Carli Lloyd: Chapter 16 - Playing your best on Game Day

Preparing for a game isn't just preparing the day before or the night before. You know, I think that there's a lot of people that I got a good night's sleep the night before I ate good, but the other six days I barely slept and I didn't eat well. You know, it doesn't work like that. Game preparation for me is all year long. You know, it's, it's never switching off. It's, it's putting in the work when nobody's watching. But the key word for me is consistency.

You're listening to the Vision of a Champion podcast with Anson Dorrance, eight time coach of the year, 22 time national champion coach of the 1991 Women's World cup, team Hall of Famer, leader and and mentor to so many in the soccer community.

On this podcast, Anson brings on players.

And coaches to discuss what it means to be a champion. The drive, the passion, the desire, and yes, the stories.

Here's your host, voice of the North Carolina Courage and North Carolina fc Dean Linke.

Hello again everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Vision of a Champion podcast. I'm your host, Dean Linke, longtime soccer broadcaster and the voice of the North Carolina Courage of the nwsl. We've got a star studded episode in store for you guys today as we move on to chapter 16 of the vision of a Champion podcast. And today we get a chance to talk about how to play your best on game day. Our special guest today is the fantastic Carli Lloyd, who has been the face and heartbeat of the U.S. women's National Team for a long, long time. She's a two time Olympic gold medalist, two time FIFA World cup champion in 2015 and 2019, two time FIFA World Player of the Year in 2015 and 16, three time Olympian in 2008, 2012 and 2016. And she is targeting 2021 for her fourth and final Olympics of her illustrious career. Carly scored both of the game winning goals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Lloyd is on the verge of 300 caps for the US women, placing her third all time, fourth all time in goals and seventh in assists. I had the great honor of interviewing Carli Lloyd before a U.S. game against Sweden on Fox Soccer Channel and and as a broadcaster, I consider that one of my best moments. I also had the best seat in the house in 2015 when she put on the best performance perhaps I've ever seen. That goal from midfield is still referenced in men's soccer games. Anytime a man tries to do what Carli Lloyd was able to do in the World Cup Final. Just simply amazing with that. Carli Lloyd, welcome to a Vision of a Champion podcast.

Hey, everybody. Good to be here. I'm honored.

All right, we'll start with the great Anson Dorrance, legendary head coach with North Carolina. And, Anson, before we get started, tell us about the first time you noticed Carly on the soccer pitch, and when did you know she was going to be a star that would become the face of the U.S. women's National Team?

Honestly, I first saw her when she was playing with either the U17s, U18s, U19s, I can't remember. But I'm obviously out there, you know, looking at all the talent, and she was one of the kids on the field. She was in the middle of midfield of one of those games, and I watched her play, and she certainly had all kinds of talent, so that was the first time I saw her. But the first time she scared me to death is when we actually played her team. And I'm thinking, holy crap, has she improved dramatically since I saw her as a youth player? And what a mistake I made. And, of course, I live my mistakes because all of a sudden, these kids that I don't end up recruiting end up, you know, biting me. So Carly is in a collection of, you know, people like, you know, Pino that I lost, and, of course, Wambach that I lost. And so I pay for my mistakes because I get to, you know, collide with them, and she was absolutely fantastic.

Carly, before I ask you about your relationship with Anson, I do need to mention that you also play with Sky Blue fc, where you'll be joined by one of Anson's current stars, Brianna Pinto, who happens to be the daughter of one of our producers. So certainly look forward to talk about that as well. But tell us about your relationship with Anson and how you guys got to.

Know each other.

Well growing up. I mean, obviously, it was a different college process back then, you know, where letters were actually written and sent and mailed to your homes, and you had house visits by coaches. And I actually have a stack of all of my college letters from all of the college coaches that, you know, mailed me letters. And maybe I mailed out letters. Credit to my dad for saving all that. And, you know, growing up, UNC was obviously the powerhouse place to be for women's soccer. Everybody knew about it, and, you know, it was sort of hovering on my radar. But honestly, I didn't think that I could be good enough to go there when I was younger. And when I was in that process, and I think, don't entirely quote me on this, but I think I may have written a letter to you, Anson, which I'll have to dig up in the archives. And I think the letter back was, you know, oh, you know, we're. We're not really recruiting right now at the moment, but wish you all the best type of thing. And then that was it. And then I narrowed my choices down. I ended up staying in New Jersey, close to home, going to Rutgers University, and that was my path.

And you can always look at different situations and say, what type of player would I been had I went somewhere else? Or, you know, this was the path that I was meant to be on, and I embraced it. But, you know, credit to Anson for, you know, decades and decades of what you've done at the program. You've. You've had the best of best players coming in and out of there, and, you know, it's. It's pretty remarkable and pretty amazing. So I can't say that, you know, I played for one of the biggest powerhouses in women's soccer, but I think my journey worked out just okay.

I think it did, too. And let me just share this with you. You are very kind. I don't know whether any of that story is true, but it protects me. So in the event you had the opportunity to blow me up and you decided not to. Carly, I genuinely appreciate that. And of course, once you fought your way into the full team, I became a huge fan of yours. As you well know, I absolutely love your book. I don't know what residual you get with each book, but trust me, about nine or ten of them are sold to the University of North Carolina soccer team every summer. When my sophomore class and I discussed your remarkable book in our preseason in August. And I think, and I mentioned this to you earlier, that is absolutely the best player development book I have ever read, which is why it's required reading. And I think the quote I gave you guys is smackdown. I want my kids to memorize that chapter. It's such a powerful chapter. And that's the sort of watershed moment a kid has to make when she decides, you know what? I'm done with screwing around. I'm going to try to make the full team. I've got the talent. But now I'm going to eliminate all excuses. I'm going to put the work in, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So, Carly, please know how much I really enjoy, in effect, teaching your book.

Oh, I appreciate that.

Yeah, it is a big time book. Speaking of books, let's get into chapter 16 of A Vision of a Champion. And we'll start with you, Anson. Can you give our listeners a brief understanding of what game readiness entails?

Yeah. And obviously there's a reason we picked Carly for this chapter. For me, everything is a part of the ritual to prepare you to play in the match itself. Certainly everything you do in preparation with the months and years before the match you're playing in. But also for me, it is the pregame ritual, whatever you go through. For me, the warmup is a part of preparing yourself mentally, but also physically. I know the players that I picked for that chapter are players like Laurie Fair, who were so good at focusing in the warm up to have an absolutely perfect warmup. And for me, the game ready aspect is multitasking. I mean, it's mentally getting ready, it's physically getting ready. There are all these different boxes you've got to check almost a mini practice before every game if it's a proper pre game or you're rehearsing what you're going to do. And everything is about being absolutely perfect in everything you're doing in the pregame and it's getting set. So for me, having Carly here, who in my opinion has played one of the most remarkable World cup finals of any player, either gender, this is a player that really knows how to get ready. And the thing that obviously I want to drill into with Carlee with was her decisions to make it. And I think that's a great story in itself, but also where she is now. I mean, I was prepared to share this even before, you know, what happened on Sunday, but she's the Tom Brady of women's soccer because holy crap, I'm watching that game. And of course I'm rooting for Tom. Why? Because I'm 70 years old myself. And so I'm also rooting for Carly and to see her performances recently against Columbia. Are you kidding me? Because this is the best I've ever seen her defend in her life. She's ruling the air, which is the most difficult thing for the women to do. And so even now, she's exploring new areas of her own development, which for me are striking and powerful and inspirational for all of us that watch and support the women's game.

Carly, can you just reflect on what he said? Because he's right. You are the Tom Brady right now. It seems like you get better. You're like a fine wine indeed.

You know, it's a humbling comparison. I Mean, Tom Brady is somebody that I genuinely look up to. Even being an Eagles fan, I can't hate on Tom Brady. I mean, you just have to respect what he's done and what he continues to do. And everybody wants to talk about his age. Everybody. You know, the beginning of this past season where, you know, I was watching SportsCenter, they were all ragging on him. Oh, you know, is this. Is this going to be a downfall for Tom? You know, he doesn't look good, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, it's not where you start, it's where you finish. You know, this is a long season. And he just kept his head down, did what he needed to do, and rallied his. His whole team to win that Super Bowl. And it's incredible. And so, you know, I take a look at my career and kind of where I started, and, you know, I didn't predict all this. You know, I think the. The biggest thing for me is, like, Tom is just the pursuit of perfection, of being great, greatness, of just being better every single day. I mean, I don't feel good about myself, and I don't sleep well at night if I haven't overturned every single thing in my game that I can improve upon. And.

I think what I'm most proud of is everything that I've been through to get to this point.

But I've also played multiple positions. I've only been a number nine for the last three years.

And so I've had to excel in a different position, change my game from being a central midfielder pretty much my whole life, and now adapt and learn the role of the number nine in the modern game, how it's being played today. And it's fun because every day I'm humbled because I've got to continue to work things and continue to be better at things. And so I just am on this pursuit of trying to become better. And it's not just I want to be a part of this team. No, I'm striving for greatness every single moment I step out onto that field.

Well, Carly, let me jump into that, because what I love is I'm going to use some parallels between you and Brady. Brady, I think, was drafted. I might not get all the details right. I think something like in the sixth round, I think he was drafted 199th or something. And of course, that's incredibly insulting. I mean, so not only he will certainly retire the greatest football player of all time, but during his year when he was drafted, they didn't even think he was in the top 100 players in that one year. And now, of course, he'll retire, you know, the greatest of all time. And you had that moment, too, and I love it. In your book, you're talking about you're going into a national youth camp with Petrocelli, and all of a sudden he's telling you that you're not defending. You can't defend. So basically, he's cutting you. He's cutting you from this team, and he's telling you honestly why. And of course, you're shocked and horrified and all these different things. But then all of a sudden, things start to change. So do me a favor. Tell me and Dean about that transition from being cut by Petrocelli and then get into the smackdown chapter, which for me is. You know, I read this with my team like a religious text, because so many of my players, they come to UNC because their dream is to make the US Full team. And all of a sudden, these elements where they're. They're just not getting through, they're not taking responsibility. They have a narrative, you know, laced with excuses for why, you know, they weren't picked here or why they're not doing well there. They're blaming, you know, all the coaches that are a part of their development and the environments and talk about that transition from Petrocelli through smackdown to when you were making it, because I think that's an incredible story.

Yeah, it was a huge turning point in my career, my life. You know, I've. I've seen Chris since my book, you know, and obviously, he knew that that was coming public, and. And I laugh with him because I'm like, I'm so thankful for what you did, because he was really the first coach who just gave it to me straight. I was a. I was a talented kid. You know, I could do things that. That most players couldn't do. I was unique. I was different. And the bad thing about that was, is I wasn't fit, and I didn't have the work ethic to do that over and over and over again. So one game, I'd be good, another game, I'd be terrible. So the inconsistency was just up and down for me all the time. And so when I got to the best of the best on the under 21 national team, he wasn't having it, and he had to pick a squad of players that were going to the Nordic cup that were gonna win him that championship. And I later ended up getting reinvited because somebody got hurt. But, you know, I remember, you know, growing up being, you know, coming out of college and, you know, Heisman, you know, this type of thing wards and that, you know, I wasn't. I wasn't on the radar, per se. And so that chapter that you're referring to, it was accountability. You know, it was time to stop pointing the fingers outward and pointing them inward at myself, taking accountability for.

You know, no matter who the coach is giving them. No reason to leave me off the field, because I'm going to just work extremely hard every single session, and I'm going to continue to get better, taking accountability with my recovery, you know, making sure I'm taking care of myself.

Never switching off, you know, making this my number one priority in my life. And a lot of people and a lot of things had to come second, and they still are coming second. So I had to really surround myself with an important support group of people, friends, family, my husband who really understood and who could support me because I wouldn't have been able to get as far as I've gotten without that support and that understanding. And little by little, year after year.

Fitness was my biggest downfall. But it's the easiest thing to do if you think about it. I think there's so many people that just say, I'm just not a fit person, and I fit into that category. I'm just not good at fitness testing. I'm not good at the beep test. No, I'm just not fit. That's really what it comes down to. When I started to take ownership of practicing on my own and training hard and running and getting myself fit and training if it's 100 degrees out and training if it's snowy and 30 degrees out. There were no excuses that I could make.

That I could do anymore. I used up all the excuses the first part of my life, and now I entered this phase where there were no excuses. It was simple. Work hard, and every single day, just try to be better every single day. And that's what I did.

And.

It'S not a quick success doing it that way, but I did it the right way. And here I am now, age 38, soon to be 39, and I'm still going, but it was an important lesson for me. And now I look back, and now I'm seeing a new generation of players come in, and.

I'm like, you know, you can't have your hand held. You can't have someone holding your hand trying to get you into the ice bath. You can't have someone, hey, you're a little sore. Let's go. Let's keep running or let's get out there for another workout. It's accountability. You know, everybody has the pen in their hand to determine what path and what your story is going to be, and you ultimately write it. It's as simple as that. And you can come up with all the excuses in the book, but at the end of the day, you know, you're the one that's going to have to live with the story that you create.

Carly, that's fantastic. Let me throw this out, because I'm curious about this, because when I watched you, I was obviously, we're all of us that love the women's game and love the team and hope you guys continue to win. I'm watching you now, and I am absolutely stunned. So there is something else going on. Even in addition. In addition to your evolution to make the team in the first place, there's something more going on now. You look fitter than you've ever been in your life. You have embraced defending. Because that's what I connected with Vladko about. I said, vladko, what the hell's going on? And he agreed with me. His text back was spot on. But the other thing is, you've taken something that's very hard in the women's game and added it to your game. Not that you were ever bad at it, but now you're extraordinary at it, which is your air game. But the other thing is your fitness base is even deeper and you're taking even more responsibility defensively. So talk about those two elements, because you're right. When I try to convince a kid to get fit, I'm always telling them, anyone can get fit. And everyone is laced with excuses for why they can't. You know, I've got a different sort of body type or I'm this or that. And the other thing, I mean, they all come down with a million excuses. You understand that everyone can get fit. But the element that I love now in your game is you are learning the nine because your ability in the air. And by the way, you could have scored four more, and you just headed them at the goalkeeper in that game, but you are winning them all. So talk about both those elements right now in your late 30s.

Well, I think I'm just going to bring you back to age 7. You know, my dad tells me at age 7, he thought that there was something. There was something there with me, you know, still young, whatever. At age 14, he said, okay, we. This is serious. You know, she's Got the potential.

Now fast forward to where I'm at.

I am the type of person and player who if I am told something and then I go and do it and apply it and I see results, I'm bought in. So if it's going to help me, I'm going to do it. And so my entire career, information's been thrown at me. You know, I've had, you know, people, hey, do this, do this, do this. And okay, well, the things that I've done and the things that people have shared with me and I've done and I've seen the results and I have felt how good I feel from doing fitness and from doing different things, it's a no brainer to me. So I think that the biggest hurdle for players and for myself is just getting over that hurdle of getting yourself to do it, getting yourself out there on your own, you in the field, you in the track, whatever, and just run. Once you get over that hurdle and then you start to see results.

For me, it was simple, it was easy. I'm like, all right, this is my drug. You know, I'm addicted. I am now addicted to running. If I don't run, I don't feel good about myself and I don't feel good on the field. So 2020 was very eye opening for me.

Obviously, we all went through different levels of with the pandemic and there's many people who have had a really, really tough year. I look at 2020 as sort of my rebirth year. I'm thankful for a lot of different things. You know, I unfortunately had to cut ties with my longtime trainer, but it opened my eyes to just a whole new world. And I reunited and reconnected with my family, which has been unbelievably amazing to have them in my life. They've been there for the beginning of my career and now they're here for the end of my career. And that's not the only reason, but, you know, I'm thankful for that. I was also battling a knee injury and so I was out for a while. It was my first surgery I've ever had in my career. So one may say, you know, I'm 38, cut ties with her trainer, you know, is she going to be able to come back? How's she going to be able to come back? Well, I came back better than ever and that was always in my plan and that was always my mindset. And So I had 10 months while I was recovering my knee. You know, coming back, I got a mental recharge I got a physical recharge.

I was a new person, and I had about three solid months to just build back my aerobic fitness like never before. With long runs, track workouts, 1200s, 800-400-400. I incorporate hill workouts, sprints, plyo work. But I also had two changes as well. I started working out with a new soccer guy who was able to just make really small adjustments within my game that have made a huge difference. And they're so basic, but I'm super thankful for that. Just with my first touch, juggling, dribbling. And then I got introduced to another guy.

That I'm doing strength work with. But it's not your typical get the barbell up and just start squatting. I credit my longevity from not lifting weights, which contradicts a lot of people out there, but I have not lifted a weight my entire career. And I really credit that for me to just feel agile and good and be able to sustain this over the course of my career, going into my late 30s. And so I started, I've been working out with this new guy, doing a lot of movement and functional things. So you asked me, what have I changed? I think there's been a lot of changes. I think 2020 to now. I've had an abundance amount of changes. I've got a new knee, which is great, feeling really good. And yeah, I mean, I lost weight, I leaned out. I think it's a combination of just all these different things, and.

I wish I had more time. You know, I'm near the end, but this is the best I've ever felt from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint. And I'm learning the game every single day, you know, every single day. I'm finding ways to keep coming, coming back better. And so it's been awesome. It's been awesome to come back in January and kind of blow everyone out the water with how I. Well, I came back. And physically from a physical standpoint and a sharpness standp.

Well, talk about your air game, because this is a classic weakness in the women's game, and yet your air game right now is extraordinary. So what are you doing?

Yeah, I mean, those. Those two games, I think I had, you know, five or six headers straight to the goalie. It's funny because I didn't start working on my heading because of my knee probably a week before I was leaving. And I knew that. I knew that my timing was a little off and I didn't have, you know, wasn't able to spend as much time on it getting in the reps that I needed. But when I got to camp, I was pretty pleased with how I was feeling. But the, you know, the jumping up on my one leg was the last thing to kind of come and you know, any given day I probably would have banged in a few of those goals.

But it's timing, you know, it's timing. It's just the strength work that I'm doing that's just making me, my fast twitch muscles just react. But you know, I think that I've always been a decent header in the game. Obviously Abby was incredible in the air and she kind of took that reign. But I've, you know, I, I've always been, been able to get up and, and you know, be able to, to out jump many people. I think now it's just the technical aspect of it and, and kind of, you know, putting it where I want to, but I worked on it this, this break again. Got a lot of more, more reps in, so hopefully I've got some, some headers that will come my way coming up.

I think so. Well, Dean, I'll turn it back over to you. So I've mined all the elements I wanted to get out of Carly, but let me let you take back over the reins here.

Well, I think it's tantamount to Carli Lloyd's appeal, even to a legend like you, Anson, that she comes on Vision of a champion. And we immediately talk more about her book than your book, which certainly makes sense as we're Talking about Chapter 16, play your best on game day. So with that, Carly, can you share with our listeners some of the things you do habitually to prepare for a game?

You know, so preparing for a game isn't just preparing the day before or the night before. You know, I think that there's a lot of people that. I got a good night's sleep the night before. I ate good, you know, but the other six days, you know, I didn't, I barely slept and I didn't eat well. You know, it doesn't work like that. Game preparation for me is all year long. You know, it's, it's never switching off. It's. It's putting in the work when nobody's watching. But the key word for me is consistency. And I try to tell, you know, some of these younger players that.

It'S easy to kind of get in this environment, you know, have a good couple of camps. But the biggest thing is being consistent. It's being consistent on the field, but it's also being Consistent off the field. And so I, you know, it's, it's my, my ritual to make sure I'm getting eight, nine hours of sleep every night consistently, that is, that is given, making sure I'm hydrated. You know, we here with the national team, we do, you know, our urine sample every morning and it kind of gives you a gauge of where you're at. For me, it's, you know, it's constant. I have a water bottle everywhere I go, so it's important that you're staying hydrated. Eating well, same thing, you know, consistently eating well, taking care of your body. For me, ice baths have been the number one recovery strategy for me, as well as massages. And then once the game, once you're prepping for a game and it's within that couple day window, that's when.

The.

Focus mode really, really kind of escalates a bit more. And visualization for me has become key. I've been doing that since 2012 and I think everybody has to find their way of being able to visualize or meditate, whatever you want to call it. But for me, it's focusing on two or three things that I want to go into the game focusing on. If you've got a list of 10 different things.

It'S gonna be a nightmare. You know, you can't, no human can focus on 10 different, you know, trying to be great at 10 different things in a game. So for me, I keep it to about two to three things a game.

