describing how his mother, a lacrosse player herself, coached him for much of his childhood. Now, as captain of the boys’ varsity lacrosse team, Young leads by example, inspiring his teammates to achieve their highest potentials and to work together.

Before coming to Exeter as a repeat lower, Young was on the varsity lacrosse team at Exeter High School and also played football and basketball. As a three-sport athlete, he developed a strong work ethic and impressive sportsmanship. When he came to Exeter, he decided to give up basketball while continuing to play football and lacrosse in order to ease his transition to a more challenging workload, but after his lower year, he realized that lacrosse was his real passion.

“As I got older, I just enjoyed lacrosse more and more,” Young said. After lower year, he chose to stop playing football and instead managed boys’ varsity soccer, which allowed him to cheer for his friends and workout in his spare time.

“Jimmy has some of the best vision I’ve ever seen on the lacrosse field, and sometimes he finds people on the field that no one else sees. He is the center of our offense and can always count on him for a big game when we need it.”

Although he found it somewhat difficult to be a freshman on the varsity lacrosse team at Exeter High School, his two years of experience there prepared him for the higher level of playing at Phillips Exeter. Young observed that “the overall league is better here,” and appreciates playing with teammates who challenge and motivate him every day.

Indeed, Young favors the team aspect of the sport. Playing lacrosse has allowed him to travel the country for various tournaments and meet “unbelievable coaches and players.” He has grown close to his Exeter teammates over the past two years and has learned to work with them.

“Lacrosse is such a tight community and you get to meet all these amazing people and make great connections,” he said. “You have to trust your teammates to be where they’re supposed to be and you have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of your team.”

Postgraduate Kevin Gilbert noted Young’s dedication to the sport and his constant effort to support and motivate his teammates, listing his best attributes as “competitiveness and the ability to put the team before himself.” He said, “[Young does] whatever it takes to put our team in a better position to win.”

Postgraduate Andrew Bowman has been playing lacrosse with Young for four years now and “couldn’t ask for a better teammate.” Bowman remarked on Young’s “unbelievable lacrosse IQ” and his “ability to always be in the right place at the right time,” adding that “he’s a tough player who dodges hard and creates opportunities every time he touches the ball.”

Among his teammates, Young is known best for his strength as a leader. Describing him as quieter than the other captains, upper Myles Haigney said Young “still raises everybody’s play by consistently playing his best in the most important moments ... [and] sets the expectation every day for how he wants [the team] to perform with his example.”

Upper Bradley Ingersoll also commended that Young leads by example “as opposed to telling others what to do.” For this reason, he has been an important role model for younger players on the team and encourages energy and focus each day in practice.

In addition to inspiring his teammates, Young has been a driving force behind the team’s success for the past two years. He was selected to be an All-New England prep school player and a U.S. Lacrosse All-American player both his lower and upper year. Ingersoll described Young’s natural lacrosse skills.

“Jimmy has some of the best vision I’ve ever seen on the lacrosse field, and sometimes he finds people on the field that no one else sees,” Ingersoll said. “He is the center of our offense and can always count on him for a big game when we need it.”

Haigney described Young as “our biggest offensive threat,” explaining that he has been one of the team’s best players for the past three years. Haigney said, “he’s just an all around great guy to learn from and play with as a teammate.”