Tom Sermanni sat down for an exclusive interview with LionNation to talk about the NWSL offseason and his plans for the team’s future. His thoughts below are just a small part of that interview. Check out the rest here.
When Tom Sermanni was the head coach of the U.S Women’s National Team, there was talk of starting another women’s soccer league in the United States. Sermanni believes a domestic league is not only beneficial, but necessary to developing a strong national team. For Sermanni, Kristen Edmonds recent call-up to the national team is a sign of depth and development in the relationship between the national team and the league.
“Kristen Edmonds, I mean what that shows is the benefits of the NWSL,: Sermanni said in an interview with LionNation. “I was a great proponent of the NWSL when it started; I was the national coach at the time. And there was a lot of skepticism because two leagues had failed and there were a lot of things about those leagues that needed improving and didn’t get improved. So, when the league started initially there was a sort of skepticism, but I think it is critical these days for the national team to have a league that’s fully professional in your country where players can play week in and week out.”
The relationship between the national team and the league isn’t just beneficial to the coaching staff-- it’s also beneficial to the players. Some people might be more likely to consider a professional career if they have time to develop their skills and maybe make the national team.
“What we’ve seen in the league, and Kristen Edmonds is a great example of that, is that if you give the players time and give them the environment, how many can take that next step,” Sermanni continued. “If you don’t have that, you can’t take the next step, so when I came here as national team coach… if you came out of college and you hadn’t quite developed or if you weren’t good enough college, you just virtually disappeared. So now, the league is here, I think that’s great incentive for women to pursue a professional career and improve to hopefully get a chance in the national team. So, hopefully Kristen will be an example for some of our other players and next year we might see others kick on and hopefully be a part of the U.S Women’s National Team.”
You can see the full interview at LionNation.com.
