Youngblood a key to Charger athletic teams for seven years
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Ty Younglood has left more than a mark.
He&8217;s left a legacy.
The Cornerstone Christian senior graduates this week from high school, and in doing so he puts the finishing touch on the most storied career in Chargers&8217; athletic history.
Youngblood arrived at CCS as a sixth-grader and quickly caught the attention of Charger coaches.
&8220;When he first came here we knew he was going to be something special,&8221; football and basketball head coach Tim Smith said.
Some could take the word &8220;special&8221; as an extreme understatement.
Youngblood&8217;s football, basketball and baseball careers have spanned 20 seasons at Cornerstone. He&8217;s taken 11 trips to the playoffs and been named captain of more teams than he can count.
&8220;I came here in the sixth grade and haven&8217;t known anything else,&8221; Youngblood said. &8220;I wouldn&8217;t trade my time here for anything.&8221;
Youngblood has seen his ups and downs in the Charger athletic program, from a state championship with the basketball team last season to a broken ankle that kept him out more than half of his senior football season.
Even when he couldn&8217;t play, however, Smith said Youngblood was the heart of his teams.
&8220;&8221;It&8217;s hard to put into words what Ty has meant to us,&8221; Smith said. &8220;He broke his ankle in the first game of the season this year and was still there for every practice and every game, home and away.&8221;
Smith said what makes Youngblood special is his ability to lead by example.
&8220;His leadership ability is something we can never replace,&8221; Smith said. &8220;He leads by example. That&8217;s harder to replace than a guy who leads by being boisterous.&8221;
Youngblood heads to the University of Montevallo next fall, where he hopes to earn a degree in education and one day become a coach.
He said Smith is the model of the coach he wants to become.
&8220;I&8217;ve had four or five coaches since coming here,&8221; he said. &8220;Coach Smith his by far my favorite because he is such a godly man.&8221;
Youngblood was named to the AISA All-Star teams for basketball and baseball this season as well as named honorable mention for the AISA football team and honorable mention for the Shelby County Reporter&8217;s all-county basketball team.
His fellow students voted him as the most valuable player in all three sports as a senior