And then on the actual game day, what I've done over the course of my career is go for a 10, 15 minute light jog. Sometimes it's a walk and I bring the ball with me. I just kind of mess about, juggle, dribble, and just get my mind and body ready to go. And then once we get into warmups, game day warm ups, what I have found for me, it's a balance. I'm an uber, uber focused, competitive person. But you've got to find that balance. You don't want to be one way or the other. You don't want to be too lax and you don't want to be too uptight. So I find that I play the best when I'm smiling, when I'm laughing and somewhat joking around with some of the other players. And so finding that balance.

Has been key for me and I've kind of been messing around with that throughout my career and.

That'S sort of my mindset going into games foreign.

We're going to take a quick break here to tell you about our sponsor, soccer.com Anson has been coaching for 44 years and it seems like soccer.com has been around nearly that long as well. It's pretty close as the soccer.com business has been family run and based in Hillsboro, North Carolina since 1984. If you're a player or a coach who need soccer shoes, equipment, gear, whatever it may be, do what the pros do. Head on over to soccer.com.

This is Dean Linke. I hope you've been enjoying the podcast and I wanted to make you aware that Anson just released a new audiobook version of his hardcover book the Vision of a Champion. Now you can listen to the book, narrated by Anson Dorrance, and switch back to the free podcast to hear the stars of the women's game discussing Chapter the Vision of a Champion Audiobook is available on Apple Books, Amazon's, Audible, Google Play, or wherever you get your audiobooks. To find it, simply search the Vision of a Champion Audiobook. Now let's get back to the show.

Anson, before we go back to Carly and ask her about how she balances training, tapering and nutrition when preparing for a USA game. Can you give our listeners a quick understanding of peaking and why is peaking so important to game readiness?

Yeah, absolutely. And obviously Carly is an expert at this because I rarely see her perform poorly. So for me, the ideal week for us collegiately is a four or a five day preparation before we go into a match. The problem with the collegiate game, of course, there's so many matches are stuffed into a fall schedule. And so basically what you're always doing is tapering into games as opposed to actually developing yourself. The thing I'm excited about for this spring for the collegiate game is now we have one game a week. And so for me that's fantastic. A five a day training platform to go into a match is for me perfect. Because obviously somewhere in there you've got a fitness day, but you're addressing two different platforms. And what I love, what Carly is sharing with all of our listeners, is how critical but also available the aerobic fitness component is for all of us. So obviously one day of the week we've got basically an aerobic day. Back in the old days it was basically doing sprints, you know, 120s or cones, which is, you know, a ritual for us at UNC. But now I'm more into Raymond Verheyen's periodization model where we're playing to get fit. So 1v1s to 2v2s to 3v3s to 4v, 4s to half field games to 11v. 11. Based on the week, it's some sort of, you know, interval training with some sort of ball at your feet where you're actually competing. And so you can certainly maintain an aerobic base with that. You also have to address the components that Carly's very familiar with. I mean, you've got to do enough sprinting in preparation for a weekend match that's stimulating that aspect of your platform. So you have an anaerobic base as well. So you're addressing an aerobic base, which is basically your lungs. You're addressing an anaerobic base, which is basically your legs. Can you sprint the entire time? And then obviously it's developing more and more confidence with the ball. So, yes, you want to basically taper into the match. So what we try to do is, as the week wears on, as it gets closer to match day, the practices get shorter. They don't lose their intensity, but they get a little bit shorter. The day before a game, we're obviously assembling the team. And so most of it is done with finishing exercises. And the practices have gone from an hour and a half, which is an early week practice, to sometimes an hour or even 45 minutes so that the legs are fresh. Because there's nothing more important on game day than freshness. If your legs are dead, it's going to affect you negatively. But also, whatever rituals that Carly is going through to prepare herself psychologically, and I like what she was saying, she was saying she doesn't want to be sort of overly excited about going in, but also not under excited. There's this perfect level where you're psyched, but you're loose. You're ready to go, but you're not stressed. And so all these elements are critical. So there's a combination of, excuse me, a physical preparation during the week, but also a psychological one. And Carly's right. I mean, the research telling us about sleep is so critical. The trouble with the age group I deal with is they pride themselves on never sleeping, as if that's a positive thing. And they also pride themselves on not staying hydrated, as if that's a thing. But obviously, once they hit the pro level, they'll see all the best players. They're getting their sleep, they are certainly hydrating, but also they're taking care of their bodies with nutrition and everything else. So I really appreciate having an expert like Carly here address it for everyone out there, let them know that, yeah, when I'm telling you nine Hours sleep a night is what you should be doing. And of course they're thinking, this is ridiculous. I don't need nine hours. Of course you do if you want to be at peak performance.

Carly, I feel like you hit on this already, but repetition is great in everything we do. You are proof of that. How do you balance training, tapering, and nutrition when preparing for a match for Sky Blue or a U.S. women's National Team camp?

Yeah, it's. You know, we've got an interesting schedule. Like Anson was saying, you know, I don't know how we played a Friday, Sunday. I don't know how I did that when I was back in college. I think there's been talks of maybe changing that model, but it's. It's tough because you want to build throughout the week. You know, you want to get in some fitness. And so when you're playing those. Those types of games in a week, it's. It's difficult now, my off season for, for me, which is usually. I mean, I got a little bit of an longer off season most recently, but it's, you know, it's November until after the new year, and that's where I really focus on my aerobic base, because there's not many games, no games I'm really training for.

