They say tech is everywhere these days. Yet, this almost throwaway statement got a brand-new meaning when the USWNT veterans sat down with sisters Gisele and Alyssa Thompson. While discussing their training under Team USA’s superstar coach Emma Hayes, the Thompson sisters mentioned the abundance of iPads that Hayes utilizes.
Praising the Olympics-winning coach as “tactically minded,” Alyssa Thompson revealed that the coach has iPads everywhere, for everyone to use. That’s when former Team USA stars and RE—INC podcast hosts, Christen Press and Tobin Heath, interrupt the young athletes. Curious about having iPads lying around training camp, Press inquired exactly what Hayes puts in those devices. Yet, they weren’t ready for the answer.
Faced with the questions, Gisele and Alyssa Thompson nonchalantly revealed the iPads were, “Everywhere… On all the meal tables and stuff.” What more? They clarified that those dives contained everything from, the schedule to “strategies” and game plans. That’s when Heath dropped a bomb on the young athletes, saying that during their time all USWNT had were paper slips.
“Do you guys know that there was a time on the Nash (National) team when they would put the schedule for the next day… They would slide it under your door?” asked Tobin Heath. Spoiler alert! Not only did the sisters not know, they couldn’t even fathom how it would feel like. “What?.. That’s crazy,” said the 20 and 19-year-old soccer stars.
Heath and Press were also impressed to learn the progress USWNT has made in recent years. After all, Press and Heath are still active and play in the NWSL. In fact, Christen Press and Thompson sisters are teammates at Angel City FC. Regardless of this fact, the veteran players in their 30s compared the iPad moment to getting “computers in school.”
Yet, as amusing as the short segment was, the discussion inadvertently moved toward Emma Hayes. The players discussed how the English coach has given the national team a lot more than a teach upgrade.
The method behind Emma Hayes’ madness
When Hayes came to coach the US national women’s team, she made a massive jump in terms of scope. Despite having dominated the Women’s Super League with Chelsea, making the jump to coaching a slumping USWNT was a massive jump for the coach. Yet, it took the experienced just two months to lead Team USA to an Olympic medal.
That feat earned her a Coach of the Year award in the 2024 Ballon d’Or . However, Emma Hayes isn’t just focused on winning games with the USWNT. Instead, she dreams of creating the best team in the world. “I plan to do more than just win with this team… I’m a builder and I want to put in place a robust program with the right support,” Hayes revealed to ESPN Futbol W in February.
Hayes hopes to create a team that will dominate not just during her time but also set the standard for years to follow. While incorporating tech is part of that plan, she hopes to develop world-class talent who’ll lead the women’s team to many more Olympic medals and World Cup titles in the future. Stars like Gisele and Alyssa Thompson are crucial to those plans.
And Emma Hayes has already started turning their talents. In the same interview with Heath and Press, Gisele Thompson explained how the 48-year-old helped her overcome the nerves during her SheBelieves Cup debut. “Emma really believed in all of the younger players. So when I went on the field, it was like they all had my back,” confessed the 19-year-old. Although the SheBelieves Cup didn’t go Team USA’s way, it only helped show the kinks Hayes aims to iron out.
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