1 - Crystal Dunn | Clear is Kind
2 - Crystal Dunn | Playing Different Roles
3 - Linsey Horan | Stay Positive
4 - USWNT | The Work is Never Done | Stay in the Process
Crystal Dunn | Clear is Kind
Crystal Dunn is one of the most celebrated soccer players in the world. She is known for her versatility and her ability to excel at almost every position. In the video below, she is talking to NWSL champions, USWNT teammates, and Olympic medalists Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams about building Olympic and World Cup teams.
They say the teams who are able to get on the same page the quickest have the best chance at success. We all have goals, but if we can all buy into doing what the team needs us to do, we have a better chance at success.
Clarity gives you purpose and direction. When a coach can clearly explain your role, it gives your purpose, direction, and meaning. When a coach can clearly explain your role, you can focus on and master it, execute it, and be the best you can be.
SOMETHING(s) TO THINK ABOUT
1 - What is your biggest takeaway from the video?
2 - Would you rather sit on the bench and win, or start and play a lot and lose?
Crystal Dunn | Fit the System
In the video below, Dunn was asked about her ability to play different positions and roles on the USWNT, she said:
We are all used to being starting players on our club teams and playing in systems that are built around our strengths, but when you go to the national team, that is not always the case.
Roles change and positions change. You have to fit the system, and it's not always easy. It's not the system that was built around your strengths, or built to elevate you or have you shine. It's a system that is built around what we need to win a World Cup. Sometimes those roles aren't the role you play in your club.
The hardest thing I had to learn is understanding I may be the star player on my club team, but on the National Team, that isn't the case.
SOMETHING(s) TO THINK ABOUT
1 - What is your biggest takeaway from the video?
2 - How do you/would you manage having to play a different role than you are used to?
3 - Would you take a lesser role if it meant more team success?
Linsey Horan | Stay Positive
Lindsey Horan is one of the captains of the 2023 World Cup US Women’s National team. In an interview, she was asked about her leadership and her mindset being a captain of the best team in the world.
Lindsey said:
“I try to stay as positive as possible. I’ve always had that feeling that something is going to go our way, and we are going to get an opportunity, and I want to keep every, single player in the most positive, confident mindset they can be in.
No matter what is happening, I try to pick on a few players and just say, ‘Keep going, keep going, keep going.’”
SOMETHING(s) TO THINK ABOUT
1 - What is your biggest takeaway from the video?
2 - Who is the most positive person you know?
3 - When you need motivation, encouragement, or inspiration, who can you turn to?
4 - How do you keep your athletes or teammates positive, and how do you keep them going?
The Work is Never Done | Stay in the Process
Sophia Smith is a young, USWNT forward. Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams are NWSL champions, USWNT teammates, and Olympic medalists.
In the video below, they talk about not getting too high or too low, and staying the work and the process.
They said:
The people who are neutral and never get too high with the highs and too low with the lows have figured it out because the work is never really done. More is always coming. Just because you have done something in the past, it doesn’t mean you are going to do it again. You can’t go off your last game. You have to stay ready to prove yourself.
SOMETHING(s) TO THINK ABOUT
1 - What is your biggest takeaway from the video?
2 - How do you stay present and stay in the process?
3 - How do you avoid getting too high or getting too low?
