Senior Spotlight: Holy Spirit’s Zhyana Young hasn’t taken any shortcuts during her basketball career

By GIUSEPPE UNGARO
Staff Writer
There really is no shortcut from Woodbine to Absecon. It takes some time just to get to the Garden State Parkway. Even with no traffic it will take at least 30 minutes to get to Holy Spirit High School.
The relatively long trip is nothing for Spartans senior Zhyana Young. She doesn’t do shortcuts anyway, especially when it comes to basketball.
Despite being one of the most talented players on the Holy Spirit girls basketball team, the 5-feet, 11-inches tall Young continued to work on her game throughout her career. It didn’t matter if the Spartans were contenders or, like this season, in the midst of a rebuilding year — Young never stopped working.
One day, close to practice time, Young found herself without a ride from her home to the school. It’s not like another player or coach can just swing by and offer a ride since she lives so far away. Young didn’t sulk or take the day off to play on her phone. Instead, Young was able to get access to the local gym, called up her coach, Jackie Siscone, and asked her what to work on.
“It has always been there,” Young said of her work ethic. “I always want to make myself better, and my team better.”

It is that type of effort that has made her the kind of player her teammates can emulate.
“She definitely stepped into the role of leader, especially this offseason. I saw a lot of maturity and growth from her between her junior year and her senior year,” Siscone said. “I’ve seen her try and mentor some of the younger kids. I’ve seen her try and hold her teammates accountable, but she does it in a very mature way.
“And she leads by example, too. She is not the most vocal kid, but she is the one leading by her effort no matter what the scoreboard says. Anything I ask the kids to do, she does. I can’t ask for more than that.”
Holy Spirit is having a down year as far as its record is concerned, and certainly not the type of season Siscone and Young wanted or expected. Despite sitting at just four wins, Young’s play and determination hasn’t faltered.
Young is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Spartans, despite being the only perceived offensive threat on the team and facing plenty of double teams from opposing defenses. The Spartans’ captain has scored in double digits 11 times this season. She had a streak of five consecutive games of 11 points or more, including a season-high 18 on Jan. 19 against Collingswood.
“She is definitely our most consistent player. She has been the kid who tries to carry the weight on her shoulders as a leader,” Siscone said. “She is obviously trying to put points up on the board for us and she is our leading rebounder, too. She goes out every night and she is double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed, but she still finds a way to get it done.”
“It’s hard to stay positive at all times. But having heart keeps me in the game, keeps me focused on what really matters,” Young said.
Her focus and work ethic will only benefit Young off the hardwood. She hasn’t decided yet where she would like to attend college, but once enrolled she plans on majoring in either business or criminal justice.
While her next stop may still be in doubt, there is no question she has left an impact on the Holy Spirit girls basketball program.
“I think I definitely made the best of it,” Young said. “It has been a lot of fun.”