And that kind of gives me a jump start for the year. And then as I get closer to games, you know, I'm throwing in the hill, sprints, the anaerobic stuff, plyos, all that. All that good stuff.

And when I'm with Sky Blue, usually it's about one game a week. Um, and so I'm all about routine. Um, you know, I know what works for me. I know my body better than anyone. I actually do more in the season. Um, so I'll usually. Let's. Let's take Sky Blue, for example. Our week, you know, we'll. We'll usually go from. Let's say we have a Saturday game. We'll go from Monday through Saturday. Sunday will be, you know, off. So during the beginning of the week, I'm. I'm trying to get in an aerobic session as well on top of Sky Blue. And I'm also trying to get in some sort of anaerobic sprint work as well. So I'll do Sky Blue, and then I'll come back in the afternoon, and I'll actually give myself a double day. And I've done that. I've done that over the course of my career. Heading into national team camps, I actually don't taper in. I Go full throttle all the way till the end of my break. I give myself a day off, and then we usually travel in and we don't do anything. So it's two days off, and then I'm ready to go. We have a day off here already. We had one training session yesterday. I'm gonna go out to the field later on and do some. Some running. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for it, but it just. It works for me, you know, and if I wasn't progressing, you know, if I wasn't doing well, you know, people would be like, hey, what you're doing is working. But there's not really much they can say. So as far as balancing that, it's just. It's being in tune with my body. You know, it's. It's not a GPS unit, it's not a heart rate monitor, it's not an app. It's inside of me to know, okay, I'm feeling good, I'm not feeling good or no, this is a soreness where I can push through. I'm feeling a little achy today. Maybe I'll take tomorrow off, or maybe I'll decrease my repload. So that's sort of how I go about it. But my breaks are full throttle. Pushing fitness, pushing my reps during training. And then it's just vitally important to listen to my body and know what I need. And then.

Two days before, three days prior to a game, I go out and do extra, and I just do some hopping and some short little sprints just to get my body going again. So I'm sort of the reversal of load management.

I extra load.

My workouts.

Thanks for your candor on that, Anson. How is that full throttle Carli Lloyd approach compared to how you're preparing your college team, especially now that it's a little bit different where you have a little extra time between games?

Well, obviously, the way we do it is we're watching kids in matches, and obviously I'm one of these guys that's always believed in substitution. And so the way the demarcation line for me on whether or not a kid is going to play, you know, 90 minutes or less, is based on if they're continuing to defend, which, again, which is what's so impressive about watching Carly against Colombia, because holy crap, she is. She was the point of the spear. And obviously, Vladko, you know, if you don't defend, you don't play. Nod, Carly, if you would agree with that, because, yeah, so if you want to play for Vladko, you've got to freaking defend. So obviously watching her as the point of the spear, obviously as a nine in the system we're playing, she's got two people, she's got a track, she's running between the two center backs and yeah, every now and again, you know, the 10 will step up to help her a bit. But basically she's doing a lot of running in that position as the initial defender. So for me, the demarcation line is if a kid isn't defending the way they have to, then I sub them out. Obviously we try to leave our defenders in a bit longer. So those are our 90 minute players. But the players that play more and more minutes, the ones that are basically two way players. And again, I looked through her book before this podcast and the part of her book I also really enjoyed was her transition in to when she initially made the team as a midfielder. Her goal was to be box to box. Box to box is a hell of a lot of running, which means if the ball's on the flank and you've got 40 yards to sprint to get into the box, as a box to box midfielder, you're making that sprint. And this is what I love about Haas's daughter. She is really good at that sprint and she's going to help Sky Blue score goals out of midfield because when someone has the ball in the flank, Brianna Pinto is in the box and that is a 30 to 40 yard sprint. So reading, you know, Carly's book again, she was talking about that transition into being box to box. But it's not just that one sprint, it's you tracking all the way back into your box to defend. So it's not one dimensional, it's not just a one sprint into the box when someone's crossing it in there. No, you are sprinting into your own box to clear balls out as well. So we do it with substitution. If a kid can't do it anymore, we sub her out. So that's the way we manage that conundrum.

I feel like we've done a pretty good job talking about how you prepare for a game. We've even mentioned warmups. Carla, you touched on massages, so I wanted to move to how you know when your body is prepared for an elite level performance and how do you know when you are in the zone. And by the way, the zone definition is a state when the body and mind are in such sync that the game becomes so easy. You always make it look so easy, Carly.

You know, I think that's the ebbs and Flows of playing and being on this journey. You know, I can think of countless games where, you know, it's not as fun and you're grinding through. You feel like you're in quicksand. And, you know, those type of games happen where maybe things aren't clicking and you just have to adapt and you have to find other ways to be able to bring out the best version of yourself and help your team.

But I think the biggest thing for me and the biggest mindset has been to condition my mind and body, to always be in the zone. You know, training session, I step in between those lines. I don't think players have liked it over the years, but I'm tackling you. Like, I don't care. It's training.

It's a little drill. You're gonna get tackled. I don't care who you are. If you're a veteran player, if you're a younger player. If you're a younger player, I might do it a little bit harder. But.

