Coach Vaught,

Originally, I was going to personally write this letter to you.  As I started to put the pen to paper, I realized all the feelings I felt and the words I could say did not just describe how I felt.  Rather, they are the feelings of over 1,000 student-athletes, coaches and co-workers who you have impacted over your years coaching.  It was then I decided the personal letter would no longer suffice.  A personal letter does not do justice to the impact you have left on these 1,000 plus individuals.   Much to your dismay, you deserve the public recognition…and I want to give that to you.

For the last 24 years, the number of young men who have worked or played for you and have left the University of Indianapolis a better person than when they arrived is mind boggling.  As the years pass, people will think about the astronomical number of baseball games in which you coached and the record books in which your name will be highly reflected, but that's not all.  The life lessons that you have taught out number the games you have won and the records you have set.  Here are a few that stand out to me:

• Acknowledge defeat but never accept it
• Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means you are standing alone
• Take pride in everything you do and always give it 100%
• It is always about the team and never about the individual
• If you are pointing your finger and blaming someone else, there are always three fingers pointing back at you
• Learn from your mistakes and do not make them again
• Loyalty
• Give everything you have for those around you and they will give you everything they have in return
• Never overlook the current opportunity, because you may never get a second chance

I, along with the 1,000 plus individuals you have touched in your career, will carry your life lessons wherever life may lead us.  With that, your legacy will be passed from generation to generation, impacting those who you may never know or cross paths with.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for everything you have done for me as a mentor and a friend.  

In conclusion, I thank you for leaving UIndy a better place than when you found it 24 years ago.  Thank you for the life lessons you taught and enforced along the way.  Because of you, I am a much better person now than when I arrived on campus those same 24 years ago.  I hope I can look back on my career and leave just a small portion of the impact you are leaving in 2018. 


-Scott Young
UIndy Baseball 1999 - 2008
UIndy Athletics Administration 2008 - present