MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Christiansburg High School senior forward Brittan Young (left) celebrates with teammate Justin Dolph after Young had just scored against Salem.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Shoot or pass?

It's the inevitable question facing soccer players who have put themselves in scoring position. Some look for the glory that accompanies scoring. Others are content to set up a teammate with an assist.

Christiansburg High School senior forward Brittan Young admits that the glory is sweeter.

"I definitely look for goals first," Young said with a laugh, "but if I can't, I'm always looking to set up someone else with an assist."

Young's statistics throughout his varsity career indicate his scoring talents. Of Christiansburg's 21 goals this season, Young accounted for 12 (57 percent). He has 37 career goals.

Though he scores the majority of Christiansburg's goals, Young is not a selfish player. He has also registered four assists this year, and 27 for his career.

Christiansburg's Pete Johnson has coached Young for two years. He's seen how talented Young is, and more importantly, could become.

"I've seen some definite improvements in Brittan over the past two years," Johnson said. "He was quite a decent player last year, but he has improved his shot this season. His biggest strength is his ball work. His ball control, speed when he has the ball, and his shot on goal are superb.

"I've been trying to get him to focus on his game away from the ball. To be honest, I think he has more talent than he realizes."

Young's soccer career began with youth soccer at age 6. By 9, Young was playing on traveling club teams. Over the past few years, he's played for the Radford Rivercats and FC Blacksburg, a junior team affiliated with Virginia Tech.

Playing for FC Blacksburg meant that Young would be teammates with rival players from Blacksburg High School.

"I have a lot of respect for Blacksburg because they are always an excellent team and because it's pretty much my entire team from FC Blacksburg," Young said. "Those guys are my friends, but we have fun playing against each other because we all like good competition."

Playing for travel teams has improved his skills enough that a college career could be in Young's future. He's talked to both Radford University coach Spencer Smith and Virginia Tech's Oliver Weiss.

"I'm hoping to go to New River Community College for a year or two and then walk on at either Radford University or Virginia Tech," Young said. "It's hard to get noticed from a school not typically known for soccer, but I think we have some talented players and it would be nice to get more recognition for Christiansburg soccer."

Johnson added: "There is a lot of potential for a college career for Brittan. He's got the talent to play in college; it's just a matter of learning and working with teammates."

Playing against good competition throughout his soccer career also forced Young to become a leader. He is a Christiansburg co-captain along with defenseman Josh Porter. Because the Blue Demons roster is dominated by a group of 11 sophomores, Young's leadership provides a counterbalance.

"I try to be a leader at all times," Young said. "I try to be a vocal leader, but I think I'm best described as game leader because I try to lead the team during games. I've typically been a captain or a co-captain, so I'm used to the role. It's not really hard, it's just a matter of being confident in everything you do."

Young and two other starting seniors have helped the sophomores mature.

"Brittan does a good job as a leader," Johnson said, "but he is also our main offensive weapon because he's the best attacking player we've got this year. We rely on him to score goals, set up goals and help our younger players improve. For example, fellow forward Carl Leist is a sophomore who is improving every game."

Entering his senior season, Young thought up numerous goals for himself and the Blue Demons. He wanted to score as many goals as possible, and help his team earn a berth into the Group AA Region IV tournament.

"I really wanted to play hard every game and score as many goals as possible," he said after this week's regular season finale with Salem. "Tonight against Salem I broke my single-season goal record, so I guess that's a pretty good accomplishment."

Young's scoring marks aside, Christiansburg still has work to do to advance out of the River Ridge District. The Blue Demons finished 6-8-1 overall and 4-5 in the district. For Johnson, the biggest issue is inconsistency. For example, the Blue Demons lost 7-1 at Salem on April 25 but beat the Spartans 2-1 this week.

"We are a team that plays brilliant one day and looks like we've never played before the next day," Johnson said. "Against Cave Spring we played superbly, and very well against Blacksburg the first time and Salem the second time."

To advance out of the district tournament, Young and the Blue Demons will likely have to win a first-round game. He realizes that the next few weeks will be the most important of his high school career.

"If we want to make it to the semifinals of the district tournament and make it to the regions, we definitely need to talk more and focus on quicker passes," Young said. "We also need to become more united as a team. We haven't really been playing together a long time, but I think we've made good strides working together."