Mike Young
Mike is founder and owner of ELITETRACK and also the co-owner of Human Performance Consulting. In his role as the Director of Sports Performance for HPC, Mike serves as the primary biomechanist and strength and speed consultant. He currently trains athletes ranging from high school to professional in a wide variety of sports at his training center, Athletic Lab.Mike is also the coach of the HPC Elite Track Team whose members have or continue to include Dallas Robinson, Alonzo Moore, Allie Israel, Lamont Dagen, Tiina Magi, Babatunde Ridley, Tomika Ferguson, Eric Broadbent, John Strang, Brandon Roulhac and Nick Newman among others. In the clubs 4 years in existence, it has qualified 10 athletes for the USATF indoor national championships and had 5 athletes compete at their national Olympic trials (including 3 in the US). The team has placed at least one athlete in the finals of every U.S. track and field national championships since 2008 and has won 12 medals during this time.
Mike has an undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology and a Master of Science degree in Athletic Administration and a PhD in Biomechanics. He has studied extensively in anatomy, physiology, sport psychology, motor learning, training theory and biomechanics. Mike has served as a graduate assistant jumps and multi-events coach at LSU and Ohio University before serving as the sprints and decathlon coach at Army.
In his relatively short collegiate coaching career Mike has been on 6 NCAA National Championship staffs and coached athletes to eleven school records, 54 All-Time Top Ten performances, and 24 Conference Championships. He has been a guest at all three U.S. Olympic Training Centers as an athlete (Lake Placid), sport scientist (Colorado Springs and Chula Vista), and coach (Colorado Springs). Mike has worked with several Olympians, National Champions, and Collegiate National Champions in the sport of Track and Field. In addition to working with track athletes, Mike has also trained athletes from a variety of other sports. Mike has helped prepare numerous players for the NFL combine, most notably Bradie James (Dallas Cowboys) and Super Bowl Champion Marquise Hill (New England Patriots). He has worked as the speed and strength coordinator for the Carolina Railhawks and has recently taken over the role of first team conditioning coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS.
He has served as an instructor or adjunct professor at Ohio University, LSU, and the University of North Carolina and has lectured for the Chinese Track and Field Association, USA Speed Skating and the North Carolina Justice Academy. He has developed strength and conditioning programs for collegiate sports ranging from basketball to swimming. A Level 1, 2, and 3 Instructor for USA Track and Field, he also served as the Director of Technology, Biomechanics Chairperson, and Vertical Jumps Chairperson for USATF's Coaches’ Education division from 2002-2010. Mike is certified as a USATF Level 1, 2, and 3 coach and is only one of two people to be a Level 3 instructor in three different event disciplines (sprints, throws, and jumps). In his role as a USATF Coaches Education instructor, Mike became the youngest Level 2 (at the age of 26) and Level 3 (at 28) instructor ever in the 25 year history of the program. On top of these duties, Mike is also the biomechanist for the United State's men and women shot putters who are consistently ranked among the very best in the world.
His research on sprinting, balance, and throwing activities has been published and presented in Regional, National and International journals and conferences. In the field of strength and conditioning, Mike is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist as well as a certified USA Weightlifting Club Coach. He is well-versed in coaching the Olympic Lifts and creating specialized strength, speed and conditioning programs to help maximize the performance of any athlete.
