Success is never accomplished in a vacuum, and no NWSL club has had more success than the North Carolina Courage. The seven league trophies are an NWSL record with the team earning the NWSL Shield each of its first three years in North Carolina, pulling the double twice in that span.
The unprecedented success has been built on a culture that values hard work, accountability, a difficult training environment, and heavy emphasis on fitness. That demand means it takes a special player to make the Courage cut, and many of those names are widely known.
Behind the scenes, one unheralded architect is constantly building, adapting, and growing the culture: Director of Performance Mike Young.
Young is a world-renowned expert in sports performance, working with individual athletes and teams at the highest level of their respective sports across the globe. His resume includes work with European powerhouses, such as Liverpool and Arsenal, and top NBA and rugby teams. But Young’s home team has been the Courage ever since they moved to North Carolina in 2017.
He’s been at the forefront of sports science in soccer, combining troves of data with decades of strength and performance coaching experience, and the NWSL’s most decorated club has reaped the benefits.
“When I first got into the sport about 15 years ago, that kind of thing hadn’t really been done at a high level. Now, people are catching up to a science-based approach to training, how to manage training loads, and how to develop speed and power in the sport. But we still look to keep an edge and stay on the leading edge of sport science and performance to ensure we always follow best practices for our players,” Young said.
Data is key to Young’s approach to sports science and performance, which includes everything from fitness and nutrition to injury prevention. This makes it easier for players to buy in.
“There is nothing that we do, whether it’s in the gym or on the field, that doesn’t get calculated or measured in some capacity. He dissects all the data to figure out what kind of meters and metrics we need to hit each week,” said Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz.
The data collection comes from a variety of sources and utilizes an AI-based system to aggregate the data. Young and his team are a fine-tuned blend of artist and scientist.
“We’re taking biometric data from Oura Rings. We’re taking surveys from each player every morning to assess things like their recovery, energy levels and sleep. We use GPS and heart rate data to determine how much the player has done and what the cost of it was. We take into account the demands of travel and the gym. And we do weekly assessments of a player’s physical readiness using the most advanced sports science testing technology available. All this data goes into a big proverbial pot that we then apply a little bit of magic to and determine how much each player has done and whether they need more training or more rest. This way we can ensure that they’re always in the sweet spot of never doing too much or too little,” Young said.
That overall approach informs Young and the Courage’s ‘bend but don’t break’ philosophy on performance.
“We train very hard compared to most other teams. Our ability to do that is contingent on our planning and load monitoring. I make sure every player, from injured or unfit, to the fittest players are pushed to their limit but never beyond.” Young said.
The load is different for each player in the Courage within the training environment. That’s not only okay by Young’s standards. It’s encouraged.
“Each player is treated as an individual. In this regard, fair is not equal, and equal is not fair when it comes to training. New players are treated differently than players that have been in our environment for years. Someone who’s returning from injury might be treated a little bit differently in terms of what they can tolerate relative to what they’ve done in the past. All of this goes into that magic pot so we can determine what’s best for a given player with a pretty high level of certainty,” Young said.
Kurtz is a prime example of the impact Young has made on the Courage. A three-time Iron Woman and the NWSL’s consecutive regular season minutes record holder, Kurtz hasn’t missed a single minute in over three seasons.
“He understands our bodies and he can push us to be our best. He knows when we need to be aerobic or anaerobic in our running,” Kurtz said.
Young’s background wasn’t originally in soccer, starting as a track and field athlete and then coach, then working in basketball and American football, among other individual sports. His first foray into soccer came with the then-Carolina RailHawks in 2009.
“At the time, I was pretty naïve about soccer. I probably couldn’t have told you how many players were on the field at the same time, but I trained the heck out of them based in my background in other sports, sports science, and speed and endurance development,” Young said.
Young helped the RailHawks claim first place in the NASL Conference of U.S. Pro Division 2 in 2010 and 2011 NASL regular season title. That success earned him a move to the MLS’s Vancouver Whitecaps, where he helped the team to an MLS-record turnaround.
That background in other sports, especially track and field, heavily influences Young’s performance philosophy in soccer.
“I’ve worked across multiple different domains. I’ve been a sport coach for elite level athletes in track & field and the sport of weightlifting. I’ve been a strength coach for a wide range of team and individual sport athletes. I’ve worked as a sports scientist as well as a director. These experiences have allowed me to see through different lenses and speak the languages of everyone from athletes, coaches, scientists through executives. It also allowed me to think outside of the box that many who come from just one sport often get stuck in. I can look outside of the box that is oftentimes very close-minded in any given sport. Soccer is not special in that regard,” Young said.
Track and field specifically is directly focused on physical prowess, with far less emphasis on tactics and strategy.
“Track & field is brutally honest. There’s minimal strategy or tactics. It’s just about, ‘can you do it or not?’ You’re quantitatively assessed down to the millimeter or millisecond. Training people for that sport makes you focus on what really works. I try to take that focus and combine it with my underlying sports science and technology background to a sport like soccer, where there is admittedly so much more going on,” Young said.
That intersection of physical performance and tactical nuance is where the foundation of the Courage’s culture has been built. And, like players, the technical staff is bought in.
“Every day has to be more difficult than a match weekend. Mike helps set that standard for us. He knows what [the coaches] want to do and he fills the gaps really well. … There’s no player that comes into our environment that doesn’t get better. It helps with their mentality and willingness to understand that they’re capable of more than what they think they are. I wouldn’t want anyone else in that position. He’s brilliant. He’s a good balance for what we do as well,” Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas said.
That ability for Young to help players achieve their next level hasn’t gone unnoticed by players who have worked with him during his time with the Courage and that push is something players want.
“We all call Mike the G.O.A.T. He is absolutely amazing. He’s very knowledgeable about what we do. Training is never easy with Mike here and the staff that we have. It’s what we want as players. We want to grow. We want to become better and it’s really helpful when you have that environment,” said Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan.
Young’s passion for what he does stems from exactly that, helping players push themselves further.
“I’m very grateful I’ve been able to have an impact on the club. While some might say we’re just helping adults play games better, what I’m really allowed to do is help people achieve their dreams and sometimes things they might not otherwise have thought possible. … It’s just been great to be a part of this team, because it truly is a team with the Courage,” Young said.
Young has left an indelible mark on the Courage on and off the field. His work with the team put the club at the forefront of sports science and performance and he is always looking for the next way to push each individual player to new levels.
