By Ken Hansard
The Webb City Cardinals graduated some strong seniors from last year’s 16-13 basketball team that made a late season run to the district championship game. Most schools would be looking towards rebuilding, but Mason Young and his teammates have other thoughts entirely, “My teammates and I were not satisfied with that record and are looking to improve on it this season.”
To do that, Young and his teammates will be stepping into expanded roles – roles that they feel they are fully capable of filling, “Eli Pace and Holton Keith left some pretty big shoes to fill, so I feel like our biggest challenge will be finding out who steps up and takes control of the team. Personally, I’m really looking forward to taking on a bigger role for the team in any way that I can, but especially as a leader.”
For what it’s worth, the Cardinals’ coach, Jason Horn, also feels that Young is ready to emerge as a force for Webb City, “Mason had a great summer and off-season. His length and athleticism allow him to play multiple positions. He’s a great leader on and off the floor.”
Mason knows that leadership starts with action, not words, and he is eager to get out and lead by example, “I definitely see myself as a hustle player, I love getting after it down low and fighting for rebounds and flying around the court. My brother made me passionate about being a competitor. He was two years older than me, which always made me the underdog and forced me to be scrappy when we competed against each other.”
That fire in his belly and a trust in his teammates has Mason thinking big for the upcoming season, “The COC is one of the top conferences in Missouri, so to be honest, every game is going to be a grind, but my goal for this year is to win the district championship. Last year we were very close, and I feel very confident about the group of guys that we have this year to compete for a championship.”
Mason is active year-round in the Webb City sports culture, “I also play baseball and football. Last baseball season, I started at third base and pitched for our varsity team. In football, I am starting at Free ‘X’ Safety for varsity.”
Mason sports an impressive 4.0 GPA and, after high school, wants to pursue playing a collegiate sport, most likely baseball.
