Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester Athletics is proud of our alumni who are currently on the front lines helping student-athletes through the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we feature Roadrunner alum Brett Young the baseball coach at Paul VI High School and a former standout player at Gloucester County College.
Photo: Courtesy of Brett Young, Paul VI High School.
Name: Brett Young
High School:Haddon Township 2000, played baseball.
Graduation Year: 2002 (Gloucester County College)
GCC Activities: Played 1B and Outfield for the Roadrunners. Height 6-4, weight 230 pounds.
Current Position: Head Baseball Coach at Paul VI since 2016. Holds career record of 46-45, including back to back 15-6 and 15-8 records in 2018 and 2019. Previously coached softball at Haddonfield Memorial High School.
Served as Assistant Coach at GCC / RCGC from 2006-2008 and again in 2010. Also served as an Assistant Coach at Division II Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
Career highlights: As a player, Young was an All-South Jersey player at Haddon Township. Attended James Madison University briefly before returning home to GCC. He was drafted in the 39th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft.
Navigating Through COVID-19 Pandemic
Question: How are your athletes handling the realities of a remote environment?
Answer: "Very well so far. I am using Twitter to engage the players in weekly 'challenges'. For those that wish to participate, I give them a challenge each Monday and they have to video themselves competing in the competition. They then upload their video to our team Twitter page so the other players can see. At a specific time, I announce the winner. So far we have had a 'quick hands' challenge and a 'family push up competition.' I wanted to engage the players and a family member of their choice in the challenge. The guys seem to really enjoy the challenges so far."
Question: Are you using any specific technologies to help assist you in working with the student athletes?
Answer: "I use the REMIND app to send players videos on different skills. I usually break the videos down to be position specific. I can see on the app who opens the link and who doesn't. The only challenge I am facing is not knowing if the players are actually taking the time to watch and learn from the videos I send out."
Question: Are you and the coaching staff happy with the way the players have responded to working together online?
Answer: "I communicate via group chat texts with the captains to communicate different ideas that they may have that can help the team. Overall, I have a great group of players, and they have fully bought into our program at Paul VI. They have really stepped up and stayed in contact."