Casey Stoney on coaching San Diego, Pride Month and leaving family behind

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“It’s been a massive challenge, but a great learning curve for me,” Casey Stoney reflects after a whirlwind few months as head coach of one of the NWSL’s newest sides, San Diego Wave. The expansion team are currently riding high at the top of the league, having already won more games than ever before by a club in their debut year.

Leaving Manchester United after three years in charge, Stoney decided to step out of her comfort zone and move halfway across the world. Despite loving her new environment, it has not been without its difficulties. Visa issues meant that she had to make the move alone, leaving her partner Megan back in England with their three children. Thankfully, the situation has been resolved and her family will join her in due course, but Stoney describes leaving them as the “hardest thing I’ve ever done”.

One would imagine starting a new team from scratch would be a daunting prospect for any manager, but Stoney has approached the task with a typically cool head. After all, it is not her first rodeo having taken on a similar project with United back in 2018. “I think where other people maybe panic about stuff or think we’re not going to get players, I’m quite calm because I’m like, ‘They will come’,” she says. “We’re in an incredible city. We’re building something new and exciting.”

For Stoney, establishing a strong environment is key. “I did a lot of research, and I came over with my eyes very much wide open,” she says. “One thing I was very aware of was that some of them have been in environments