Yesterday, following Angel City's announcement that the club had parted ways with former head coach Freya Coombe, Becki Tweed led her first training as interim head coach. In what is inevitably a difficult moment for any team, Tweed says the group is locked in and continuing to work hard.
'It's been a good week of training,' she says. 'I think they're very dialed in and focused and aware of what they need to do to bring the group together and continue to move forward.'
The focus is on the field, with sights set firmly on the weekend ahead. 'It's about how we take it one game at a time and move forward from that,' says Tweed.
'The word 'compete' is something that's really stood out for me,' she continues. 'I really want to make sure that we take that into this weekend and then into next week, and into week after that, to give ourselves the best chance we can.'
She emphasizes that the team has had plenty of moments where they've competed, including games where they've been the dominant team for the majority of the match. 'There's no performance for us where for 95, 100 minutes, we were completely dominant and we were happy with how we played,' she said. 'We've had moments in games, but I think it's trying to find ways to put that brilliance together.'
Tweed cites the first half of Angel City's 3–2 victory over Kansas City, as well as the first half of their season-opening loss to Gotham, as examples of moments where the team has dominated on both sides of the ball. 'I think generally in we've been defensively organized,' she adds. 'It's just a one moment that costs [us] a goal.'
She stresses that the margins between the top and the bottom in the NWSL are thin, in terms of both points and quality. Three points currently separate first-place San Diego from sixth-place North Carolina.
'That's what makes it the best league in the world,' she says. 'There's no game that you can go into on a weekend, no matter where you sit in the table, and predict the result. It's impossible. I think it's a lot about how you prepare for the game. I know I've said that detail is important, but it really is important, because it could be a ten-second period that costs you a game.'
Both games against Portland, one in the regular season and one in the Challenge Cup, have illustrated that. The teams' regular-season meeting on April 29 saw Angel City open the scoring, go down 1–2, then pull ahead again by the 79th minute—only to concede the equalizer on a set piece late in stoppage time. In the Challenge Cup, LA clawed back from a two-goal deficit, then let in a third goal in the 93rd minute.
Putting together a complete performance over the course of a full game starts at training. 'It's not just on the weekend,' she says. 'It's from the minute you walk in the building on Mondays until the minute you leave. We need to make sure that every day we live up to a standard that we can then carry onto the field on the weekend.'
Tweed says that having been an assistant for the club gives her a different perspective on her new head coaching duties. 'Being an assistant allows you to, I think, see how you need support as a head coach,' she says. 'I think you have an appreciation for what you need. I feel like I can step into this and I know what I need from [Assistant Coach Eleri Earnshaw] and from [Head of Goalkeeping Daniel Ball] to help the team be successful.'
The biggest change for her is the shift from advising to making decisions. 'It's not, 'my advice is this, my guidance is this, I think we have a space where we could do this, but what do you need?' Now the decision is on me.'
Looking at San Diego, says Tweed, her task is to ask, 'how can we be the best version of us? What strengths do we have to play to, and where can we hurt them?'
The Wave are tied with Washington for first place, and are especially strong defensively, with just 11 goals conceded on the season 'We're really aware that they're organized, they're disciplined,' she says. 'But every team in this league has vulnerable spots. It's about instilling the players with the confidence that if we get it right, we'll be fine.'