Elizabeth Young is a senior at Carlisle High School but she doubles as an athlete as well.  Young participates on both the volleyball and swim teams.

Young has seen a lot of success on the swim team, especially last year when she was a major contributor on the team who shared a three-way tie for the Mid Penn Conference Championship with Hershey and State College.  Recently Periscope got a chance to catch up with her and ask her a few questions.

What sports do you participate under the name of Carlisle High School?

EY: Volleyball and Swimming 

How long have you participated in these sports for?

EY: I have been swimming ever since I was 6 years old so that makes this my 12^th year swimming. I have been playing volleyball for 6 years

Which is your favorite and what aspects of this sport make it your favorite?

EY: I go back and forth a lot but I love swimming for sure; it’s probably my favorite sport because of how competitive things get during a race. It’s just you, the water, and your opponents. After getting that win, it feels so great to have accomplished something that can help your whole team in the long run.

Do you have any college plans and are you planning on competing in either sport in college?

EY: I would like to attend East Stroudsburg University in the fall of 2017 and continue my swimming career as an ESU Warrior.

How does this year feel different with competing during your senior year?

EY: It feels very different competing in these sports as a senior. After competing against the different swimmers and the different teams of both volleyball and swimming for many years, I will likely never see them again or have to play against them. Which is where the quote, “Play every game like it’s your last” [comes in for me]. I realized in the beginning of the volleyball season [that] it’s my last time playing each of these gyms against each of these teams. It really changes your perspective on things.

What has been your favorite memory from each sport over your last 3 years of competing?

EY: My favorite memory from swim team is always busting on [one of my teammates] for eating rocks; even though she knows we all love her to death, the reactions we get out of her are by far the funniest thing. My favorite moment on the volleyball team occurred last year when the whole team went white water rafting; we kept watching people flip their raft, fall out and try to get back in it as they are going through the rapids, which was really funny.

How did you become interested with your sports?

EY: I became interested in both these sports through my mom Tara Young; she has been the head coach ever since I first started swimming. All of my friends on the swim team and I would joke around with her and just have fun. My whole family swims too; my aunts swam when they were younger, all my cousins used to swim and all my siblings swim with me.

I first started playing volleyball at the Carlisle Swim Club on their sand courts and fell in love with the sport. My mom told me that I was good at it and said I should try it, so I did. She signed me up for a lot of different camps and clinics so that I could get better and be able to try out for the team when I was in 7^th grade. Almost all of my aunts played volleyball when they were in high school too; some went on to play in college. I have made some great friends in volleyball over the years and it’s hard to think that it’s my last year playing on the same team as them.

Did you watch swimming and volleyball in the Olympics and how did watching them affect you?

EY: Yes I watched each sport, though not as much as some people.  But I still followed and watched the USA kill it. It affected me by showing me that the amount of work and effort people put into the sport to get better. I look up to both Katie Ledecky and Kerri Walsh Jennings–they are both amazing athletes and have an amazing amount of willpower. Hopefully one day I can be half as good as one of those two USA Olympic athletes.