Former City academy intern Luke Cooper has landed a key role in the top flight after being appointed Senior Performance Coach at Sunderland.
Cooper spent nine months with the Imps in 2014–15 as an academy strength and conditioning intern, leading sessions that focused on strength, speed, agility and power, as well as pre-match warm-ups and fitness testing. He went on to gain further experience with Coventry City and Leicester City before a four-year spell at Sheffield Wednesday, where he progressed from academy sport scientist to First Team Strength and Conditioning Coach.
In July 2020, he crossed the Atlantic to join New York City FC as Head of Sport Science, a position he held until February 2025. While at The Pigeons (as they’re oddly known) he was part of the backroom staff that helped them win the MLS Cup,
He has now moved to the Stadium of Light, having been confirmed as Senior Performance Coach as Sunderland strengthen their back-room team following promotion.
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#111 @NSurdykaPhysio👉https://t.co/ExsSulb9Ac pic.twitter.com/OxuM0XFsGI— Football Fitness Federation (@FootballFitFed) May 30, 2021
Jamie Harley, Sunderland’s Head of Performance and Medicine, said:
“Following our promotion to the Premier League, it was important to continue developing our provision across performance and medical. We are delighted by the impact our new staff have made alongside the wider team, with investment in personnel also underpinned by further developments to the environment and infrastructure at the Academy Light.”
He’s not the first former Imp to pass through the Sunderland coaching team. Goalkeeper Lee Butler, who appeared for City in the 1986/87 season before a move to Aston Villa, held the role of goalkeeping coach there until 2021, with his last involvement, ironically, coming in the two-legged play-off semi-final.
He will also likely come together with former Imps academy player Isaac Allan, who also moved to the north east club recently, although the two didn’t cross paths as their City spells were during different eras.