That'S just. That's just the way it is. Because then when you get to the game, you're not saying to yourself, oh, okay, I gotta turn this switch on. No, it's been on. Then when you get to the game, you just have to kind of find that flow state, you know, where, again, you're. You're not overly pressured and nervous, and you're not just overly relaxed. And, you know, I think about the game against Japan in 2015, where it was like I was out playing with my friends in the park, you know, I wasn't. There was no pressure. I mean, there was pressure, but there was no pressure internally on myself. It was just going out there and. And having a good performance and enjoying the moment. And that was a flow state that was just trying different things. Things are working. And even lately now, I mean, I feel like the game has slowed down for me. It has become easier because I'm smarter, I'm efficient, and just. You get to a state where you're a little bit more experienced and older, and you see things a little bit different.

So for me, that mindset has been every single day, I step out onto the pitch to be in the zone no matter what, to try to treat every training session as a World cup final. And then once you get into those big moments, it's easier for your body to adapt and just raise it just a little bit more than you usually do.

Anson, that's music to your ears. That is how you talk. I mean, Carly's an assassin. You're an assassin. As a coach, if you could time travel, can you pull that letter back saying you're done recruiting and get her back to North Carolina?

Hell, if I could correct all of my recruiting mistakes, you know. Yeah. I would be overjoyed. So. Absolutely. And who knows what the truth is. I think Carly was protecting me, which I obviously appreciate. She's being very gracious.

I think I would have been a pain back then. I don't know if it would have worked out too well.

Well, trust me, I've had those, Carly, and some of them have, you know, done well. I coached Ali long, so. Yeah, so there you go. So I, you know, I have experience in this. And then she and I have become best friends. So please don't think that, you know, challenging players for me are a pain for me. They're not. I mean, I think everyone's different. I've always believed that. And you would have loved this, by the way. Carly, there are no rules in my program. The other coaches don't understand this. And I wanted to design a program that I want to play in. When I was growing up, if there was a rule out there and I went to a boys boarding school, if there was a rule in that boys boarding school, I was going to break it and not get caught. So I am an expert on breaking rules. And so I was thinking I wanted to design a program I want to play in. So my program has no rules, so no one can break a rule. So do you really need a rule for showing up on time? I mean, how dumb a rule is that? Of course you show up on time. You, you know, you 17 year old idiot. Of course that, you know, you have to show up on time. So so many things are obvious for me. So I think you would have loved not being governed by some sort of martinet that was looking, you know, for you to make some sort of mistake. No, we're up. I mean, speak to the Tar Heels. They'll tell you we took training seriously, but we weren't, you know, just overburdened with one rule after another. I think you would have thrived. So please don't think we would have collided. We wouldn't have, you know, we would have been fine. But I have to share the story with you because Carlie is touching on something I want to finish with, and it is really, really important. Damon Nahas, who I have hired, you know, in the last couple years, has been just a phenomenal coach for me. And he tells story I really like. And what Carly's saying, she will identify with exactly what Damon is sharing in this story. He's been coaching youth soccer all of his life and he's out there with his youth team, these 16 year olds that are, you know, trying to make the youth national team. And he brought them together one day and he said, well, let me tell you something, what's going on out here, I mean, there's no energy. I mean, this, this training session is absolutely useless. If the US U17 National Youth Coach showed up right now, could every one of you guys get to a completely different level? And of course they all screamed out, yes, yes, of course. That drove him nuts. What drove him nuts is the feeling that, well, if the national youth coach were out here, of course I'd be playing at another level, which is ridiculous. Anyone that listens to this, what you're hearing from Carli Lloyd is she treats every single training session like a World cup final. And that is why she is who she is. So every part of things, and even I love what you're talking about. Tackling the rookies a little harder. Yeah. It doesn't matter who you are in the practice, you're going to get her best shot, which is not only going to make her better, it's going to make you better. It's going to make you better because you've got to deal with Carly, who's coming after you. That's going to make you a better player. So all these kids that are growing up thinking, yeah, if they were, you know, the national coach was here, of course I would train harder and better. No, you have to have a standard for yourself. It's got to be at the highest possible level. And Carl, your message today for anyone that's listening, is absolutely critical. What you've achieved has proven that your methodology is spot on. And just because I do want you to get something out of here, I don't know if you're going to be able to show this, but everyone's got to buy this book. We buy this book every summer and we talk about it with my sophomore class. It is the absolute best player development book I have ever read. That's because you've been so honest with all of us, Carly, about your journey, but also with where you are now, but also what you've got to do if you truly want to become the best you can be. So, Carly, thank you, Carly.

As we wrap up, we'll call it a warm down. As we wrap up our interview. And that means just two and a half questions left for you, Carly. We reference a warm down. A warm down is sometimes, as you know, Carly, as important as the warm up. How do you deactivate your body and what do you think is the correlation between your game day body activations and deactivations that have led to your amazing longevity?

Well, I might contradict this. I'm pretty old school when it comes to warming up and warming down. My warmup, warm up, you know, at home consists of just, you know, jog around, stretch, just warm up with the ball and get right into it. So my, my body's conditioned to, you know, not need a 10, 15 minute warmup of doing all sorts of stuff and then warm down. I just end training and stretch out a little bit and that's that. So that's, it's as simple as that. But that's what I've been doing my entire career. Recently I started using, with my new strength guy, I started using some different warm up exercises with my brain and my eyes. So I've been trying a little bit of that type of stuff. But that's it in a nutshell.

