After retiring at 22, Erin Matson cheering USA Field Hockey on as a college coach

Erin Matson is at peace with her decision.

A member of the American field hockey team that won Pan American Games bronze four years ago in Lima, Peru, Matson left her playing career behind at the end of the 2022 NCAA collegiate season, retiring from the national team too in the process.

The reason? She accepted an offer to become one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA history, moving from the field to behind the bench for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Tar Heels aged just 22 back in January 2023.

It's a busy sunny July day for Matson when Olympics.com manages to grab a few minutes with the now-23-year-old on a video call from her car in the middle of a recruitment visit to a USA Field Hockeyevent, with the new Tar Heels commander already diving into the deep end preparing for the 2023 season with her team.

Matson admits that the situation she finds herself in is far cry from being a national team player, but lets on that it could have been different: staying on as a player for Team USA while being a full-time college coach was something that she briefly considered.

"It took a lot of thought and a lot of conversations like that with my parents, coaches, everybody," she recalls. "I can prepare as well as I can and you know, work harder than anybody. (But) just at this point in time, Carolina is where my energy needs to go; it's where I want it to go. I think it deserves my all of my attention and energy.

"I came to the decision that if I wanted to be the best coach – and the team deserves that – it was just a decision that had to be made."

Even as she cheers on her former team-mates at the 2023 Pan American Games, Matson doesn't rule out the potential of one day donning the red, white, and blue national colours again in the future.

"The door (to playing for Team USA) is not closed, but it's not open. If the stars align and there's a possibility, you know, to do it someday and represent my country again then my athletic director, he knows if we can make it work and if it's the right timing with the right people, with the right resources, you know, then let's do it."