When 'Hillsy' met Jill...

World champions, superstars back home in America, we had the pleasure of hosting the US Women's National Team at Hotspur Way as they prepared to defend the World Cup in France.

Earlier this week, Tottenham Hotspur Women manager Karen Hills took the opportunity to watch the USWNT squad train, alongside three of her players, Rianna Dean, Anna Filbey and Jess Naz and local schoolgirls.

She hit it off immediately with Jill Ellis, the English-born manager of the USWNT and as the pair spoke all things football together, it was too good an opportunity for us to miss...

Jill Ellis: "I actually grew up in the south of England in Portsmouth. I was an early Pompey fan. My dad coached, my brother coached and when I moved to the States when I was 16, that was actually the first time I played (football) with the boys in the back yard and the school yard but also, when I moved, it was the first time I played ‘organised’ football with women and girls. And from there, I never thought I would have a career in it but, as it ended up, that path, I was drawn to it, I love it, I’m crazy about it and that’s how I got to this point.”

Karen Hills: “I’ve just completed my 10th season with Spurs and we’ve managed to get three promotions and picked up a few trophies along the way, so it’s been great. I think women’s football in general, not just in England but all around the world, is really taking off and this World Cup is just going to catapult it to another level. It’s been fantastic to watch the US squad at close-quarters. They’re on an absolute different level. You are all role models and do a tremendous job.”

Jill: “It’s certainly something special to take a team to the World Cup. No teams are the same. It is a different journey, with some similar players, some new players but it’s always a different team. It’s exciting. Everyone knows with a World Cup, it’s not a straight ride. There are going to be twists and turns, but I think the players are hungry. Early on, we kind of pushed back when people said ‘defending champions’ – because we’re not defending that (2015 title) – that’s won and it’s over. It’s now about attacking another World Championship. The players are fired up, they’re excited and they’re healthy, which I think is the most important thing as you go through a tournament, it’s making sure you’ve got the players that can do the business for you.”

The coaches then spoke about the mentality required to make it...

Jill: “To win a world championship or any championship, you have to have a combination of technical players who can read the game and have the physique and then undoubtedly, you have to have the mental edge. So, it’s critical. Ultimately, they are going to step on to the field and won’t be able to hear us, so they have to be prepared and feel good about that. And I think we’ve had good preparation here, it’s been phenomenal. I’m a firm believer in preparation gives you confidence.”

Karen: “Talking about mentality, the final three games were make-or-break for our season, all against teams in and around us. The crucial game was Charlton and we were 2-0 down at half-time. We had to win that game and turned it around, 3-2 and that put us in a fantastic position. We then had to go to Aston Villa – another tough team – and we ended up just scraping through with a draw and that allowed us to go into the final match at Durham not needing to win, but we won 2-0 anyway. We finished the season on a massive high. The players had that belief and I always said to them, when they went back over that line in the second half and won the Charlton game 3-2, sometimes, you can’t coach that. That’s down to them. That was all about their mentality and desire and it was lovely to see.”

Jill: “The type of people they are and the character they have is most important and in terms of being role models, it’s a great platform, the Women’s National Team, and they are great ambassadors. They have large followings, social media obviously helps with that, contracts, endorsements. I think here, players are going to become household names, just the visibility and the magnitude of this World Cup is going to elevate everything again, just like Karen said.”

Karen: “I think just that hunger, desire and focus and the way your players have attacked everything that has been put in front of them in training - it’s been tremendous to watch and I can see they are really focused and ready to have a fantastic tournament.”

We finished by asking Jill about the facilities at Hotspur Way...

Jill: “This is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Obviously, I’ve been to a lot of training grounds and this is superb. I think the combination of the quality of the pitches and the resources, the accommodation, the food, it creates an environment you want and that’s why we wanted to come here. The players have found it brilliant. They hang out after training, quite often just talking on the pitch, and the meals have been fantastic, the staff have been great – so it couldn’t be more perfect in terms of teeing it up for us before we get on the plane.”