Young, who will be the assistant coach to Brown for the Otago ITM Cup team next year, says he has always got along well with Brown.
"The first time I ran into him was when I was coaching the Otago under-18s. He's always been determined as a footballer and I've got to know him as a person too now," Young said.
"At that tournament in Timaru he broke his hand but never told me. He just put a bit of tape around it, said it was fine, and ended up kicking the winning goal against Canterbury in the final. I found out later he had broken his hand.
"From that point on we got along well and we have a lot in common."
Brown has always been a combative, hard-working player, and Young was the same.
So you know there are not going to be any short-cuts to get results. Hard work is going to be needed.
"With young fellas today, some of them may not [be] as self driven as they need to be. We just need to work really hard in all departments and do the job right. That means that if you go to the gym to do 10 reps then you go and do 20 of them hard out.
"One of the most important things within the group is to be self reliant. We're all in this together. You can't have everyone giving up. The players need to know we've got in this hole together, or whatever is happening in the game, so we need to get out of it together.
"You do that through hard work. The thing is, there are probably 20 rugby sides out there kind of playing the same way so we, in some ways, have to think outside the square. You've got to get over the line by being creative, not robotic."
Young has been in the assistant's role before.
He was assistant to Glenn Ross, Tony Gilbert and then Kevin Gloag and then moved to Southland to coach the Stags in the early 2000s.
He returned to help out with Otago and was also working with the Highlanders, and had been the union's resource coach - helping coach the coaches - for the past five years, a role in which he will continue.
The former loose forward coached the Taieri side to the premiership last season but will have to give up that role next season.
Young had no direct coaching role with the Otago team in the past few years so was starting afresh but was excited about the young talent which was coming through the academy.
"Otago is never going to be like Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury. We just are not that size. But what we have to do is prepare the very best we can."
Brown was coaching in Japan and would be back in Dunedin by the end of February.
Until then, Young would oversee individual programmes, which had already started.
Having been assistant coach before, Young said he was happy to be in that role again and help out Brown and new scrummaging coach Kees Meeuws.
He said he had taken his time over accepting the assistant's position.
"The players have a collective group looking after their interests but the coaches don't have anything.
Security is a big thing for me. I've opted not to go overseas to coach - and I've had offers. But I've stayed here. I want to do as much as I can for the Otago community."
Phil Young
Assistant Otago coach
Age: 54
Born: Tuatapere.
• 50 games at loose forward for Otago from 1980-85, also played for Southland.
• Coached Southland 2002-04; Otago assistant coach 1996-2000, 2005; Highlanders assistant coach 2002-05; various Otago age group and development sides.
