“Do It My Way “ – Emma Hayes Reveals Uncompromising Demands Every USWNT Player Had to Follow After Taking Over

Every coach approaches the game with their own playbook. Over time, players may start to grasp a few things independently and think outside the box. However, success ultimately comes down to adhering to and following the master’s instructions. Emma Hayes has been a firm believer in this principle since her very first day with the US Women’s National Team, who demanded her players abide by her rulebook in order to ‘be successful.’

No wonder by setting this boundary with the American ladies, the former Chelsea boss managed to unify the squad and instill mutual trust among the players within just four games and eight training sessions, leading them to believe they could triumph at the Paris Olympics. And boy they did in style, as it became possible due to Hayes’ strictness. “By the time I got in July, one thing I was really, really clear at the beginning was,” began Hayes during her recent chat on the GirlsontheBall podcast.

“‘Listen, no matter what you’ve been doing in the US, in order for me to be successful, you have to do it my way, 100%. Whether that’s the game model, coaching methodology; everything around it because of that made it easier. So we all agreed that up until the end of the Olympics, we would do it like that,” she added.

That certainly paid off quite well for the team. It was almost as if the team went to factory reset, with Hayes coming in to add her own version of software inside the players. But does the rule remain even after the Olympics? No, that’s not the case at all. “Now we’re in the middle of a post-Olympics review. We talk about what we will keep, what we will start doing, all those things,” concluded Hayes.

Enforcing her rulebook didn’t mean restricting her team’s freedom on the pitch. However, off the field, she was unyielding, even imposing penalties on players who overlooked a key team rule during the Paris Olympics.

Another strict rule that Emma Hayes enforced during Paris Olympics

Emma Hayes faced the significant challenge of ensuring that none of the 22 players felt excluded or assumed they wouldn’t get a chance to play. Fortunately, she devised a clever and effective solution to address this issue. “I spoke with the whole environment in the background, and I said we would not use language like ‘alternates,’” revealed Hayes.

The key rule she firmly enforced for both players and coaches was to treat the entire squad of 22 players as equally important—albeit 18 players were rostered and the remaining 4 non-rostered players. “That was one thing I wanted to get right. I didn’t want anybody to feel like, ‘Oh, I’m an alternate,’ even the language I hated.”

Although some players didn’t see a single minute of action during the six-game Olympic run, Hayes successfully shifted that mindset by fostering the right atmosphere and ensuring everyone understood their role within the team. Her approach proved effective, allowing her to cultivate trust and cohesion among the players.