The U.S. Women’s National Team may be in its final camp of the year, but the clear theme coming out of Fort Lauderdale is simple: a fresh start. It could be a new logo as the team waits for the official start of the Emma Hayes era, or an attempt to reshape things after an early World Cup exit, but either way, the difference between friendlies earlier this fall and December’s camp is clear.
Part of that may boil down to Hayes’ presence. The team’s next head coach came from England to meet with players and staff for a few days during this window. It is certain that she will not be able to return until the end of her time with Chelsea.
“I think it was very important for her to come in, and not just introduce herself and say, ‘I’m leaving!'” but introduce herself and really say, “Look, I’m with you guys,” forward Lynn Williams said Friday before practice at DRV PNK Arena in Fort Lauderdale. “Obviously I have this commitment that I’ve committed to it.” “Obviously we want her now, but it’s really important for me to know that when she commits to something, she’s in it 100%.”
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Williams said the team has “complete faith” in the plan and process of how Hayes will contribute from afar, with interim coach Twyla Kilgore managing the day-to-day operations of the team. She added that Hayes was able to come in and clearly communicate a plan for the next few months, while also saying she “wanted to get to know them as people.”
Hayes is known for his player-centric managerial style, and it was clear on Friday that the American players appreciated even this short period of face-to-face time.
“Emma was one of the main reasons I decided to go to Chelsea, because of her coaching ability and her ability to make great players excellent,” Mia Fishel told reporters in the mixed zone. “I’m really excited for this team to be able to meet her and get to know her. She’s a great person, a great coach. She’s so funny. She’s telling jokes in meetings at this camp, so it’s great that she’s really comfortable with the team and showing a little bit about herself, but I mean it’s Very serious too.She has a good balance between serious and light-hearted.
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Competition within the USWNT training environment is nothing new, but there is new pressure with a new head coach; Extra motivation for the players to prove themselves to both Kilgore and Hayes ahead of the Olympics and Hayes’ complete takeover in May.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Williams said. “I think that’s what this team needs, to meet the challenge in the right way.”
Fishel confirmed that she noticed a difference in this camp compared to the camps that existed earlier this fall. “I feel serious about the team, and the players are not actually as comfortable as they were after the World Cup,” she said. “This new transformation, the Emma Hayes way – just her name – has been there throughout this camp and it’s been there throughout the way we’ve been playing so far.”
Williams said there is an individual responsibility and a collective responsibility to ensure the success of this development.
“I think it’s a new beginning,” she said. “This team has always pushed the bar on and off the pitch, and now it feels like a moment where we have two choices. Either we stay the same and keep getting the same results, or we challenge ourselves and push again.”
“I know it’s the end of an era, but it feels like the beginning of something new,” midfielder Rose Lavelle said Friday before pausing for a second. She recognized her own reference to “High School Musical.”
Getting back on track, Lavelle emphasized her excitement for what’s to come but noted that everyone in the environment needs to be on the same page, not just the players. This “new thing” requires confidence, not just from 18, 23 or 26 players, but everyone heading in the same direction and doing their job at the highest levels.
Emma Hayes, even from her limited role at the moment, plays a big role in setting that tone.
“It’s going to bring a lot to us on the field, but also culturally and get us all on the same page in terms of messaging, which is what we want to do,” Lavelle said. “Reinventing ourselves, having a new identity, going beyond what I think we thought was possible.”
(Photo: Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
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