Charles Jackson
NEW YORK — Emma Hayes won her seventh league title with Chelsea FC on May 18 and just three days later was on a flight to the United States for her new role as coach of the US women’s national team. She’s bringing a winning pedigree and extensive coaching experience, both in Europe and the United States, so what exactly can US fans expect ahead of the Olympics, when the Hayes era officially begins? With the Olympics just two months away, Hayes is practicing patience and process when it comes to getting involved with his new team.
She arrived Wednesday afternoon in Newark and returned to New York for her reintroduction to the culture of American women’s soccer. She reacquainted herself with Central Park, took a stroll before dinner and then took another stroll through Central Park before taking on a series of media responsibilities on Thursday.
“It’s home to me. Like, New York is. I lived here for seven years,” she said, reflecting on her return. “I know how to get around. Even more so as a father, I know where the toy stores are now.”
Her reunion in New York will be brief, as she will eventually call Atlanta, Georgia, her home base, the new site of the national training center and football headquarters. US Soccer announced Hayes as official coach in December, but with an unprecedented condition in the position, that she would only take on the role after her season with the club in England.
After a six-month wait, there is a buzz surrounding the U.S. women’s national team that is different from the headlines that appeared during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. A disappointing round of 16 exit, the worst result of ever in the program’s history, it has led to change and the belief that better days are ahead in the ever-changing landscape of women’s soccer. With Hayes’ arrival, there is excitement and optimism, but with the Olympics on the horizon, there are expectations again.
“We have to go step by step. Focus on all the little processes that need to happen so that we can perform at our best level. If we can perform at our best level, then we have a chance to get things done, but we have work to do,” Hayes said of fans’ expectations that the team will always win everything.
“The reality is that world football is where it is, and the rest of the world doesn’t fear the US like it used to. There are different European champions, so it’s our job to quickly understand what we need to do to get closer to those levels again.”
She once wrote an article about the US college and youth systems and how the US could not afford to lose ground in development. She is aware of the bigger picture, but is currently focused on the Olympics, with long-term goals of connecting with other stakeholders.
“(Conversations between collegians and youth) are not my priority, not right now. My priority is camp. But I will work with all stakeholders, talk about what’s best. I think the USL league is healthy competition. That’s why It alone can create a missing gap for a lot of players who maybe only play in college but can’t get in… and don’t want to play overseas. So some of those missing gaps may have already been filled.
Hayes cites the current heightened tactical play in the NWSL this season, the arrival of new internationals, not just Europeans, as a key component in raising the level of play. She also believes that the upcoming USL Super League could be a path to more opportunities to play with differences in competitive levels.
“I think now we have to focus on the important things that happen day to day. We have to compete to be the best. We need our league, the NWSL, to be extremely competitive. We need the USL for several reasons. The development path, I think, for players that aren’t necessarily part of the NWSL, to be given a place to play, I think that in itself will create competition, I think that competition is healthy playing on teams in Mexico, maybe.
All those things. I think we have to compete with what’s happening in Europe… I think all of these things have to happen so that the US team can compete at the highest level, and my job is to make sure that I work together with all of those stakeholders, so that together we can gain the experience of what has been done in Europe so we can say, ‘Look, we have the momentum for the next space’ and I’m looking forward to that because I’m now in a position where I can influence that.”
Hayes has been in Europe almost as long as the National Women’s Soccer League has existed. The league is celebrating its 12th year and the culture of American women’s soccer has changed as well. For Hayes, growth and evolution are key, and she believes there is room to combine the best parts of what makes the USWNT tick and for her and the current group of players to champion and even reshape what American women’s soccer culture can be. .
“Well, I can’t define that now, because I haven’t come back. But what I can say from my time here is that I’ve always loved the attitude towards performance and the expectation to give everything you’ve got,” she said.
She notes that this has always been part of the USWNT’s DNA, competing to the end and managing the pressures of performing on big stages, and this basic spirit of the USWNT that she will not fight, but embrace.
“I think managing the badge of this shirt is something that a lot of players have done in a privileged way, not necessarily in a heavy-handed way… I think when I come in now, I hope to see some evolutions, because you just see so many players being exposed to different clubs from training, whether nationally or internationally… I’ll be with that, but my job is to be methodical about it. to point.”
Traveling across the vast country will be part of her job to see how the players are performing up close, but she won’t rack up all the miles alone. She will have the team within the team, a large support team that will include her former Chelsea FC assistant Denise Reddy, among others, and former interim coach Twila Kilgore.
Hayes credits her collaborative work with Kilgore as the direct link that helped her stay informed, prepared and updated while waiting to take over.
“I have to make my appreciation for Twila Kilgore very clear. Not only has she steadied the ship since the World Cup, but her collaboration during this period has been essential,” explained Hayes.
“She has been a great guide for me and taught me a lot. And together we helped to create, little by little, the right cast together, and I think it would have been a lot more difficult without Twila and thank God for that, because I feel like the team is better positioned as a result.”
An important part of their collaborative efforts was expanding the player pool and gaining more information about new prospects. Jaedyn Shaw, Mia Fishel, Jenna Nighshwonger and Olivia Moultrie are just some of the players who earned their first caps under Kilgore in preparation for the upcoming Hayes era, and players are still coming in and out of camp. Defender Sam Staab and midfielder Hal Hershfelt were called up for the first time to the senior camp.
Whenever an international player makes the jump to the NWSL, they are often asked about the differences in play or mentality between the US and previous clubs, but for coaches, it can be similar. Hayes is looking forward to entering her first camp and finally being with the players, the moment has brought an emotional shift for her as well.
“[It feels like] I lifted a huge stone from my shoulders. Twelve years, one place, brought a lot of women’s football to England, like, it’s liberating for me. I feel reenergized,” she said. “I hope that with the experiences I learned from the 12-14 years I was abroad, I can bring the best version of myself to a job that requires it. So I’m relaxed about it, but I’m also very excited.”
