struggles can sometimes maybe just be figuring something out tactically. So, I might overload the team with a tactical stimulus that I know is difficult, and I know that it’ ll frustrate them a little bit, but I want us to work through it, because that’ s how you evolve and go to the next space.
GLENN: Do you create that in the training environment?
EMMA: Yeah, both training and in the classroom. I don’ t get the luxury of a club coach anymore to be able to have as much time as I want. So, I have to maximize every minute I have. I do stuff in the classroom too, sessions like thriving under pressure. Sometimes it could be as simple as I might have a stacking cup exercise in front of the players, or we had a wheel of fortune where I know that the wheel has got everybody’ s names on it. So, as the wheel’ s spinning with everyone in the room, I know players are sweating and they’ re sitting thinking,‘ I don’ t want my name,’ and that’ s intentional. We’ re trying to promote that moment, knowing that when their name hits, how are they going to handle that moment? And they are going to have to do something quite uncomfortable, like, I don’ t know, sing on the spot.
GLENN: I’ d like to ask you about halftime. What is your approach at the interval and how do you think you can influence second-half performance?
EMMA: I’ m responsible for the team’ s attacking play. Denise, the defending. Stuart( goalkeeper coach Searle), the set pieces. We have an analysis team that will have a clip in and around those three areas, and usually we will come together with our analysts, have a couple of minutes reflecting on what we need to improve on for the second half in each of those key areas, and the clip may correlate with that. We then go into a locker room. We’ ll have maybe one minute each, one and a half minutes each. And I’ ll usually start out and it’ s always future focused. We don’ t go backwards.‘ So, it’ s in the second half, you see these areas. You might want to do more of this.’ Set pieces. It might be,‘ Listen, the opponent is doing this. We might need to adapt and show that.’ And then I’ ll give us maybe another minute to have quick individual check-ins. So, it’ s very streamlined. You have to be succinct, so the players already know they’ re going in, they chat, then it’ s one, clip, two, clip, three, clip, couple of points, individual detail, then they have to pee before they go out. You gotta give that time.
GLENN: Anything else about halftime?
EMMA: You know what? It’ s so easy to be emotional at halftime. And that’ s why you need people set upstairs that are able to zoom out from that emotion, and that’ s why you always use the combination of how I feel about something, and then the clips of something, and then maybe the data of something. So, I might use a combination of factors. I’ ll give you a good example— the Netherlands game [ at the Olympics ]. I felt subjectively that we weren’ t competing in basic things like duels, whether that’ s aerial duels or ground duels. So of course, at halftime, I want to know, does the data match up with how I feel? Yes or no? And if it does, OK. It gives me a good opportunity. And if it doesn’ t, it doesn’ t. Then maybe I need to tone down my energy, because maybe it isn’ t as bad as I think it is. So, I have to take information quite quickly and be able to deliver the most important things. And I remember halftime against Brazil in the final. I know we’ d made an adjustment after 30 minutes, and I remember saying to the team at halftime,‘ Stick to the game plan that we’ d asked you to do— but actually do it this time and trust us. Trust us in what we are asking you to do, and the goal will come.’ And the goal came exactly the way we had prepared the team for it. Sometimes it’ s anchoring information because they’ re not doing it, if you know what I mean. So, you know, but that’ s where the experience comes in. When you’ ve been in it so many times, been in a locker room so many times, and well, I’ ve been with my assistant for 20 odd years, we know our areas of expertise, and if the group trusts you, then it’ s easy. And you know, I think you earn that trust by making sure your process is succinct, so you’ re not overstating it or understating it. I think it’ s just we’ ve done this. I know I feel like we do it so well in an understated way that the players don’ t even realize what is going into what we’ re delivering.
GLENN: How satisfying. And what a great goal that was to win the gold medal. I mean, it was a good soccer goal, right? Sophia Smith lets it run and( Mallory) Swanson finishes.
EMMA: Oh, my God, I heard her. That’ s the funny thing. I heard her. I stood there, and I was like,‘ I heard you. Mal, did she hear you? Did she hear you?’ And I remember the goal went in, and I celebrated, and I thought, No! VAR is coming. Don’ t do it!
GLENN: Just to review, Sophia Smith was in an offside position. Mal Swanson, running in from behind the play, and she’ s screaming to tell Sophia, let it run! And she did. There you go. What a wonderful, wonderful goal.
I wanted to ask you about pace of the passes. When I first started watching the team under you, I’ ve never seen the national team hit the ball with such pace. And I wondered if that’ s intentional.
EMMA: Yes, intentional. You have to recognize the moment when something’ s a soft pass versus a hard pass. But I do think the structure we’ d put the team in allowed those connections to be easier for the players. We put the players closer together, and I felt, as a result of that, there was more confidence. They could make the passes no matter where it was, because they felt connected. And so I’ m always going to start with,‘ We gotta get the structure right, the organization right in possession, or the principles right?’ And I felt that the players, you know, I think American players get a bad rap, and it’ s so easy to say,‘ Well, why don’ t they pass the ball like the English.’ They can and they do, but are we setting them up to be able to do that? And I felt that we’ d given the team an organization that had given them the courage and the confidence to be able to do it, and fair play to them. They’ re all top players, and they delivered that quality with the pace and the precision that you’ re talking about. n
“ The Coaching Academy” airs every Tuesday at 7 p. m. ET on SiriusXM FC Channel 157 and is also available on the SiriusXM app.
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