The US Women’s National Team has been the most successful international side in the world. However, as the 2016 Rio Olympics demonstrated, the gap between the US and its competitors is closing. Other nations are leveraging more advanced men’s development infrastructure and could leapfrog the US in terms of player development on the women’s side because of it. In order to maintain the dominance that the team has enjoyed over the rest of the world, the US needs to improve its player development process.
Yesterday, US Soccer announced that it had taken a step to do that by hiring Miriam Hickey to lead the Girls’ Development Academy program that it announced would begin play in the fall of 2017.