Sharon Young, arguably the most decorated soccer player in Samford history, is in the midst of her third season as an assistant coach at her alma mater. She was officially named to the position Feb. 5, 2008.
Young, the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, was a four-year starter at Samford from 2003-06 and is the school's all-time leader in games played with 80. Her accolades include First, Second and Third-Team All-OVC honors, as well as a pair of OVC All-Tournament selections.
During her senior season in 2006, Young started all 18 matches for the Bulldogs and led Samford to its fourth-consecutive OVC regular-season title.
Young, a native of Powder Springs, Ga., returned to Samford after spending a year as a graduate assistant coach at Lee University located in Cleveland, Tenn.
During her time at Lee, she worked with the Southeast Region Coach of the Year Matt Yelton and helped guide the Flames to a stellar 22-2 record in 2007. Lee was ranked No. 1 in the NAIA national rankings for seven-consecutive weeks and strung together a remarkable 17-game winning streak.
In 2007, Young and the Flames advanced to the NAIA national tournament for a fourth-consecutive year and earned both conference and region titles.
During her playing days at Samford, Young was a member of the Bulldogs' winningest class in school history and was named the Co-Player of the Year in the OVC. In December of 2006, she was even named the runner-up for Alabama Athlete of the Month finishing behind LSU signal-caller JaMarcus Russell, but ahead of West Virginia's quarterback Pat White.
In 2005, Young started in all 23 matches for the Bulldogs and was named the team's Most Valuable Player. After scoring the game-winning goal to lift Samford to its first NCAA Tournament appearance, she was also named the MVP of the OVC Tournament.
Academically, Young was a prototypical student-athlete and was named to both the Samford's Dean's List and the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
