With tears forming in her eyes, Bella Young walked slowly to the center of Dooley Field after hearing her name called.
The Greer High senior had just been selected as the school’s 2026-2027 homecoming queen.
Young’s emotions, however, didn’t stem from the crown placed on her head. They came from the applause and adoration of those in the stands. Hundreds of members of the Greer community — the community that raised Young since she was just a girl.
“Greer’s always been there for me,” said Young. “This place has always been home. The community is full of amazing people, and a lot of the people have treated me like I was part of their family. To represent them in that way, it means so much.”
For Young, family matters. It matters when she speaks of the Greer community she considers kin. It matters even more when she speaks of the parents who raised her.
Her father sits at the intersection of both categories.
Bella hugs her father, head coach Will Young, on Greer's homecoming night.
Bella’s father, Will, has been the head coach of Greer’s football team for the past 21 years. For Bella’s entire life, she’s been a gridiron girl. It’s all she’s known.
On homecoming night, she received her crown on the same field she used to carry water bottles for the team as a kid.
“I spent every single Friday night as a kid at the field with my dad,” said Bella. “Getting ready to go to games and being there under the lights. For basically my entire time in elementary school, I was the team’s watergirl. Growing up, every Wednesday, we would spend Wednesdays painting the field so it would be ready for Friday night.
“It’s always been a part of me, in a way. It’s going to be really weird saying goodbye.”
Growing up, Bella handled duties as watergirl for Greer High football.
The senior has made her mark at Greer in her own sport, too. Bella is Greer’s star swimmer, having captured several first-place finishes at meets throughout her senior season.
“My mom and dad both coach their own sports, with my dad having football and my mom coaching volleyball. But I will just admit, I’ve never had the best hand-eye coordination,” said Bella, laughing. “So I guess I just found the one sport that didn’t have a ball in it. That’s never really been my thing.”
She concluded her swimming career at Greer at the end of September.
Bella made sure to leave the program better than she found it, however, by mentoring and investing in the younger girls on the team.
“There are points at these swim meets where Bella may not be up, and it would be easy for her to just sit on her phone or something,” said Greer swimming head coach Paul Dean. “But that’s not who she is. She’s up helping some of the younger swimmers get to where they need to be on time. She’s watching the other girls, cheering them on, and coaching them up a bit. She’s been a tremendous leader for our program.”
Bella Young has been a standout swimmer for Greer High for several years.
“Supporting the younger swimmers was always my goal. I want to see them succeed,” said Bella. “It’s been great because we have a lot more underclassmen on this year’s team than normal. It shows that the word is spreading about Greer swimming.”
With swimming and homecoming now done for Bella, she’s counting down the days until graduation in May.
It’s inching closer. And for Bella, who’s poured into the community alongside her family and friends her whole life, that reality is starting to hit hard.
“It’s crazy hearing you have only so many months left until graduation. 2027 used to feel so far away. Now, it’s almost here,” said Bella. “Going through so many last events — homecoming, my last swim meet — it just makes me emotional.
“My family and I have so much history here. But I’m excited to start a new chapter after graduation, and make some new history for myself.”
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