USWNT coach Emma Hayes summed up by claim at practice before Olympics

United States women's national team head coach Emma Hayes summed up her relentless attempt to be positive before the 2024 Olympics with comments from a sweltering practice session in the Washington D.C. region.

Despite an excessive heat warning in the area that will see the USWNT playing in 100-degree weather on Tuesday night against Costa Rica, the historically intense coach found a silver lining in the situation, calling it "perfect." Later this month, she'll lead the USWNT to France for her first major tournament at the helm.

“It’s perfect preparation for Marseille, it’s pretty hot down there,” Hayes told reporters on Monday. “So this is a great opportunity for us to experience what we’re going to face. For me, that’s added value.” This week, the high temperature in Marseille is expected to remain between 80 and 90 degrees.

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The USWNT's friendly match against Costa Rica is its last on American soil before the Stars and Stripes depart for France. Hayes and Co. will face Zambia, Germany and Australia in Group B at the Olympics.

Players are working to learn Hayes' system in a short period, having waited for the head coach to finish her club season at Chelsea before taking over the USWNT. So far, though, it seems the process is going smoothly.

"We all love Emma already," said Jaedyn Shaw , a 19-year-old member of the Olympics squad, to FIFA.com . "She's definitely got some personality. She has her standards and expectations and I think that she's going to be really, really good for us. It's been challenging and hard work, but we're up for it."

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Shaw added: "We're just continuing to trust her and learn from her and her experience. She meshes well with all of us. She's actually really funny. She can be serious at times, but she also cracks jokes here and there."

Meanwhile, Hayes has kept up an optimistic outlook even when assessing how the USWNT can improve. Overall, she's liked much of what she's seen from her new players.

"They're extremely dynamic," Hayes said this past weekend. "When we attack, it can be done really quickly, but it can't be just that. There's going to be moments we can't, and we have to be a little more indirect, switch the pitch a little more, and recognize the moments when we get locked into one side.

"There's no denying when the game opens up, we thrive. My goal is to thrive in all moments. So we still have a lot of learning to do with that as a team, as a collective."

The USWNT's attack will feature a number of players 23 years old or younger, including Shaw, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith.