Married coaches Priestman, Humphries balance hectic work-life schedule in pursuit of World Cup
Coaching is a family affair for Emma Humphries and Bev Priestman, who are both trying to guide their respective Canadian women's teams to World Cups.
After winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Priestman's senior team will compete in this summer's CONCACAF championship in Mexico, which serves as the qualifiers for next year's FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Not to be outdone is her wife, Humphries, who coaches Canada's under-17 side, which is a victory away from qualifying for the 2022 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India. Canada is through to semifinals of its CONCACAF championship going on in the Dominican Republic after defeating Honduras and Costa Rica in the knockout round.
A semifinal with the United States looms on Friday. If the Canadians beat the Americans, who have won all six of their games by a combined score of 53-0, they will punch their ticket for India. A loss wouldn't kill off Canada's hopes, as a win in Sunday's third-place match would also clinch a World Cup berth.
"The U.S. are phenomenal on the ball as a team. We expect them to try to dominate possession. But I also don't think they have been tested yet at this tournament. That's something we've committed to as a team; we're going to test them," Humphries told CBC Sports.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/canw17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#canw17</a> getting one step closer to qualifying for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup
