Jill Ellis.Photo:Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
As the U.S. Women’s National Team kicks off its quest for a third-straight World Cup title this week, one person knows the squad is “fully capable” of pulling off the unprecedented feat: former head coach Jill Ellis.“We’re deeper than most other countries,” Ellis, 56, tells PEOPLE. “I think we could, at times, field two teams.”
Ellis, who coached the USWNT to its last two World Cup wins before stepping down in 2019, said she first grasped the team’s dynastic potential after the first of its back-to-back World Cup wins in 2015.
This year’s team is a ripple effect of the team’s early success — “a great balance of players with experience who have been in the trenches and know what it takes, along with the younger guard that comes in with great skills and fresh faces,” she says.
“That’s the blend that helps you win,” according to Ellis.
Jill Ellis.Naomi Baker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
Naomi Baker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
Ellis caught up with PEOPLE ahead of the women’s World Cup, which begins Thursday in Australia and New Zealand.
Ellis will be there, but as a fan this time. She says she made the decision to step down as the team’s coach in January 2019, before coaching the USWNT to its second World Cup title that summer.
“At some point, it’s good to have a fresh lens,” Ellis says. “And I’d missed more of my kids’ birthdays than I’ve been at, so it was a personal thing. But it was also this belief that I don’t think you should sit in a national team job for 20 years. I think you’re doing people a disservice. Players deserve to have new thoughts, new ideas coming at them.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.This year, the USWNT looks as different as it has in nearly a decade with 14 players making their World Cup debut, including Trinity Rodman, 21, and Alyssa Thompson, 18.
Jill Ellis.Mike Hewitt - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
Mike Hewitt - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
History is on the line with the back-to-back champs shooting for a third-straight title, something no national team — men’s or women’s — has ever done before. But the 2023 World Cup tournament is also a changing of the guard for the USWNT, especially after veteran striker Megan Rapinoe announced this monthshe’s set to retirelater this year.Ellis, who finds it “more stressful” watching games as a fan than from the sidelines, is sure a three-peat would solidify the USWNT’s legacy as one of the greatest teams of all-time.
“One, it would be unparalleled,” she says. “But two, I think it would be a massive boost for our game. Every time the national team has success, it only continues to grow not just the importance but also the platform that women’s soccer has in this country. It would be remarkable. I don’t think it gets matched if they pull off the three-peat, I really don’t. It would be an unparalleled legacy that some of those players will have.”
Since leaving the USWNT, Ellis has worked towards carving a new legacy of her own in the sport. She helped launch the San Diego Wave FC franchise last year, serving as the team’s president. “I want to create something that’s everlasting,” she says.
And discovering young talent to guide to the professional level is “something I’m very passionate about,” Ellis says, pointing out that women now have the opportunity to go pro in soccer at a younger age like men long have been able to do. “It’s a massive step,” she says.
From left: Lily Ellis-Stephenson, Jill Ellis, and Betsy Stephenson.TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty
TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty
Ellis is also able to spend more time at home with her wife Betsy Stephenson, who she started dating in 2004 when she was the head coach at UCLA and later married in 2013, as well as their 18-year-old daughter Lily, who will head to William & Mary in the fall.
But before then, the Ellis-Stephenson family — along with millions of others around the country — will be watching closely to see if her former team can write themselves into the history books with a third-straight World Cup.“It’s such a great feeling,” Ellis says, remembering what it was like to win the first two. “To bring that joy to people and hopefully encourage them and inspire them, it’s very fulfilling.”
source: people.com
