Young, selected with pick 72 in Saturday’s NAB AFL Draft, spent a good part of last year in New York State playing punter and wide receiver for Hancock Central High School.
"I went over there [the United States] for an exchange for 10 months when I was 16 years old. I just printed some forms off the computer to apply and I got in, so I went over there and went all right in gridiron," Young said.
"I scored a couple of touchdowns and it was a great experience playing that sport. You have to learn a lot, different plays and that sort of stuff, but it was just great going over there."
Young, who missed the entire 2006 season with stress fractures in his back, reacquainted himself with the Sherrin upon his return and was talked into trying out for the North Ballarat Rebels under-18s side.
The 192cm, 83kg athlete impressed at both ends of the ground and was selected to represent Vic Country in this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
Placed in the defensive group at Adelaide, he said he is still struggling to come to terms with his sudden rise to an AFL list.
"I came back from the US midway through 2007 and started pre-season with the North Ballarat Rebels," he said.
"I wasn’t really expecting much at all – I was just trying to get a game – but I had an okay year and now I’m here."
Young, who sports a tattoo of a five-pointed star on his shoulder to represent him and his four brothers, hails from a farm outside Ballarat where his stepfather breeds harness-racing horses.
But he was in the saddle of another kind on Thursday when the draftees joined former Australian cycling coach and club mentor Charlie Walsh for a road ride around Adelaide.
"The ride was great. We had to learn how to clip our feet in to the bike to start with and that was pretty hard. We were staggering all over the place, but it was great to go around the city and see the beach and all those kinds of things," Young said.
"Adelaide’s a lot different to Ballarat. The weather is a lot better here; it’s like 10 degrees down in Ballarat every day so it’s good to have a bit of sun and get the tan going."
