CALEDONIA — Sam Young has been making regular trips to Itawamba Community College from his home in Caledonia to visit the men’s soccer program since he was nine years old. Sometimes he would go for camps, others to visit friends playing for the Indians.
In those years — even in his time as a defender for Caledonia High School — he never visited as a recruit.
That changed last week.
An injury on Itawamba CC’s roster gave the Indians a need at defender, and they came calling for Young. Condensing the entire recruiting process into a week — Young said he was on the phone with coaches every day — was no issue for Young. He signed his National letter of Intent with the Indians on Friday.
Young and his coach, Louie Alexander, are convinced his standing relationship with the program made the signing possible.
“As competitive as soccer is and getting now in Mississippi, people are all fighting for roster spots,” Alexander said. “The earlier you can get noticed, the better, even if it’s just a coach knowing your name because you were at a camp. That’s a jump on the next guy.”
The process may have been hectic in the final week, but Young found no difficulty in it: “I was pretty excited when they called me.”
Young is the second Itawamba CC signee in the class out of Caledonia, joining Garrett Parish who signed in November. Young was a pivotal part of a Caledonia defense that got the Tribe a playoff win last season.
Alexander had hopes that something would pan out for Young in this late recruiting window, not only for him personally but to see how a college program uses him.
“Obviously they were in need of a specific position, a defender, but Sam’s a versatile guy,” Alexander said. “He’s tall, he’s rangy, long and athletic. He has deceiving speed: he might not look like he’s running fast, but he’s running faster than everyone on the field. He’s a smart soccer player, he’s going to do whatever you tell him.
“He’s a middle defender, but he’s versatile enough that he could play anywhere. I liked him in the middle for his strength, but he didn’t have to use it most of the time since he was in the right spots.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.