{"id":1156,"date":"2019-07-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/cognitive-training-with-the-us-womens-national-soccer-team\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:31","slug":"jill-ellis-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/jill-ellis-decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Cognitive Training with the US Women\u2019s National Soccer Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Jul 16, 2019 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Cognitive Training with the US Women\u2019s National Soccer Team<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/jill-ellis-decision-making\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\r\n\r\n\n\n
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Head Coach Jill Ellis explains why her team\u2019s self-assurance at clutch moments is no accident.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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The semi-final against England was probably the only time during the United States\u2019 ultimately triumphant World Cup campaign that success hung in the balance.<\/h4>\n
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The USWNT were 2-1 up as the game entered its final stages and the score was a fair reflection of the control they had exerted for long periods. England, however, were starting to fight their way back into the contest. First, the US were spared an Ellen White equaliser by the Video Assistant Referee [VAR] who spotted an offside in the build-up, then, with just eight minutes to go, the VAR awarded England a penalty kick for a foul on White.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Naeher\u2019s save from Steph Houghton, the England captain, gave the Connecticut goalkeeper her calling card moment in the USWNT, but it also marked the beginning of the end for the English resistance. England defender Millie Bright was red carded moments later and that was that.<\/p>\n

The manner in which the Americans, thinking on their feet, saw the game out to secure their fifth World Cup Final appearance evoked memories of Head Coach Jill Ellis\u2019 appearance at the 2017 Leaders Sport Performance Summit at Soldier Field in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That afternoon, she discussed player decision-making at crucial moments. \u201cAt some point we want them to make decisions on their own, to read the situation and execute,\u201d said Ellis. \u201cFor the top players that\u2019s really where the game slows down and the decisions, the actual execution, are what separates the top players in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding the right tool in the heat of the moment<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ellis, who has led the USWNT to consecutive World Cup triumphs, explained that there is a lot more weighing on decision-making in the modern era compared to her own playing days. \u201cAthletes are more technical, faster, and so the decision-making has to happen a lot faster,\u201d she said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s creating scenarios.\u201d This approach is designed to enhance the players\u2019 cognitive skills. \u201cSometimes you manipulate the training environment to make it slightly more intensive; so you limit their touches, and if you limit their touches now their vision has to be better because they have to see things faster. If you\u2019re playing inter-squad you can point to one team and say, \u2018OK, you\u2019re down a player\u2019; how do they react to it, where is the space going to be?\u201d<\/p>\n

That element cannot be underplayed in Ellis\u2019 mind. \u201cIt\u2019s very important. Going into the World Cup, you have to prepare for being down a player, being a goal down, and so you don\u2019t want players to react instantly to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trick is to give them tools to call upon in the heat of the moment. \u201cCertainly it\u2019s hard to fabricate the pressure, being in front of 50,000, but we\u2019ll put in those situations that challenge them in order to prepare them; a process to lean on when they get in the pressure cooker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout their World Cup campaign in France, the USWNT played with a self-assurance that suggested defeat was not even on their radar. That confidence in their ability, rather than any particular playing style, set the team apart as a host of opponents succumbed in the end to American superiority.<\/p>\n

Ellis herself seems less concerned with a playing philosophy than establishing core principles that her team can abide by because, as she sees it, these are some of the best players in the world with an ability to think on their feet. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to play on principles, trying to read the situation,\u201d she explains. \u201cRather than a fixed pattern from A to B to C we\u2019ll say \u2018when we\u2019re attacking it\u2019s forward when we can and back if we need\u2019 or \u2018have space and take space\u2019. Then your players have that freedom. Ultimately, as a coach, I have very little control as the game goes on. I have 50,000 people in the stands and I can\u2019t get information to them. So it\u2019s really enabling or empowering these players to make decisions. You can fabricate it on the training ground but, ultimately, if we play more on principles, they can react to different situations in the changing pieces of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n