It’s a long way from Weyauwega-Fremont High School to California’s Menlo College, but Megan Young is up for the challenge.
The W-F volleyball standout will join the women’s volleyball team at Menlo, a Division II program near San Francisco and San Jose in Atherton, Calif.
Young signed her National Letter of Intent Dec. 13 in Weyauwega in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates.
“It’s overwhelming coming from a such a small town, trying to reach out to these big schools everywhere,” she said. “We actually went through a recruiting site (NCSASports.org) and that’s for athlete in high school or college in any sport that wants to get to a different place. They got my videos up and were talking to the colleges for me.”
Young, a first-team Central Wisconsin 8 Conference all-conference player as a senior, said Menlo and about 15 colleges contacted her about playing college volleyball.
“It’s pretty amazing, the schools that are out there,” she said. “I had no idea about most of them. It was really between Menlo and Felecian (College) in New Jersey. I knew as soon as there was a deadline put on the decision that I knew where I wanted to be and where I’d be the most comfortable.
“It was Menlo,” she added. “(Felecian) put a very short deadline on it and I had about 1 1/2 weeks to decide if that was the school for me. It put a lot of pressure on me, but I finally decided that wasn’t right for me. Choosing Menlo was right. I just know it in my heart. I feel completely relieved to sign the papers and be ready to move on.”
Young visited Menlo about a month ago.
“I got to play with the team and they were just incredible,” she said.
Menlo also fits in with Young’s plans to eventually earn a doctorate degree in psychiatry.
“They are laying out the steps for me to get there,” she said. “About 50 percent of their girls are from Hawaii and 40 percent are from California. I’m the only one that’s from Wisconsin. It’ll definitely be a challenge at first to find my way around, but the girls out there were very nice to me.”
Young said a dedication to the sport helped her realize her dream of taking her volleyball game to the next level.
“I think it would be the dedication,” she said. “I play year-round. After high school, I go right into club season. As soon as club season ends, I play sand volleyball. To be good in this sport, you not only have to have good skill level, you have to have a heart in the game.”
Young played three full seasons of varsity volleyball in Weyauwega and helped the Indians win a pair of CWC-8 championships.
“The thing I’ll remember the most is my teams,” she said. “Playing with girls that have the same heart and dedication as you really means a lot.”
Coaches began contacting young last year.
“They really push you into it,” she said. “It was exciting to finally hear someone say, ‘You can go to the next level’ and that’s you’re good enough to do it. It’s a great feeling.”
Young will head to California next summer, but she’ll play plenty of volleyball until then.
“They want me to finish the club season, so that’ll be a lot of training itself,” she said. “Throughout the spring and summer, it’s all training regiments and getting stronger and faster.”
