Coach Kicks: Paul Riley (North Carolina Courage)

The Coach Kicks Q&A alongside the Paul Riley feature. He tries never to repeat a session across a whole season, because after four years with the same team repetition breeds boredom, and as an attacking coach most of his work is attacking-third minded. Vero Boquete, Amy Rodriguez and his captain Abby Erceg, whom the squad call Kiwi, are the players who have made the biggest impression. His car is full of kit but not his house, or his wife would kill him, and his players moan mostly about the physical component of practice. The latest lesson came on the US Pro course, when a mentor asked why he stopped set-piece work after the first phase. His lines are ‘hard is fun’ and ‘no finish line’.