Griffith freshman Camryn Young has Division I aspirations for her softball career.
A talented pitcher and middle infielder, Young said high-level college softball “has always been my dream.”
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t take basketball seriously. Far from it, actually.
“I just keep going back to the competitiveness,” Young said. “I just hate losing.
“I just try to keep myself in shape. Basketball is just something I do for fun. I don’t get to hang around my school friends that much because of softball. This is just something really I do to keep myself in shape, and it’s just something that I like to do.”
Young happens to be quite good too. The 5-foot-7 guard was averaging 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals before Griffith (10-9, 5-1) played Munster on Thursday. She ranks second on the team in scoring behind guard/forward Morgan Von Ogden, the only senior on a roster that includes six freshmen.
Under first-year coach Kevin Ballard, whose daughter Savannah plays for Highland, Young and the Panthers have already equaled their total victories from last season, and their only Greater South Shore Conference loss has come against first-place Wheeler.
“She’s definitely a phenomenal player,” Ballard said of Young. “She’s an All-American athlete, hands down. I’m very fortunate to have her on the team. I see a lot of growth potential with her.
“She has a strong competitive drive and will to win. That’s what I love about her. She makes her presence felt on the floor as a freshman. I absolutely love that.”
Young, who also played volleyball for the Panthers in the fall, debuted with 31 points in the season opener against Boone Grove, hitting 9 of 15 shots from 3-point range.
“After our first game, I didn’t know what to expect after that,” she said. “I’m kind of getting into it now. Everybody face-guards, but that opens up everything else for my teammates. Them scoring and me getting assists is just as good as me having 30 points.”
Teammates such as junior guard Olivia Esquivel appreciate Young’s contributions.
“Cam brings a lot of energy to our team,” Esquivel said. “She’s always present. Even if she doesn’t have the ball, she’s always making an impact for us.”
As the regular season winds down, Young is looking forward to making an impact in the sectional. She has enjoyed the experience to this point.
“It’s been great,” she said. “Not a lot of people can say they start on varsity as a freshman. That’s pretty cool. I just do it for my teammates. Everybody wants the same goal. Everybody contributes.
“I’ve been shooting the ball pretty well. I hope to continue that. I’ve been getting to the basket and finishing. That’s what I like to do.”
Of course, Young likes to win too. She envisions a sectional title in softball in the spring, a result she noted “hasn’t happened in a while” at Griffith. Indeed, the softball team last won a sectional title in 2016, which marked its fifth in a row.
Young also believes in the basketball team’s skills and stick-to-itiveness.
“We’re all just a bunch of athletes,” she said. “We’re all very competitive. We never quit, and we never give up — at all. Everybody wants to win. I like that.
“We just have to keep getting more wins. We have to keep working and play up to our potential. Our big goal is to see what we can do in sectionals. We want to make it as far as we can.”