The Emma Hayes endorsement train rallies on because, let’s be honest, she deserves it. Leading the USWNT to an Olympic gold medal after 12 years takes the monkey off the national team’s back. But who really expected it to happen? Nobody saw Hayes joining the USWNT because of her allegiance to England. Everybody believed she would be the next England coach. Yet, her son had a say in her taking the next job.

The talented coach took over the reins of the USWNT just two months before the Olympics. It resulted in a gold medal, and her son, Harry, wanted her to join the national team. A lifelong dream of her late father, Sid, her little Harry, pushed his mother to take up the job.

Thus, Emma Hayes revealed how her son endorsed her move to the Star and Stripes. She mentioned, “I asked him, Mummy’s got the chance to go and coach the USA team or we can stay here? He smiled, he hugged me, he kissed me and said and said, ‘Let’s go to the USA, Mummy I’m really excited, I want to go to the USA!’ That was the endorsement I needed.”

And what an endorsement it turned out to be. The USWNT, built on courage and class, needed a leader at the helm who could motivate them, just like Emma’s son did to her. However, she revealed missing her son during the Paris Olympics. Harry went to Paris to support his mother during the Games. At that time, she stated, “He ran over to me, and he said, ‘Mommy, you need to come home now. The team have had enough of you.'”

Emma Hayes mentioned it was hard on her child, who is 6, not to see his mother at home. She said no mother would want to leave their six-year-old and look to spend more time with them after the season. Yet, the gold medal will certainly make him cheerful. Similar to Harry, her late father, Sid, also wanted her to coach the USWNT.

Emma Hayes’ late father encouraged her to take the USWNT job!

The father-daughter duo attended the 2012 London Olympics final between USWNT and Japan. When watching the match, her father asked if the USWNT job interested her. She was open to it. But after her father passed away, she took time to reassess the situation. After his funeral, she opened up on hearing a voice from her father to take up the job.

The rest, as they say, is history!

A true legend of the game, Hayes’ management of players and her family is commendable. Balancing work and personal life can be difficult for a soccer coach. Yet, Hayes shows you can be successful in both areas. Therefore, now, Emma Hayes can spend more quality time with her son after the triumph.