Spencer Young will keep his athletic talents right at home next season as a member of the UBC Okanagan Heat men’s soccer team.
The 6-foot, 195-pound multi-positional player won two B.C. AA high school soccer titles with the Okanagan Mission Huskies, including this fall as the team’s captain. Young has also been the OKM’s MVP two years running.
At the club level, Young played last season with TOFC but will be making the switch to the Kelowna United U18s for next spring.
Mostly slated as a centre-mid, left-back, or centre-back, he expects to be playing primarily left-back with the Heat in September.
UBC Okanagan men’s soccer head coach Dante Zanatta is “extremely excited that Spencer has committed to UBCO.
“As arguably the one of the best outfield players in the Thompson Okanagan region to graduate in the past five years it is wonderful that he has decided to join our program.”
Young was asked what he believes he will be able to bring to the team in 2016.
“I find myself to be pretty fast and I like to get involved in the attack, and in the upcoming season I hope to have a good impact on the defensive side of the game while also being able to provide another attacking option going forward,” Young said.
Talking about why he chose to come to UBCO, proximity to home was evidently not the only factor. Young has known coach Zanatta for a few years, and is excited to play under and learn from him as a part of the Heat.
“I’m looking forward to seeing who I will become as a footballer and as a person under coach Zanatta and the team,” Young added. “I feel as though I have an endless amount of stuff to learn, and I look forward to every moment of it.”
“Spencer is a very good athlete with a high work rate,” explains Zanatta who has worked with Spencer in the newly-formed Junior Heat soccer program.
Academics was also a significant factor in Spencer’s decision to become a part of the UBC Okanagan program.
“I am planning on taking the Spanish program offered at UBCO,” he said. “UBCO offers some quality classes that I feel personally are the right fit for me. In the long run, I hope to look back at my academic experience at UBCO and be proud of what I’ve accomplished and feel satisfied with the career path that I have set myself up for.”
