A Conversation with USWNT U-20 coach Tracey Kevins

Tracey Kevins is the head coach of the United States U-20 Women’s National Team Coach after working in the same position with the U15’s and U17’s. 

Prior to joining US Soccer, Kevins worked as an assistant coach with the NWSL’s Seattle Reign and was Technical Director for the Reign Academy. 

She has also guided the England U-15, U-17, U-19 and U-20 National Teams. 

The United States U20’s are the defending Concacaf Regional Champion and qualifying begins for the 2022 World Cup from February 25-March 12 in the Dominican Republic.

The World Cup will be in August – hosted by Costa Rica.

The following is a transcript from an interview on The Coaching Academy at SiriusXM FC - edited for length and clarity.

Glenn Crooks: What kind of planning do you have to do before camp starts? 

Tracey Kevins:  We have meetings prioritizing what we want to do - reviewing the last camp in December and pulling out some good pictures and things that we want to emphasize to the players and the pieces that we think we can do better on. Putting that footage together and working with our analytics departments to put some creative pictures on it so that we can make it visual to the players. It's part of a qualification but it's also one step in their development process. How can we continue to develop them through qualifying and then post qualifying as well?

GC: The relationship with the college coaches is important, yes? They have their own plans and how they're running their program. What's that communication like?

TK: It’s good. I think this time of year is a fantastic time for the colleges when the training hours come down* and more time is maybe spent on opportunities where the player can work on individual pieces because it's not so game related. We ask the player to put together a video of areas that she wants to improve in. But most importantly: what's your super strength? What's the area that you could be one of the best players in the world at? The top players make it to the top because they have one or two special skill sets. And then we produce a video as well – so, are we aligned with the player? Do we see the game differently? Because that's important - that we become aligned. And then we bring the college coach into the conversation and ask, “okay, how does this align with you? And what areas are you working on over the next six to eight weeks where we can almost piggyback on it?” They're the ones that are working with the players every day. So really, it's how we can sort of top it off and return the player to an even better level.

*(Note: Collegiate coaches have restricted hours in the off-season)

GC: Looking back at that December camp, what did you like and where would you like to get better?

TK: For us, it was the first time that we got the group of collegiate players together. And it's a tough camp in December - it's not an ideal time because the college season is so grueling. The players were magnificent coming into that and approaching it in the best way. We still need to improve on our team cohesion because it's the first time really the group has got together. Relationships and partnerships like between our fullback and our wide player, between our midfielders, between our center back and our goalkeeper. So, really building along those relationships is one of the key areas that we're going to be working on. It's also looking at how we break down low defenses, spending most of the time on the ball - but also have our countermeasures and be shaped behind the ball that we are difficult to counter against. 

GC: Kate Markgraf and Laura Harvey - two significant players in the women's game - have both referenced the positive environment that you create for development.

TK: I've always been a real believer that we must create a youth environment where the player is completely free and encouraged to make multiple mistakes. Often, players come into environments, and they try to be something that the coach wants. Well, you were selected for this environment because of something you're doing well back in your home environment with a club or college. So, can you bring those special pieces into our environment? And then I think for us it's very much understanding and nurturing talent. I often say, my job is as a youth developer is to plant a tree today so then in 10 years we can sit in the shade. 

GC: Is part of that giving them the freedom to express themselves?

TK: Absolutely. We've got these phenomenal dribblers – come on, express yourself! There's a statistic out there that says that around 50-percent of the time, Messi loses the ball off the dribble. So why is it not okay for a youth player to have similar numbers? We want to encourage flair, creativity - doing things. We had a particular game against England two years ago where I thought Kate (Markgraf) was going to have a heart attack. She saw a goalkeeper scoop the ball over the approaching center forward because she felt that was the right move to get out of that situation. They have to take those risks now as a young player because they won't do it as an adult - they simply won't do it if they haven't tried it as a young player.

GC: In the film session the next day did you highlight that moment? 

