Beverly Hills, California. – Emma Hayes, head coach of the American National Women’s Team, has achieved a lot in her first eight months in her position, but she finally started giving her a lot of things last week, where Hayes laid the foundation for the team’s journey for In the coming years.
Hayes gave her own twist to the annual January camp of the USWNT and not only invited 24 senior team players for FT. Lauderdale, Florida, but also 26 newcomers as part of a unique future camp. She gave them side, but various training sessions for both groups in her last major extension of the player pool, while kicking off the run -up to the Women 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“I think that Emma’s vision is all aimed at aligning, whether you are in the entire team or are in the U-14,” said midfielder Sam Coffey on Friday from the NWSL media day in the Beverly Hilton, The day after the game. The USWNT camp was over. “It should all be the same language, the same tactics, the same philosophy, and I am just very enthusiastic about the direction she pushes us soccer to achieve those things.”
Although the general goal for Hayes was to get everyone in line, she tackled this in different ways. The futures and the senior team train separately, which meant that sisters, roommates and Angel City teammates Alyssa and Giesle Thompson didn’t see each other much that week. However, the atmosphere was very different, depending on whom you asked.
“I think it was really cool and very light – not light as with loads, but light like with energy and I think it enabled us to really dive into the tactics, really dive into the principles and ultimately just as much too Learn if we can, “said Jaedyn Shaw, one of the Olympic gold medal winners in the senior campsite.” I think Emma has been with us, it was very rushed and that we could settle for And could dive deeper into why we do things as we do them. “
Defender Alyssa Malonson, who earned her first cap last fall after a breakthrough season at Bay FC, had another – and botter – memory of the camp.
“The Futures camp was fun,” she said. “It was clearly tiring. I am tired, but it just prepares us for the preseason.”
The groups had the chance to interact with each other all the time, especially during a dinner in a Mexican restaurant on Wednesday. Although it is no surprise that members of the senior team could leave impression on their younger counterparts, the more experienced players were also impressed by the next generation.
“They are just so talented,” said Coffey, “but I think I’m so impressed by their maturity and their character. I don’t think I could have had a conversation that way when I was 17, 18. , at least not as professional as she, but I had to talk to a few of them when we went out to dinner and they are just so enthusiastic and so driven. “
Hayes’ broad influence
Hayes used the renewed January camp for a first conference of its kind for players and staff at both the level of the national senior team and the youth programs, in which she explained a vision that she hopes will play a major role . Crucial role in drawing up a selection for 2027. However, Hayes is just as focused on the future of the long -term program, and especially on lifting the female game in the country to a higher level.
“I think one of the most important things was to put the woman at the center and really the whole sport to make the woman run and not to be dominated by men and then take the futures with you,” said Nealy Martin, who became called for the seniors. Team for the first time this month, said. “You can clearly see that we want to develop more young talent and have a large player pool.”
However, the impact of the head coach is not limited to the time she works with them during the camp. Less than a year after her starting, she becomes an important sounding board for players, many of whom already say that they have learned so much from her in a short time. This also applies to Shaw, whose blockbuster transaction from the San Diego Wave to the North Carolina Courage included a little bit of input from Hayes.
“I just wanted to work on the things that Emma and I had been talking about, just like the condition, physicality, defending, the tactics and such,” Shaw said about her decision to change teams this winter. “I just wanted to dive into that and make more success in both environments and those two to one melt together. … I have had a few conversations with her about it, I certainly appreciate her opinion. I spoke with her and she spoke and she Is cheerful. “
The head coach also used this winter to check in players who could not come to the camp, such as attacker Trinity Rodman. Together with Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith, she received a longer break from the national team after two demanding years at the World Cup and the Olympic Games, a rest that could help her with a dragging back problem. Although Rodman’s condition on the way to the preseason is still a question mark, she said Hayes is working on solutions for her problems.
“She is so receptive to everything I have said and she even does her utmost to contact me, to ask how I am doing and to just let me know that they are busy with people behind the scenes To get that far I could help with my back, just because it is a difficult injury location, because when exercising you are used to the knee, “said Rodman. “It was very nice. She supports us enormously and is very attentive to all of us, which is nice.”