Coach Scott D. Young Exceptional Teammate Award

Thinking back on my time at Academy and all of the incredible people I that was able to meet, Coach Young is by far at the top of that list. Coach is someone who has the ability to leave a lasting impression on everyone he meets, including myself and my teammates/classmates. Whether it be while swimming or during one of the classes I was able to take with Coach, he taught me about hard work, discipline, integrity, having fun, and much, much more. I owe him many thanks and am thrilled for an opportunity to honor him and his accomplishments at Academy. So Coach, thank you for all of the fun times and valuable lessons throughout our years at Academy! Jack Slote '21

Thank you, Coach Young, for helping us build a solid foundation, both mental and physical. From the classroom to the pool. I will always hold our years together, as a team, sacred. Even those laps around the track when we were late :) So Far King Fast!!

Thanks very much, Coach Young!

How lucky I was to be a part of the team for 5 years. It's hard to state how much of a positive impact swimming for Coach Young has made on my life. I am grateful to be able to attribute my professional and collegiate athletics success to foundational lessons from my time on the team. It would take multiple lifetimes to pay forward these blessings. I look back on Varsity Swimming very fondly and I would do it all again anytime. Thank you so much Coach Young - you've given myself and so many others so much through your sacrifices and dedication.

We are so grateful that our son, Jack ‘21 was coached by Scott. His enthusiasm, dedication and hard work not only resulted in a very successful team but it also brought the parents together as a family. Coach Young loved his athletes and gave all of himself to help them grow as swimmers and men. We saw Coach this summer and he was reciting Jack’s swim times in various races and he did so with that Scott Young enthusiasm. Scott, thank you for being you! We can say with confidence that Jack’s experience on the swim team will stay with him for the rest of his life. “We are not going to focus on what we CAN’T do, we’re going to show everyone what we CAN do…….what is POSSIBLE, under even the most difficult of circumstances” Coach Young 2020-2021.

In honor of Coach Young

In gratitude to Coach Young for opening me to the world of swimming and the swim family.

Coach Young was one of the greatest coaches I’ve even had. The love for his athletes and energy he brought to practice every day was unmatched. He changed my life for the better as an athlete and man. As a current college swimmer, I still look to Coach Young for guidance and support. I will forever be grateful for my time being coached and mentored by Coach Young.

'We are very fortunate that our two sons, Bryce ’21 and Brayden ’23 were able to train with Coach Young during their varsity careers. Year after year, Coach Young built a strong team, first mentality, one that inspired and motivated his swimmers. This coupled with Coach Young’s coaching skills and personal attention to every swimmer helped our sons achieve their goal of college swimming. The sport of swimming is a grind with hours in the pool swimming miles and miles, races coming down to tenths and hundredths of a second, doubles with before-dawn practices, beast practices over vacations…. And with this grind, because of the culture Coach cultivated, there was joy. Joy is going to practice, joy in working hard, reaching for goals, and supporting teammates. This resulted in a brotherhood of teammates where friendships were formed and built for a lifetime. As a family, we are forever grateful to have had the opportunity to know Coach Young, not just as a coach, but as a teacher, and friend. Thank you, Coach Young, for your dedication, support, and impact - not only with our sons but for the entire Academy Swim/Dive program. Congratulations on all you’ve done and accomplished!”

Our son Kevin's experience on swim team was one of the most impactful of his time at AA. It was there he developed some of life's most important skills-discipline, self-motivation and teamwork. It was there he gained confidence and enjoyed the camaraderie of his peers. Thank you, Scott, for all you did for Kevin and all the other swimmers lucky enough to call you Coach Young. With much appreciation, Carol and Victor Nerses, Parent of Kevin, Class of 2016

Thank you Coach for teaching us the value of striving for our personal best -and just as importantly, for appreciating others as they strive for theirs

Scott - I have always held you in the highest esteem as a teacher and, obviously, as a coach. I am proud to have been your colleague. I loved being part of your celebration. Congratulations.

So proud of our son, Coach Scott Young and his dedication to AA Swim Program and our two grandchildren, Ian and Darcy Young both graduates of AA.

Congratulations, Scott! You have certainly led with passion and enthusiasm for the sport that is evident in the success of your swimmers! You have built a program you should be very proud of!

Scott, you are true inspiration to all who are taught by you. You lead in everything you do, from the classroom, to our halls you make Academy a better school everyday.

It was always fun to compete against AA over the years. You always brought your swimmers prepared and pumped up. Because of that enthusiasm it helped to spur my swimmers as well. The years that you had the better team, you always found a way to make it a lot closer meet and fair for kids on both sides of the pool. You found opportunities to let your swimmers shine and feel that they were important contributors to the team. You gave up a lot of yourself over the years and now it’s time for you to enjoy some me time. Best wishes. Bill Mottola Retired Mohonasen/Schalmont swim coach of 33 years

Coach Young was a pivotal piece of my middle/high school experience and taught me lessons that shaped me into who I am today. Discipline, work ethic, teamwork are just a few of the takeaways that everyone would use regarding working with Coach, but for me the most important was the idea of consistent hard work, on a daily basis, compounding into long term success. As many will remember, there were few practices in any given season that did not include some form of 'max effort' swimming, with most including time spent doing the same stroke drills followed by thousands of yards as hard as you can swim. Of course, both individuals and the team had long term goals for the end of the season, but every practice was about showing up, focusing on the details, and working as hard as you can today. This idea of 'max effort' every day and constantly focusing on the little things showed me that these are the building blocks to success in the long term in real time, as it literally came down to a small detail we focused on daily which was the sole reason I achieved my biggest, 4+ year goal in my biggest moment. While the impact Coach had on my, and so many others, progress cannot be overlooked, it's the life lessons and skills that Coach Young passed onto his teams that will be with us forever.

We have said time and time again that Douglas learnt so much more than “just swimming” with Coach Young. Scott celebrated the achievements of every swimmer, at whatever level, and got them to achievements far beyond what they believed they could do. We owe him a lot

"Everyone is more important than Anyone." Thanks to the greatest teacher-coach a student-athlete could ever ask for in their journey.