They say goalkeepers are a special breed, so it should come as no surprise that Jamie Young listens to everything from Heavy Metal to Delta Waves and even Joe Rogan podcasts before games.
How different might the complexion of Western United’s campaign have been were it not for Young pulling off the save of the season in the 71st minute of the elimination final against Wellington Phoenix?
The hosts were under the pump, but Young’s miraculous one-handed save to deny Phoenix substitute James McGarry kept the scores locked at 1-0. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Young’s title win was a fitting reward for a player who has never been keen to simply rest on his laurels.
“One of the questions football asks of you is: are you worthy enough to win a championship?” Young recently told me.
“And the answer is: yes, I am,” he explained of how it felt to be crowned an A-League champion in his first season at Western United.
More than a few eyebrows were raised when the 36-year-old reunited with his former Brisbane Roar manager John Aloisi, however Young was quick to praise not only Aloisi’s management, but also what he calls Western United’s “integrative model” of operating.
“We’ve got a chairman who invests well,” Young explained.
“He employs people at an administrative level who are competent and capable of carrying out the club’s vision.
“They employed a manager in John who was very competent and had the backing of the club – not just in terms of money, but who was allowed to do his job and had the autonomy to do it well.”
Young celebrating his first A-League title (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
And having now played under the former Socceroo at both Brisbane Roar and Western United, it’s clear Aloisi is a manager capable of getting the best out of players like Young.
Describing Aloisi’s management style throughout the championship-winning season as “second to none,” Young says Aloisi’s pre-match grand final team talk was the epitome of calm.
And that’s something a player like Young – who has now played more than 400 games of professional football across England and Australia – has clearly given plenty of thought to.
Always a deep thinker about the game, for the past few years Young has quietly been undertaking a PhD in Sports Coaching through the University of Queensland, specialising specifically in how psychology is applied in a sporting context.
“I thought it was my micro niche,” Young told The Roar. “I’ve got an Exercise Science background through my undergrad (degree), but now I can fill a niche that no one’s really addressing.”
And having originally dropped out of high school to pursue his professional football career, Young is now just a few months away from becoming a full-fledged Doctor of Philosophy.
Interestingly, he doesn’t see himself becoming a coach down the line, preferring instead to use his expertise in a different way.
“I’d love to work with footballers or coaches, and mentor them and help develop their emotional intelligence,” he said.
It’s that ability to connect with people on a deeper level that has seen Young not only become a leader in the Brisbane Roar and Western United dressing rooms, but also make a difference off the field.
A long-time ambassador for Multicultural Australia, Young has spoken out eloquently against racism and dedicates much of his spare time towards charitable causes.
In 2019, he travelled to Nepal as an ambassador for World Youth International and now sponsors a Nepalese orphan as a result.
He also listens to Machine Head before games. Or at least he used to, reeling off the Californian heavyweights, Slayer and Tool as some of his favourite pump-up bands in the earlier days of his career.
Now he’s big into podcasts, and he was actually listening to The Joe Rogan Experience in the build-up to the A-League title decider.
“What was the advice, Joe, that you gave me?” asked the guest on the episode Young happened to be listening to.
“Be undeniable!” Rogan replied.
That’s something Jamie Young has undoubtedly made a career out of.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
yeah, but they knew how to win football matches. They skinned Popa and Victory didnt they. i would suggest that this was JA's seminal moment, the break through in his coaching career. I hope they go to another level this year, the Victory/Smurfs domination only contributes to the Schumacher effect and our league was designed to be anything but that.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
One thing is undeniable Mike, and that's football. I remember Dr George Peponis playing for Canterbury Bankstown back in the day in the NRL. Even as a kid, whether I was conscious of it or not, I could never put into focus why such an educated man would do that to himself, but each to his own. If football continues on this path, it only adds another string to it's bow. Jason Hoffman, University educated, Adam D'Appuzo lawyer, this is the kind of role model we want. I will admit I am a fan of Rugby as well, and the conduct of the likes of John Eales, Tim Horan etc is impecible to say the least. Youngy is in that group of individuals when you start to talk about role models. This is a guy that we need to keep around football and the A-League for as long as we can. Cahill, Aloisi, Kewell, Postecoglu, our Socceroos etc, they show the kids where they need to be, what to aim for and long may it last. A good mate of mine went to an NRL match recently and he left before half time. He said the language coming out of the stands was to the point that he just felt uncomfortable. My hope is that eventually, that FA has enough money in the bank and sponsorship that grants toward tertiary education could be afforded to players, thus making football even more of desirable choice. I hope that the regular lads and lasses on this forum can forgive me for my use of terminology, it's not a case of who I am, but an accurate description when I employ the term, the World's Highest Paid Probation Scheme. The men and women of the A-League set an outstanding example on and off the pitch, we need foster it, strengthen it and broadcast it. Kudos and limitless respect for Youngy. We as football supporters, the faithful, should be thanking him.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Great read Mike and love the way he is heading for his career after Football....
Grem
Roar Rookie
Interesting article, it's nice to learn more about the players we watch. He is now a great keeper and on his day is virtually unbeatable. WU seem to have a lot going for them in terms of management, finance and players - hopefully the spectators come and continue to grow over the next couple of seasons.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Young (and lately Chaz) are on a different scale of “interest” compared to most lol.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
hes born in australia, but he's represented most of englands under age national teams (from memory i think he even got into thier U21's side at one point) was eligible to also represent australia and sri lanka. goalkeeper is a position that australia has never been short at, who would you have given him a cap over in the past 15 years? a big issue of his, has been distribution as goalkeeping has completely evolved in the past 15 years
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
I would have given him a cap for Australia. I don't know why he was never in contention?
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
I always thought he was getting better and better at Brisbane in recent years, ,his distribution has improved a lot over when he started in the A-league as well. There was one year that was a blip for him and Brisbane though. The real question mark over Jamie Young, the Brisbane team and Aloisi is what happened to Brisbane in 2018/2019 when they conceeded 71 goals in the season. Only the Mariners being worse kept them from the wooden spoon. Also for some reason Barbarouses scored 7 goals against them out of 15 goals for the year. That just happened as Barbarouses was coming off contract as well. I would guarantee the second Aloisi signs a new 3 year no performance sacking clause contract strange things will start to happen at Western United.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
he looked done as a player towards the end of his time in brissy, the move to melbourne seemed to revive his career. always been a great 'shot stopper' but not a great 'goalkeeper'- its difficult to try and work on the distribution side of things when you didn't grow up in the current era of goalkeeping. it'd be interesting if he was playing for an attacking side that creates as many chances as they give away (eg city, adelaide, newcastle) - whether his influence would be as large as it is, instead of playing for a western united side that keeps it shape defensively for the majority of the match.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
A reminder that Western United are actually reigning champions. Still very difficult to process. Jamie Young had an excellent season. At a guess, I'd say WU holds the record for the most 1-nil wins in a season, and Jamie Young is obviously a big part of that record. Ultimately, it's fair to say that WU didn't really bring a whole lot more to the table.
Brendan
Roar Pro
Always a great read, Mike. I’m loving the psychology on being a goal keeper, especially since Young is completing a PhD. Recently, I saw more than a dozen online headlines about CCM’s Mark Birighitti departing for Scotland. It relays the importance of a decent shot stopper. The position can influence an entire team.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Dr Young in between the sticks :laughing: Yeah why not. But that Joe Rogan podcast? Really? Hmmmm :shocked: