KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Senior Courtney Browning (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) of the Kutztown University women's soccer team has exhausted her eligibility on the pitch as a KU student-athlete, but she is now focusing on staying in "the beautiful game" in another way.
 
Browning has spent the last four years running drills at practice, weight lifting, and preventing opposing players from scoring on Kutztown's goal as a primarily defensive player in games. But after the Golden Bears' 2019 season wrapped up with a 2-1 victory over West Chester on Nov. 9, their third straight win to close out the campaign, Browning untied the cleats and hung up the jersey and began thinking about the future and how she could keep the game she loves as a part of her life.
 
It hit her during her junior season.
 
"Lifting has been a passion of mine ever since then but working in the fitness industry was also a late found passion," said Browning. "I always wanted to be a soccer coach and I had started to think that becoming a strength and conditioning coach might be something that I want to do as well. Then one of my teammates tore her ACL and that is when it clicked. I have known far too many teammates from club, high school, and college soccer who have torn and re-torn their ACL. I told my mom my junior year [at KU] that I had figured out what I want to do with my life. I want to train female athletes, get them lifting to prevent injuries, specifically the ACL."
 
That is when Browning reached out to Kutztown's strength & conditioning coordinator, Kevin Barry. She worked a little bit with him as a junior and then when she could balance it with her soccer and academic priorities. But this spring is when she really was able to gain a vast knowledge of the field she wants to pursue a career in following graduation in May with a bachelor's degree in sport management.
 
"I have learned so much from working with Kevin and I still have a lot to learn," Browning said. "Getting to work with and learn from him every day has been a privilege and I have immense respect for him and what he does. I never realized just how much he does every day until I was there working 40 to 45 hours a week. I have loved every single minute that I spent as an intern. There are far too many moments to choose from: football max out days, getting to work with field hockey and planning for them, Friday morning circuits with volleyball, working one on one with some athletes from lacrosse, track, and tennis, still getting to see my soccer teammates which made my time as a college athlete ending a bit easier, and so much more. Overall it was an amazing experience that I am extremely grateful for."
 
Even before she stepped foot on campus, head coach Erik Burstein could see the special type of person that Browning was and her passion for not only the game of soccer but for strength & conditioning.
 
"When I recruited Courtney back in 2015, I was immediately impressed with her personality, her attitude and her desire to improve every aspect of her game," said Burstein. "She was such an impressive soccer player. Courtney has taken her love and passion for the game of soccer and welded it together with her love and passion for strength and conditioning. She was an exceptional student-athlete with our women's soccer program, and I have absolutely no doubt that she will become an exceptional strength and conditioning coach, if that's what she chooses to do. Courtney has a very strong desire to learn and develop as a coach, and having the opportunity to learn from and work with Kevin, she now has a mentor who can give her everything she needs to be the very best. She's going to achieve great things, and we are so proud of her and excited to see what she does."
 
Browning, like many high school seniors, had a lot of options on where to go to college, but not a lot of immediate answers. But that recruiting visit with Burstein put Kutztown University at the top of the pecking order, and the eventual destination.
 
"I had toured many different universities when I was going through the recruiting process and for the most part I had liked them all," said Browning. "I remember saying to my parents, 'How am I ever going to choose?' But then I toured Kutztown, and it was the first university that I loved. Walking the campus with coach [Burstein] and getting to meet some of the players, I knew where I wanted to go that day. I thought the campus was beautiful and I absolutely loved the culture of the team. About five minutes into our drive home I told my parents I wanted to commit, there was no question about."
 
Fast forward four years later, Browning has been a contributing member of 61 wins, including a program-record 20 in 2016, three NCAA and PSAC Tournament berths, with a Final Four appearance as a freshman, and national team rankings in all four seasons.
 
"My time as a Kutztown student-athlete has been the experience of a lifetime," Browning said. "Freshman year was the season every NCAA athlete dreams of: winning the Atlantic Region and going to the Final Four. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I have made friends for life at KU and I loved every minute of my four years here. I'm not sure I can put into words just how much these four years mean to me. I have grown as an individual and an athlete and I will be forever grateful for that."
 
For her career, Browning has played in 35 games and totaled five assists, including tying a career-high with two as a senior. She is also a multi-year member of the Dean's List and a PSAC Scholar-Athlete.