Twila Kilgore was promoted from assistant coach to interim manager of the U.S. women’s national team nine months ago.
No one predicted that she would lead the team as long as she has, but the final two chapters will be written in the next few days. The next-to-last will come Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the U.S. will play Japan in the semifinals of the SheBelieves Cup. The last will come Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio, where the last round of the tournament will be played. Emma Hayes, hired in November, finally will take over and lead the team into this summer’s Olympics in France.
Put in a difficult and unique situation – Kilgore is supposed to return to her assistant role – she said she has tried to stay focused on small steps. It helped her lead to the team to the Gold Cup, and it may include one more trophy if the team can win the SheBelieves Cup.
“I think when I started, it was about just doing the next best and right thing for this program,” Kilgore said. “And it wasn’t about expectations in the long term. And over time, this went from a few months opportunity to what looks like it’s going to be a longer opportunity. So I guess I would say I’ve just taken one step at a time, and really done my best to try and enjoy it. ... I’m really proud of the job that I’ve done.”
Kilgore was put into the situation after the team was knocked out of last year’s World Cup by Sweden in the Round of 16. It was the first time in the team’s history that it failed to reach at least the semifinals of a tournament. Vlatko Andonovski resigned, and Kilgore was promoted.
Though knowing she wasn’t going to get one of the world’s coveted soccer jobs, Kilgore has handled the experience with grace, according to her players.
“It’s a difficult, difficult position that Twila has been in, but honestly, we feel like the last few months, we’ve done really well under her, we’ve bounced back from hard losses in a positive way,” forward Alex Morgan said. “So I think the mentality has been there. The tactical piece has been there. So definitely give her credit because it’s a very difficult position to know that you’re not going to be the head coach come the Olympics, but she’s doing everything in her power to prepare us for that moment.”
Kilgore said she couldn’t predict how much she would enjoy being a head coach again. She previously coached the Under-23 team and the Under-19 team within the USSF system. She described coaching the senior team as one of the greatest privileges of her life.
“People and experiences is where the joy comes from,” she said.
It hasn’t been easy.
The team became embroiled in controversy the past week when it was revealed that player Korbin Albert liked and shared social media posts that were considered anti-LGBTQ+. She later apologized on social media. U.S. team captains Morgan and Lindsey Horan expressed disappointment in Albert’s choices to like and share the posts at a press conference Wednesday.
Kilgore opener her press conference Friday with a statement about Albert, who is in camp and available to play Saturday.
“It is disappointing when somebody falls short of the very high standards that we set within this team,” Kilgore said. “This team has always been a beacon of respect, inclusion and demonstrated great allyship through actions for underrepresented and marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ+ community. And we will continue to do so.”
Kilgore then turned her focus back to her time as manager and what’s next.
“We’re very serious about taking care of business, this tournament, but it’s not just me,” she said. “It’s an entire staff of people that have committed to seeing this program through that interim timeframe and helping to really set this program up for success.”
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