Coaching with Curiosity

Today, I got to sit down with Meg Young (MS, MSed, RSCC, CSCS), who is a performance leader and 2023 NSCA Professional Strength Coach of the Year with 15+ years in elite sport. She specializes in applied sport science, data systems, and high-performance coaching across collegiate and professional soccer. She is currently based in Seattle and on a mission to impact 100,000,000 lives.

Meg is honestly one of the coolest humans I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We first connected at the 2010 CSCCA conference in Orlando, stayed in touch, drifted for a bit, and recently reconnected. I'm fired up to have her on.

KEY QUOTE

"Make sure you're the main character of your own life." — Meg Young

5 CORE THEMES

1. Data as a coaching tool, not a replacement for coaching— Data accelerates understanding of the individual. It doesn't remove the human decision. Science meets coaching, not science driving coaching.

2. Curiosity as the engine of growth— Meg attributes her entire career evolution to leading with curiosity. The best coaches don't follow a clear linear path; they follow the questions.

3. The psychology of the coach— Coaches who tie their entire identity and fulfillment to the success of their athletes are setting themselves up for burnout, depression, and a loss of self. The drama triangle, the rescuer archetype, and carrying what isn't yours all compound this.

4. Resilience through consistency, not perfection— Whether it's HRV, cancer recovery, or rucking 100 days straight, the through-line is that consistency builds more resilience than any single acute effort. The blip on the radar matters far less than the baseline you've built.

5. Intentional life design— Annual self-assessments, Q2 goal boards with a partner, the plus-one rock jar, and vision boards. Meg is deliberate and systematic about building a life she actually wants, not just a career she fell into.

MAIN TAKE-HOME MESSAGE

You cannot pour from an empty cup, and most coaches have never asked themselves what filling it actually looks like. Meg’s message is clear:do the personal development work, understand all the parts of yourself, build relationships with intention, and design your life outward from your own mission, not inward from your job title. For those who can't, we must.

Find Meg

Website -Signalstrengthhq.com

IG -@coachmegastrong

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