YOUNG IDEAS: New Princeton Day School baseball head coach Jeff Young instructs freshman Ryan Babecki during a preseason scrimmage. Last Saturday, PDS posted the first victory of Young’s tenure, edging St. Thomas Aquinas 16-15. The Panthers, who moved to 1-4 with an 11-5 loss to the Blair Academy last Monday, host St. Rose on May 1 and Pennington School on May 3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

After starring for the South Brunswick High baseball team in the late 1980s, Jeff Young headed to the University of New Haven to continue his playing career at the next level.

But an injury derailed those plans and Young turned to coaching.

“It was a combination of staying in the game and also just a passion for teaching,” recalled Young.

“I never thought I was a coach, I never wanted anyone to call me a coach but I love to teach. At that point I started trying to learn as much as I could about the game.”

Returning to New Jersey, Young transferred to Rowan University and started a travel baseball program for youth players that ended up placing athletes in college programs and the pro ranks.

He then helped Gallagher Baseball get off the ground, serving as that program’s Director of Player Development for 10 years.

Now, Young, 37, is bringing his wealth of knowledge to the Princeton Day School, taking the post as the baseball program’s head coach, succeeding Patrick George.

While Young wasn’t looking for a high school coaching job with two young children at home, things fell into place at PDS through an assist from his wife, Ashleigh, a psychologist for Student Services at the school.

“When Ashleigh was introduced to people on campus last summer, she met Eugene Burroughs, a new hire in the admissions office and the new basketball coach,” said Young, who had a familiarity with the school’s baseball program, having worked with former PDS standouts Jake Alu, James Radvany, and Cole McManimon at Gallagher Baseball.

“She said I have a husband who is involved in Mercer County baseball for over 10 years, would you want him to reach out to you to give you the scope of the local baseball scene? He was yeah, for sure, so the first person I met was Eugene. When he found out Patrick George wasn’t around, he said Jeff, there is going to be a baseball opening here.”

Young applied for the opening and took the helm of the team in late March, greeting his players with a straightforward, reassuring message.

“I am very adamant about forming relationships, I wanted to let them know that this isn’t a short-term thing,” said Young, who teaches phys ed at Martin Luther King elementary school in Trenton.

“My heart went out to them because over the last three years they have had a lot of uncertainty. I wanted No. 1 to bring stability to the program, their thoughts and their minds. I said hey I am going to earn your trust and I am going to make sure that you realize that I care about you and this program. That was the first message that I gave them.”

Hitting the field for preseason training, Young started that process with a focus on fundamentals.

“I feel fortunate that we were able to get on the field right away and have a real, true preseason,” said Young.

“We have been on the field everyday. Everybody had a cool preseason where we were able to develop skill days, we had scrimmage days.”

Young has been impressed by the response of the players. “We have a bunch of leaders, the kids really get along,” said Young, whose club earned the first win of his tenure, edging St. Thomas Aquinas 16-15 last Saturday.

“I think the upperclassmen really want to be good examples to the younger classes and take pride in the program.”

PDS has a bunch of arms to handle the pitching, including junior Jackson Bailey, junior Mike Carroll, senior Shivam Singh, sophomore Ryan Vandal, and junior Connor Topping.

“We are going to do a pitcher by committee type of approach; we are going to have a lot of guys throw innings but we are not going to have them throw a lot of innings,” said Young.

“They are going to throw one or two at a time. The guys are all going to have a learning experience on the mound. I am going to teach and I am going to be patient. Some guys are not that experienced at holding runners, they are not that experienced with some of the intricacies of being a pitcher. I look forward to introducing that to them.”

As for the batting order, junior Hunter von Zelowitz along with Carroll, Vandal, Topping, and Bailey will be counted on for offensive production.

“Hunter and Mike are definitely the middle of the order right now,” said Young.

“Ryan and Connor are going to supply some speed to that lineup and some athleticism. We are going to rely on Jackson, he is going to be in the middle of that order too.”

On defense, Young will mix and match athleticism and speed. Junior Jonah Soos and freshman Ryan Babecki will get time at catcher with
Bailey at first base, Carroll and von Zelowitz holding down the middle of the infield along with Vandal and Babecki at third. In the outfield, Vandal, Topping, junior Harrison Fehn, junior Jacob Roitburg, and a trio of freshmen, Will Maschler, Sam Salguero, and Christian Escobar, should all see action.

For Young, the 2021 season is about laying the foundation for future success.

“We have to focus on some of the intangibles, we need to put our efforts into things that we really have control of,” said Young, whose squad moved to 1-4 with an 11-5 loss to the Blair Academy last Monday and hosts St. Rose on May 1 and Pennington School on May 3.

“We are going to be prepared to play, everyday at practice we will show up and bring something to the table. Everybody needs to feel like they have a responsibility and something to offer. We are going to make sure that we are not outhustled. We are going to work hard on the field to develop our skills and have a plan for that day. I believe we are going to be relentless. We are going to focus on growth.”