Pitcher a rare gem in classroom and on diamond

May 6, 2009

By Brenda Rader Mross
The Wellington

Pitching academics. Poudre High School senior Jared Young excels on the pitcher’s mound and in the classroom. Photo by Brenda Rader Mross

Defying the stereotype of athletes as dumb jocks just as deftly as he struck out 13 hitters against Thornton this season, Jared Young is certainly no “musclehead.”

He is both muscular and brainy, a scholar and an athlete, and a bit of a band geek.

The Poudre High School senior carries a 4.0 GPA after four years in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program.

“My parents said as a kid I was curious on all levels,” said Jared, who discovered a love of math and science while at Eyestone Elementary School. “Studying has always come pretty easy to me. I think it runs in the family.”

The Youngs live on County Road 68, where paintball games are abundant. Jared’s dad, Robert, owns NGV Inc., which makes and distributes components for natural gas companies, while his mom, Sandy, is a Title I teacher at Eyestone. Jared’s brother, Aaron, graduated from Poudre in 2007 and is currently in the honors engineering program at the University of Colorado.

Jared goes against the grain regarding typical sibling rivalries, as he is happily following in Aaron’s footsteps by enrolling at CU in the same discipline.

“It’s a start,” he said. “I have no idea what I want to do. Actually, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. I’m an outdoors guy, though, and since Colorado is such a great location, it didn’t make sense to go someplace else.”

The 18-year-old trumpeter loves to ski — not snowboard — and spend time biking in the mountains.

He also loves sports, dating back to his T-ball and rookie league baseball days.

Jared was a safety for the Poudre Impalas football team the past two years, but he also played quarterback and running back during his gridiron career. He said some of his fondest memories of Wellington (Colorado) Junior High occurred on the football field with Brian Pohl as his coach. Jared also played basketball for the Eagles.

The coolest class at Eyestone from Jared’s perspective was sixth grade with Cameron Shinn, now an English teacher at Preston Junior High School.

Today, it’s science — any kind.

“I like it all,” Jared said. “Physics, if I had to choose.”

Jared described IB as a community within a community. He said he chose to participate because of its advanced math curriculum.
“And you get to know a lot of people,” he said. “Playing sports helped me get to know even more.”

After three years on varsity baseball, it’s the players Jared said he’ll miss most next year when springs starts and he’s not on the mound for the Impalas. PHS had a tough season, including an 8-0 loss to rival Rocky Mountain High School, two-time defending Class 5A state champions.

The Impalas did not qualify for postseason play, but ended their home season on an upswing nonetheless, with a 5-3 win over Loveland High School. In a rare game played under the lights, Jared struck out five batters and walked three.

Coach Marc Buffington called Jared well-rounded, adding that he pitched a gem of a final game.

Buffington called his first year as head coach very rewarding.

“I am fortunate to work with other coaches in the building that have been my rock,” Buffington said, citing John Knight and Joe Fontana as great influences. “We are really looking forward to building a program of integrity here at Poudre.”

Buffington has been teaching social studies at PHS for three years and said he enjoys coaching hard-working athletes like Jared and helping them reach their potential.

“It’s fun to see how they change and mature from the time they are freshman to seniors,” he said. “Jared has been a good leader and positive influence on his teammates throughout his baseball career at Poudre. He found a way to balance baseball, football, band and a busy IB class schedule. He has been a pleasure to coach and will be missed.”

Dedicated is the word Jared used to describe his coach.

“I always liked Mr. Buffington,” Jared said. “He always put in the time, especially behind the scenes.”

Buffington and his boys recently volunteered at Respite Care, a baseball team annual tradition in which players are paired up with special needs children.

“It’s tough to do, but I really enjoyed it,” Jared said. “I think I got more out of it than the kids.”

Jared surmised his peers would say he is “pretty laid back,” although he said he likes being in control and knowing that, as pitcher, the game doesn’t start until he’s ready.

“I’m not really vocal a lot of the time,” he acknowledged, “but I put in a lot of work.”

He portrayed himself as “not insecure,” and credits his type B personality with his ability to let things go.

“You have to have a short memory to deal with your failures,” Jared explained. “Hey, a lot of Hall of Famers failed seven out of 10 times.”

Still, Jared admitted to being quite competitive, stating, “I don’t like to lose.”

With all the diverse balls this 2009 graduate has managed to juggle, that doesn’t seem likely to happen.