They call it the happiest place on earth and Emma Hayes was looking forward to visiting Disneyland with her 7-year-old son Harry this week. But for the players gathered around her on a sun-drenched field in Southern California on Sunday January 18th, there was a theme park of a different sort. It offered no less of a joyride full of exhilarating twists and turns that would hopefully take them to a Magic Kingdom otherwise known as the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
“That’s the goal here, a fight for a seat on that plane to Brazil 19 months from today,” said Hayes. She was standing on the touchline of an immaculate training field at the Dignity Health Sports Complex in Carson, surrounded by a gaggle of assistant coaches who had already positioned orange cones and outsized white inflatable mannequins on different areas of the field. Under a nearby tent, a technical staff that would make NASA gnash its teeth with envy, hunched over their laptops operating drones hovering overhead. They were tracking every muscle, twitch and footstep of the players hoping to punch their ticket to the thrill ride they’ve been working their whole lives for.
“Realistically,” said Hayes, “only seven or eight of the 26 players in camp will be Brazil bound.” She hastened to add “I’m missing 17 players.” That number included members of Gotham FC such as Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett and Lilly Reale who were competing in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup. Add to that all the Americans such as Naomi Girma, Cat Macario and Emily Fox playing for European clubs. Joining them across the pond only last week was the midfield mainstay, Sam Coffey who signed for Manchester City. “When you see Emma, please tell her I’m pissed not to be in camp,” said Coffey in a lighthearted Zoom call. “Training is such a breeze over here. It’s just too easy. But seriously the intensity of Emma’s training is high even on a low day. There’s seldom a session where I leave and I’m like ‘Ooh, I’ve got more left in the tank and I’m going to go for a run.’”
By the looks of her going full-throttle, Trinity Rodman felt the same way. And considering she hasn’t attended a camp since last April because of injuries, her fitness and her all-around Trinity-ness set the tone for the camp. “She’s the difference when we’re doing any drill,” said longtime assistant coach Denise Reddy who runs the sessions with Hayes. “She gives 100 percent. She’s not jogging, not messing around. She runs, she’s getting the ball, she’s going hard all the time. Everyone sees that and it raises the bar.”
Expect Rodman to feature in a pair of friendlies against Paraguay on Saturday and Chile on Tuesday that Hayes views as the last chance for the pool players to make their case to take the next step toward the SheBelieves Cup camp in March.
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