Since his third year of undergraduate studies, Carson O’Coyne (25) has been slowly working towards his goal: a career in professional sports science. Now a performance scientist for San Diego Football Club, O’Coyne has had the chance to experience not only his dream career, but also to contribute to a brand new soccer organization and help a new generation of PLNU interns develop their skills.
O’Coyne first began taking steps toward a career in sport performance at the University of Hawaii, even though he was originally from southern California.
“I was looking to get out of my comfort zone [as an undergrad],” O’Coyne said. “Hawaii is so different culturally…it helped me develop my character the most because I was living in someone else’s home. I had to find ways to be respectful and give back.”
After graduating with his undergraduate degree and spending a few years in New York, O’Coyne started to consider his next academic move. He connected with a former professor for recommendations on graduate programs.
“I remember him saying that if you’re going to spend money on a master’s program, make sure you find one with graduate assistantships,” O’Coyne said. “In our field, you really need that because it enriches your experience so much.”
“I remember him saying that if you’re going to spend money on a master’s program, make sure you find one with graduate assistantships. In our field, you really need that because it enriches your experience so much.”
After the call he started to look through the list of recommendations his professor sent over to him. That’s when he noticed PLNU and decided to apply.
“What stood out most to me was how hands-on the [PLNU] program was; it offered a ton of opportunities to apply what I was learning in real performance settings instead of just sitting in a classroom,” O’Coyne said.
After he was accepted and moved back to California, O’Coyne hit the ground running by working as a graduate assistant for the PLNU women’s soccer team.
“I didn’t know anything about [women’s soccer] at first,” O’Coyne said. “I was a gym guy who took the opportunity and Coach Kristi [Kiely] gave me a lot of grace.”
O’Coyne’s first experience putting reports together for women’s soccer started out rocky, but he quickly began putting extra time and effort into learning how to improve.
“When [the women’s soccer team] practices, it’s a ton of data,” O’Coyne said. “And I had to send a report after every training session so the coaches could see what went on.”
Each women’s soccer player wears a GPS-connected training vest during daily practices so that sports science staff can better understand their condition during training and monitor their trends ahead of games and travel. With the average women’s soccer student-athlete running around six miles per match and sometimes twice that amount in practice, O’Coyne knew he would need to be more efficient in his reporting to accurately explain the data after each practice.
“I reached out to some people in the cohort before me, and I learned how to code and taught myself how to write Python…[and I was able] to find my way out of that puzzle,” O’Coyne said.
“I think that specific opportunity helped me grow a lot since it was very much trial by fire; I either had to adapt or be inefficient.”
Adapt he did, and by the end of his first season, O’Coyne was sending daily reports quickly, turning unstructured data into tangible information the coaches could use.
“The hands-on experience is what separates those at the top and the bottom,” O’Coyne said. “At PLNU, they give you lots of hands-on experience across the board. Like anything, you get out of it what you put into it. And at PLNU they gave us a lot of opportunities to put a lot into it.”
During his tenure as a graduate student, not only did O’Coyne help create meaningful reports for one of PLNU’s most successful athletic teams, he also held two internships, including one with the San Diego Gulls National Hockey League team, and a position with San Diego Football Club (SDFC).
As the first PLNU student to be tapped to intern with San Diego FC, O’Coyne got to experience what it’s like working for a club during its first professional season.
“It was a pretty unreal feeling getting the email and realizing I’d be accepted to the internship,” O’Coyne said.
For the next year, O’Coyne got a front-row seat to the club’s historical inaugural season. Finishing top for the Western Conference and breaking the Major League Soccer expansion records for points and wins.
As the season came to an end, O’Coyne found himself on the other end of an official job offer. O’Coyne accepted the role and joined the team as a performance scientist.
“It’s a dream job,” O’Coyne said. “This has been my goal since my junior year of undergrad…and since then I’ve been chipping away at it.”
Since joining San Diego FC full-time, O’Coyne has had the opportunity to travel to Denmark for one week and participate in international academy operations. As a part of the Right to Dream initiative, San Diego FC collaborates with two international soccer clubs in Egypt and Denmark to create opportunities for young athletes to participate in professional sports.
“It was amazing to get on board with all the guys there and see how they do things to stay aligned,” O’Coyne said. “A lot of our data models are shared so that was a really, really cool introduction to the job. It was an intense week but very impactful.”
After returning to the states, O’Coyne jumped right into pre-season with San Diego FC, armed with a better understanding of the club’s processes for performance and a new standard for reporting.
“I [essentially] went from being an intern to the person whose reports were being sent to shareholders,” O’Coyne said. “So there was a lot more pressure to do the job correctly and it was stressful. I spent a lot of time making sure it was all correct.”
Now in his second year with the club, O’Coyne feels more stable and secure in his role and what’s expected of him.
“We get the most face-to-face time with the players and we really get to help set the tone for things,” O’Coyne said. “We have the opportunity to uphold the culture of the club and be the guardians. We can raise the energy level which is really cool.”
A new club like San Diego FC has everything to prove. Add that work ethic to a culture of guiding and nurturing young talent through the Right to Dream, and you have a potent combination of ambition with strong values.
“We had the youngest backline in the MLS last season and you see [that young talent] in the staff across the board,” O’Coyne said. “We really like to bring people in and foster the potential we see in you. It’s super unique.”
“It’s been amazing to work with this club who took a chance on me and hope to help me develop down the road,” O’Coyne said.
