Emma Hayes is officially the new head coach of the U.S. women’s soccer team. The initial USWNT head coaching search began back in August when former head coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned from his role following the team’s round of 16 exit in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the federation now has their preferred candidate to lead them to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and beyond.
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Here are some of the early items that should be on Emma Hayes’ to-do list:
Communicate the vision
Following Andonovski’s resignation, U.S. sporting director Matt Crocker laid out the checklist for his head coaching search in September. He listed a number of qualities he wanted the next head coach to bring to the USWNT program, which included strong communication skills.
Hayes will definitely provide that for her staff and players moving forward. She has previously been lauded for her ability to connect with her players and get them to understand their roles on rosters with big talents and personalities. She is no stranger to rotating players from time to time for club, but will have a different challenge in doing that at the national team level where most coaches settle on ideal starting lineups for international tournaments.
Reevaluate the player pool
While she’s capable of rotating players, the short window in between a World Cup and Olympics isn’t usually the time where invested coaches go making major shakeups to the player pool. That might even be less likely with Hayes’ physical absence from the squad till June. So the current pool of players are more likely to be regular features over the next eight months.
Newer faces might be closer to a year away, that’s not to say new name stays Jaedyn Shaw or Mia Fishel won’t be part of the build-up to Paris, but their continued development might be an additional component to Olympic prep. Hayes’ bigger plans will need to include potential future players, and her ability to scout and develop will be an asset in her new role.
Fishel is already a member of Hayes’ Chelsea squad, along with Catarina Macario. Hayes is set to move to Chicago next year, the current home of U.S. Soccer headquarters and of Mal Swanson’s NWSL club Chicago Red Stars. Both Macario and Swanson are players navigating return-to-play protocols and may have roles that need evaluating as the Olympics get closer.
Get into an actual international window
Hayes will have a later start with her new national team. She’ll join the squad after Chelsea’s 2023-24 season in the WSL. That means she’ll be available for her first set of friendlies on the USWNT sideline in June. She’ll have two international windows ahead of the Olympics, so four total friendlies with the squad before the Olympics.
Interim Twila Kilgore is set to stay on with the team through Hayes’ arrival and will later join Hayes’ staff as a full-time assistant. Kilgore is currently 3-1-0 in her four games with the senior national team and will help get the roster ready for the upcoming Olympics. Her Chelsea assistant, New Jersey native Denise Reddy, will follow Hayes back to the U.S. as part of her USWNT staff.
With all the moving parts, there will be questions around just how the camps, game planning, and player training programs will work ahead of the Olympics. It will no doubt require meticulous planning, careful scheduling and complete buy-in not just from players but staff as well.
Camps are often the bubble where coach, coaching staff, support personnel and players truly form their mind-meld ahead of friendlies and major international tournaments. Hayes’ limited availability is a unique set of circumstances for any national team staring at a rapidly expiring timeline toward a major international tournament.
