BYU women's gymnastics coach Guard Young has had a stellar career as an athlete his whole life.
Growing up as the son of an Olympian and a former BYU gymnast, Wayne Young, there was a high bar set, but Guard never stopped hitting it.
He said, "My happy moments are in the gym."
During his time at BYU, Young won six All-America awards and two NCAA national championships. Young then went on to compete for the USA Senior National Gymnastics Team, winning a team silver medal at both the 2001 World Championships and at the 2004 Olympic Games.
While at BYU, the school cut the men's gymnastics team during his senior year. When he graduated, he became an assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma and continued to train.
Finally, in 2010, BYU inducted him into the Athletic Hall of Fame, and harsh feelings about the university were lightened as he realized he was still valued by BYU athletics.
“BYU, when they call, it tugs on your heart," Young said.
And BYU continued to stay in his heart when he received an offer to become head coach in 2015, which he accepted and has been in the position ever since.
Even though BYU was a sore spot at first, the love for the university became undeniable to Young once he had the opportunity to come back.
"I don’t know if I would make that type of a jump at another university, that it was BYU," he said.
Changing from men's gymnastics to women's was difficult, and it took time to adjust. The skills and knowledge that Young has were built on one side of an athletic experience, so shifting a mindset was something that he had to learn.
“There’s been a tremendous growth in knowledge on just kind of transitioning into more of the female side of the sport, after growing up in the men’s side, " he said.
BYU itself is an athletic atmosphere that can be seen as unique, with coaches and players adhering to a certain set of standards that other universities don't have.
There is a reason Young chose to come back to BYU, and part of that is the importance of faith as a strength, especially in athletics.
“We have to hold true to our ideals, and we can’t lose the focus and purpose of BYU," he said.
The upcoming season has a lot of expectations from both gymnastics coaches and players. Young has coached a large number of champions in all different events and titles, and this season doesn't look like it's going to be any different in terms of large success.
“We have a great mixture of some good veteran juniors and senior leadership, but along with some youthful freshmen that come in with a lot of energy,” he said.
Every year, the team looks different, and BYU tends to turn out a solid amount of individual podium finishes, but they always want to have the full team up there, as both Young and associate head coach Natalie Broekman have said.
There is always a lot more to be accomplished for BYU gymnastics, even with how far they have come through the decades, especially with Young leading the way.
“I really love the season we’ve created, and we’re going to do some really fun things," he said.