As the nation prepare to defend their SheBelieves Cup title, U.S. Women’s National Team midfielder Sam Coffey says that she is using 2025 as an opportunity to improve.
The USA will face Australia, Colombia and Japan in the annual round-robin tournament set to take place between February 20-26. The tournament will provide the Olympic gold medalists with an opportunity to secure silverware in a calendar year without a major tournament in store.
Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey says she is welcoming any challenges that 2025 may bring, and is using it as a prime opportunity to develop her individual game.
“I’m definitely someone that lives day by day and step by step. As much as we are focussed on all the things that we want to do in the future, it’s about how we get there. For me that’s focussing on my details and my process at every training, every camp, every day whether I’m on or off field.”
“Especially this year where we don’t have a major tournament, I’m trying to focus on my development and on my growth. Focussing on fine tuning all the details of my game is a great opportunity that we’re not always able to have. It’s always a privilege to be here, there is never a training, a camp or a game that I take for granted,” Coffey added.
Coffey says 2025 presents a ‘cool opportunity’ to ‘grow and develop’
Preseason training ahead of the new National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season has set underway, with the 2025 campaign ready to kick off in under a month. Coffey spoke on how she utilised the offseason ahead of the new year of NWSL action.
“The offseason was really great. I tried to take a break which we all know is rare so we try to take advantage of it as much as possible. Had a great progressive build up into our January camp and now week 3 of preseason. I feel really grateful to have had the opportunity to shut down both body and mind, enjoy a bit of rest after what was a crazy 2024,” the midfielder recounted.
“I do think 2025 just presents just a cool opportunity to really hone in on growth and development without having the pressure of a major tournament. That’s a huge goal for me, and I know for us as a team, we’re not wasting any time. We are taking advantage of every second we have together, so I’m really excited about the growth that we will be able to experience with that.”
The January international camp and the SheBelieves Cup setup have both offered Emma Hayes the opportunity to experiment with her USA team. The squad have welcomed new faces to their ranks during a time of high-transition.
“It’s a really cool opportunity for players that have now been around for longer to help lead the young ones as much as we can,” Coffey expressed. “For the young ones it’s a really cool opportunity to be a part of this group and hopefully win a trophy at the end of the week. While it’s a totally different vibe and there is a lot of new energy and fresh faces and there are challenges in navigating that in certain moments, I think there is so much opportunity for us a team to continue to deepen our talent pool, and to layer our tactics and understand the way we want to play.”
Coffey’s role in central midfielder often means she is adopting leadership responsibilities, something she elaborated on when asked about the ever-changing squad.
“It’s been such a cool experience to help bring the new and younger ones along, I know that’s something that none of us take lightly and we love the aspect of leadership that it brings. It’s been a pleasure having so many new faces in camp and I think they’re all doing such a great job at attacking a really challenging task and facing it head on.”
