Great and successful sports coaches don’t often stress too much about winning big. They rather urge players to play for the sheer of enjoyment of doing so, and results automatically follow. Coach Emma Hayes‘s first month in the USWNT camp is a testament to that. Throughout Team USA’s triumphant Olympic campaign, we have seen Hayes speak at length about the importance of pursuing ‘joy’ and ‘fun.’ Turns out, the British coach advised her players to have a light and fun-filled ride in the gold medal game against Brazil in Paris.

US Soccer has been giving us a sneak peek into the USWNT’s efforts, strategies, and thoughts during the Paris Summer Games, via a behind-the-scenes video on its YouTube channel. In the superhit clip, we could see numerous cuts of coach Emma Hayes getting candid about the Olympic experience before and after the gold medal game. Want to know what she said to her players one last time before the gold medal game? Here we go.

“I can sit here and say to you, ‘Listen, this game is about a gold medal and winning a gold medal.’ Actually, it’s not,” said coach Emma Hayes before Team USA laced up for the Olympic finale against Brazil.

The former Chelsea boss added, “It is getting another opportunity to play with your friends and I want you to make sure you play like it is like that today all right. I’m proud of you,” referring to the gold medal game. It is no surprise that coach Hayes has an eye for the lighter things in life, amid the pressure of playing a gold medal game. For her, soccer means coming together and chasing fun. For the same reason, she’s happier about her USWNT job, than she was about her last few years in England.

Emma Hayes rates fun-filled USWTN experiences above her last days at Chelsea

In the same behind-the-scenes video, we could see Emma Hayes thanking her USWNT players for giving a dream-like experience on and off the pitch within her first month in camp. “I’ve honestly had more fun in the last month than I for sure have had in the last few years. And, I want to thank you for that. You brought so much joy back into my heart,” said Hayes.

Besides this, the London-born coach also stated that her Olympic gold win with the USA was a bigger professional success than any other honor she got in her illustrious career. Anyhow, coach Hayes’ philosophy of seizing the day has resonated well within the USWNT squad. Its front three nicknamed themselves as ‘Triple Espresso.’ Lynn Williams partied so hard that her Olympic gold medal broke. But what else is life for if not for enjoying it to the fullest? Especially when they said bye to all the embarrassment the last World Cup had given them and rose from the ashes to ultimate glory in Paris.