Young played his first game for Minyip when he was just nine years old and has hardly missed out on an opportunity to put on the whites since.

“Aside from couple of months playing for a Ballarat team I have played there every year,” he said.

“I had a really good mentor in Lloyd McLachlan who did a lot for the sport when I was growing up.

“When I came home after university I committed to helping the game.”

Young, who recently turned 40, said coaching juniors was more than just helping them develop skills. 

“Its about how to be a good teammate and getting them to enjoy every aspect of cricket,” he said.

“There are going to be patches where things aren’t going your way and then it will be just long spells in the field.

“So if you’re not enjoying fielding with your mates, and not enjoying seeing them do well, then it would be a pretty lonely game that you’d give up soon enough.”

His philosophy of enjoying every aspect of the game permeates through his approach as a coach.

“Kids need at least some basic skills that will equip them to become decent players when they’re older,” he said. 

“If you don’t have a good technique then the chances are you are not going to be batting for that long and you may get tired of playing cricket because you are just in the field all the time.”

Having spent a lot of time playing at the highest level possible Young has more recently taken to playing in the club’s second side where he enjoys playing with developing players.

He also coaches the under-16.5 Dunmunkle side and has coached the Horsham Cricket Association under-13 side at country week in Portland for the past three seasons.

“I had some good mentors that encouraged me when I started to playing senior cricket,” he said. 

“The older fellers were happy to encourage me and I’d like to think that’s the stage I’m at now.

“I see my role as assisting the players that are coming through, it gives me a fair bit of satisfaction seeing the guys that I’ve worked with from the age of nine or ten play good A Grade cricket –  that’s really enjoyable”

Young naturally considers premierships as some of his best memories in the game but said the atmosphere within the association meant that you could enjoy the game even on bad days.

“I got to skipper a really young side when we won the B Grade flag a few years back and that stands out,” he said. 

“We can get competitive at times but at the same time its a lot of fun when you can have a good laugh. Sometimes when you don’t do as well it’s even more fun than if things are going to plan.”

As well as being heavily involved in the development of juniors Young has filled various committee roles at Rup-Minyip, including stints as president and secretary.

“I’ve been on and off the committee over the past 15 years – more on than off in recent years,” he said. 

“The week to week getting players to and from games is probably my biggest contribution as well as a bit of the coaching.”

He said another one of his best memories came when he lined up with his father and five younger brothers – Jarrod, Clinton, Mitchell, Lachlan and Blake – in a game during the early 2000s.

“That was something special,” he said.

“It was about the time of my nana’s 80^th birthday so we all played together. We made quite a few runs that day and Mitchell scored a century.”

Young said family often played a big part in clubs from small towns.

“You end up playing with lots of blokes from the same family and that supportive environment shows through,” he said.

“Cricket is a great activity to do on a Saturday because it takes your mind away from the working week while you spend time with mates.”