A new era begins for the USA women’s 7s team tonight as they take on Great Britain, Spain, and France between midnight and 750AM ET.

As expected, several veterans from the last Olympic cycle are taking time off either because of nagging injuries, retirement, or just some time off.

Head Coach Emilie Bydwell had a plan for all of this but no plan can replace experience. The USA team in Dubai and going on to Cape town next week features two players that have played more than 20 tournaments—Kayla Canett and Alena Olsen are no co-captains. Olympians Ariana Ramey and Sarah Levy have only played in 18 tournaments combined, but they do have high-level experience. That’s it. The remaining nine players on the USA roster have played in a total of four tournaments.

However, as we pointed out in the men’s preview, the USA program received a crucial gift this month with the PR7s All-Star Tournament in Portland, Ore.

What this tournament allowed Bydwell to do was see how these newer players stood up to the level of competition, With a PR7s All-Star team, plus Canada, in the mix, the new USA residency players got a taste of the level of play before they start playing in the SVNS World Series.

Even the PR7s All-Stars that didn’t get picked up by the USA program found great value in it, saying it gave them a good taste of what it took to compete at that level.

What the players learned, for example, was that skill execution, even in rainy conditions, under pressure, has to be there. You can’t get away with sloppy passes.

The demands on work rate are much greater at this international level than they are even in the very best college or club tournament. 

LA Sevens at Dignity Health Sports Park May 3-4. See the SVNS World Series Champions Crowned. Buy Your Tickets Here>>

Making sure you go down to the ground on your terms and present the ball smartly is crucial. Not trusting your teammates on defense and chasing attackers across the field merely opens up gaps in your defensive line.

As for players, we already knew that Autumn Locicero gets a ton of work done. We found in more emphatic terms that Kaylen Thomas has potentially world-class pace. Nia Toliver showed enthusiasm on defense, and we saw other good moments from a number of players. They were taught some harsh lessons by an experienced Canada team, but the whole point of it is that they were exposed to these lessons outside of the SVNS World Series.

This weekend may be a difficult test, as the Eagles play three talented teams in pool play. But thanks to that opportunity at the PR7s All-Star Tournament, it won’t be a surprise.