All right, as we start to wrap up here, let's get in your brain. As you prepare your body for the Olympics in Japan, what do you think the Games will look like, Carli Lloyd and how do you think they will be different from your previous Olympic experiences?

Well, I'm grinding away every single day to make this Olympic roster. Obviously, Valacco has a tough decision to make with only 18 players, really 16 field players. So it's tough, but you know, I'm going to give it everything I have every single day. There's no question about that. Going to continue to get more fit and continue to get sharper. But you know, the Olympic schedule, it's tough. I mean, I look back, talk about the collegiate schedule, you know, I look back at the Olympic schedule being a part of three Olympics. It's a game every two days and you've got a roster of 16 players. Like I said, you're not able to sub like you are in the college game. So it really matters, you know, with, with depth and players staying healthy during the tournament. So it's definitely a tough schedule. It's jammed in there.

And it's going to be survival of the fittest for sure. I think one of the biggest things that's going to be really tough and challenging in Japan is the heat. It is extremely, extremely hot. The heat indexes in some of these cities, you know, are over 100 degrees, humid. So it's, you've not only got the tough schedule, but now you're throwing in the heat factor, so it's going to be a grind. But when you get to events like this, you've done all the prep work, you know, all the prep work is done. It is just a mental grind to just physically push your body through all these limits and just tell your mind to just keep powering through. And then that's ultimately what it is. You know, you just have to be the best each and every game. And then that final game, hopefully you make it the final. It doesn't have to be pretty. You just have to win the game and get it done.

So to end, because it never gets old. Just like you. You were right there with Ponce de Leon. I think he. He took you with him when he discovered the fountain of youth. Just one more time, walk us through what you saw on that amazing goal from midfield against Japan, because for me, that never does get old. I want to hear it from your lips.

You know, that day was. I don't know, I just was feeling so differently that day. I think our team was so relaxed. I remember the day before the warmup, you know, everybody was. Was just. You just could feel the energy that we were going to just win. And I remember being so excited the night before, trying to sleep. I woke up a couple times. I was dreaming. I was thinking of the game, and then getting into the game, you know, scoring so quickly those first couple of goals, and then trying out that midfield goal, you know, it's just. It's crazy looking back, because it happened so quickly and just taking a touch. And I glanced up very quickly to see the goalkeeper off her line, which in all of my career, I've always noticed when the goalkeeper's off their line. And it's just crazy. I mean, if she tipped it a different way, would it have went in? I mean, it's just weird to look at life like that, you know, there's just a reason behind everything, and.

It was crazy. It was one of the best days of my life with my teammates. And being able to win that World cup, that first World cup that we hadn't won in 16 years, was really special.

Anson, to end it, sum it up in just one or two lines on what Carli Lloyd has meant to women's soccer in our country.

Well, for me, she's the greatest example of changing the narrative to the truth. And what's happening, as I've continued coaching for so long, every generation is different than the previous generations. And what's happening now, unfortunately, is everyone's got a collection of people that protects their soccer player from the truth. And there are all sorts of, you know, cliches out there, but I've stolen this from the Alabama coach. He says, you know, average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want the truth. And that's what's critical. What's critical for every player that wants to get to their potential is they've got to embrace the truth. You have to eliminate every frigging excuse that you have for not achieving your dreams or getting to your potential. You got to take full responsibility, because as you have a list of excuses for why you haven't succeeded, you've allowed the world to dictate who you're going to be. The thing I love about Carly is she eliminated all those. She took full control of her life, and then she made this extraordinary life that she's living right now. And she did it by getting her narrative to the absolute truth, which is, I am in control of everything. If I succeed, it's because of what I have done, and if I don't succeed, it's because what I have not been able to do. And I think if every player gets there like Carly did, they're going to live their dreams. And so for me, she's an amazing role model. And then to have it put in a book. And by the way, the author and I have connected several times, Carly, and I really. I mean, he knows how much I like his book because I've told him, but he had to have someone to tell the story. He helped you tell it really well. And I just want everyone to know that I think you're an incredible role model for the modern player because you're the player that is not accepting one excuse for why you haven't succeeded. You've taken full responsibility on your own shoulders, and you're the best example I've seen of that that's done it publicly through your book. So from all of us that love the women's game, thank you, Carlie.

Thanks for being the truth. Thanks for being on the Vision of a Champion podcast.

I really appreciate it. It was great, great chatting. And, you know, those words coming from you, Anson, someone I've looked up to, you know, my whole life. I really, really appreciate it and glad we're staying connected and hopefully we'll cross paths soon.

I am, too. And I'm rooting for you, Carly. I'm rooting for you. That's great. Yeah.

Indeed, that's the great Carli Lloyd, current U.S. women's National Team star and member of Sky Blue of the nwsl. If you like this show, one way you can support our work is to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and leave us a rating and review as well. This show is edited and produced by Creative Allies. If you're looking for information on full service podcast production, head on over to creativeallies.com I'm Dean Linke for Ants, Endurance and the great Carli Lloyd. We'll see you next time on the Vision of a Champion Podcast.

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