At Manchester United, Healy has been “redesigning” the pathway to provide new experiences and increase competition for her players.
They have included matches against boys’ teams in their programme and play regular friendlies against senior women’s teams competing in the National League and Championship.
United have also organised evening games in front of fans to expose players to new pressures, as well as planning busy fixture schedules to test them mentally and physically.
“We have a lot of talented players and our challenge is providing them with the right experience, game time, challenges and opportunities,” added Healy.
“We work with Marc [Skinner] and his first team so players can train with them or be in the matchday squads. Those conversations happen very often.
“We have played evening games and got crowds in so we can ramp the pressure up, too. The girls played four matches in 11 days in the build-up to the cup final. When you add all of that in it was a real challenge and exposed them to that pressure.”
Since joining in the summer, Skinner has been focused on guiding his side to a Champions League qualification spot in the WSL.
But the first-team boss is excited by the club’s youth potential and has vowed to “manage the process”.
“At a club like Manchester United, youth is really special to us, especially if they come from within. It is part of the aspect of this club.
“We want to make sure there’s a seamless transition.”