[08/13/01] As Lucy Young neared her 300th career slow-pitch softball win at Warren Central, she kept the milestone a secret from her team.

Sitting on 299 with one more jamboree game left to play, Young planned to tell her Lady Vikes before the final game. Unfortunately, the opponent was Vicksburg.

“That’s pressure enough,” Young said Monday morning with a chuckle. “It would have been totally unfair to put more pressure on them and myself.”

Not until after beating the school’s biggest rival did Young reveal the accomplishment.

“I’m glad it was with this group,” said Young, who has led the Lady Vikes from the first day, 25 years ago.

Young reached a milestone of sorts last season as her team advanced to the state Class 5A final four, the farthest any of her teams had ever been. The Lady Vikes won the North State Championship, before falling in the title series.

She pointed to that run as one of a laundry list of highlights.

“The first time we got there was kind of overwhelming for the kids,” Young said. “But now they’ve been there and know where they want to be in October.”

Young started the program in 1976 after the baseball team moved from the current softball field to their home behind Beechwood Elementary. The softball team replaced baseball behind the high school.

In the first several seasons, before softball had the mass interest it does today, WC played 13-to-15 games a season, mostly against Jackson teams.

“Over the years, slow-pitch has continued to hold a lot of interest,” Young said. “It’s a great sport and it doesn’t take that many to field a team.”

Always shifting praise away from herself, Young credited a quarter-century’s worth of players and assistant coaches for her success.

“I’ve never crossed home plate,” Young said.

Amanda Yocum, WC’s assistant coach, is getting her certification to become a full-time teacher and coach.

Young, who said she still enjoys coming to the ballpark every day, did not say how much longer she will coach.

“I plan to teach a while longer, so right now, I don’t know (how long I’ll coach),” Young said.

“I feel good and am still enjoying it.”