TK: It was funny because in that camp, Kate had come in to watch the game and was leaving afterward. And then Vlatko Andonovski, senior team head coach] is coming in the next day when we were having the game review. And he was like, “that's just unbelievable”. But we want that player to feel so comfortable, creative wise, that they are trying to things. We want this next generation of US players to just feel that they can be as creative as possible that there aren’t boundaries put on them to stop them from expressing their true talents. Vlatko loved it. 

GC: I would assume you have a lot of interaction with Vlatko since you're the conduit coach to that next step and the senior team is getting younger.

TK: We've always looked to try and have vertical integration. We have a weekly call with all the coaches - shared ideas and mini projects which we do for each other. And It’s great Trinity Rodman is still age eligible for our group, but she is with the seniors currently. I always say to the group that my job is that you never play a game for me. Because if we do the right things, you move on quickly. 

GC: What are these mini projects that you share?

TK: Vlatko had me do a project on first and second balls. I analyzed 20 games that the women played and analyzed where we win the first and second ball and where we lose first and second balls. So, there might be just a small number of gems where we can link them to our principles and bring them back into the players. He's been able to put a plan together so that we now win more first and second balls. 

GC: We've talked about the development and that's your primary responsibility. But what about the winning. The U-17s have failed to get to the knockout stage of the World Cup in each of the last two cycles. The U20s the same in 2018. Does anything stand out about the results from recent years? 

TK: The number one priority is to make sure that we're at those tournaments because we want to be able to provide the player the opportunity to compete at World Cups. For us, winning is part of development but it's not the only part of development. You say that the 2018 group didn't get out of group play in the World Cup in France but there's five of those players that have been into the senior camp. Ultimately, that is our goal. 

GC: In the youth World Cups a country like Spain stands out. Do you look at what other countries are doing and identify their methods? 

TK: Yeah, I think that it goes in cycles. Ten to 15 years ago, it was the Germans. Now, it's the Spanish and there'll be a cycle where there might be another team that emerges. For us, it's looking at how they have a particular style of play. And I think that's been a big focus for us. In 2020 and 2021 we completely redid our style while applying principles and our entire methodology. I think for us it's having an identity.

GC: How would you define our identity at this point? Is it still being established?

TK: I think that a US team plays with a lot of energy, a lot of intensity. I don't think any of us would really want to see our team play negatively. I think it's for us to identify that intensity and those game ideas and then look at putting them into practice through our youth team. 

GC: You've had previous positions where you're observing coaches as a director. What are some of the areas where maybe you feel like coaches need improvement? And what were the consistent areas of strength that that you saw that the coaches could build on?

TK: I think that youth coaching is getting better and better. The crop of young players that are birth year 2007 and 2008 - they're even more exciting than the group when I had and that was seen as an exciting group. So, I think that the club world is doing a very good job of trying to produce those creative type players. When I was a director, I encouraged the coaches to consider rolling ball time: if you have three 90-minute sessions per week can the ball be rolling for 75 minutes of it? The more that ball is rolling we're seeing a lot more decision-making practices.

GK: What's your assessment of the current coaching pool of women in the women's game? And is there a remedy for the paucity of female coaches?

TK: I don't know if you have a remedy. I think the numbers are not where we want them to be by any stretch of the imagination. I think before we talk about the quality of female coaches, we really need to increase the numbers and the base. Can we start to identify players, whether it's at the youth or college level or players you kind of know that might be the end of their soccer journey and start to put them on the [coaching] pathway. Ultimately, we don't want the female player to leave the game. So, can you have some sort of impact? Can we foster this love of the game so that she stays in the game? And I think we've got to do a better job at keeping them in the game. 

GC: Plus, I’ve always noticed that when players go out and get their badges, they become better players - they're thinking about the game.
TK: 100-percent. You look at the game differently. So, your first part is developing the base. And then the next part is, what are the requirements of being one of the best female coaches?