April Smith: Essex-based coach forges career within men's game

April Smith on the touchline during a White Ensign game

The influence of multi-trophy-winning Chelsea boss Emma Hayes - soon to take up a new challenge in the United States - stretches to all levels of women's football.

Among her admirers is April Smith, but unlike Hayes, she is one of very few female coaches forging her own career in the men's game.

Smith is first-team coach for White Ensign FC, who are based near Southend and play in the Essex Senior League, the ninth tier of the English pyramid.

It's a world away from the burgeoning Women's Super League, but she believes some of Hayes' methods can be applied in the men's game too.

"Emma Hayes has been an absolute pioneer in how the women's game has developed over the last 15 years," she told BBC Essex.

"Chelsea are an example of what can be done if you look after players as people first.

"She's done loads around menstruation, endometriosis, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) - I know it's a bit different in the men's game but actually, are they going for prostate exams, are they talking about medical conditions, are they talking about mental health?"

Talking about their feelings and other "personal stuff" may not sit comfortably with some men, but Smith - who also coaches Southend United Ladies - believes it also has an impact on their well-being as players.

"You have to have these multiple personalities as a coach anyway, [and] even more so when you go into the men's environment, it is completely different," she said.

"You almost have to remind yourself that you don't have to take on all those characteristics of men to be in that environment.

"There's a lot of attributes women have and can bring to the men's game that are really key and I think that's been ignored for so long in dressing rooms.

"Players getting the hair dryer treatment doesn't work for everyone, sometimes they just need someone to talk to - it can be like 'you just need to calm down a bit, come and have a chat, what are you feeling, you've obviously got a lot of emotions going on' and we can naturally talk about it better than probably men can."

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Smith - who also cites netball coach Tracy Neville as a role model - has been in her current job with White Ensign since October 2022 and as well as taking training sessions is also proficient in data and video analysis.

Last November she took charge of the team for a game against Enfield, with manager Aaron Bloxham unavailable, but admits there is still a fight for acceptance to be won.

She said: "I've had comments from opposition managers, I've had comments from crowds, even opposition players, and once you've pushed into the men's game, it's almost a given that you have to take some of that and have to have a thicker skin. That shouldn't be the case.

"I've had comments like 'you don't belong here, you shouldn't be here' when actually I've probably worked 10 times as hard because I've had to break through a barrier that comes very easy to everyone else.

"I don't have a particularly good playing background, I played grassroots, I haven't played at WSL level, so I've had to spend a lot of hours working with a lot of different people and understanding people before I understand the sport."

Back in 2019, Hayes said she would consider managing a men's team if the opportunity arose and told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Whether it's me or someone else, it's going to happen one day."

However, Smith believes women's football at the top level benefits from having a "nicer atmosphere" at the grounds than for men's matches - and that is one reason why it will take a courageous owner to make it a reality.

"There's still so much more that needs to be done to even have women [managers] in the women's game, let alone the men's game," she said.

"I do think we are a long way off. Until you start to see wholesale changes at board level and attitude changes, it's going to take somebody to be really brave both as a coach and a manager, but also the owner of the club and the people behind the scenes.

"You shouldn't have to be brave if you're the right person [for the job] and are going to achieve all the things the club want to achieve."

Before that happens, though, there is another change which Smith thinks is even more important.

In 2022, Blackpool's Jake Daniels came out as the only openly gay player in the top four divisions of the English men's game - and she wants to see someone stand up and do the same in the top flight.

She said: "I'd like to see that before we have a woman in the management set-up because I think that is a big thing that needs to happen first. I think the rest will just flow from there.

"Again, it's going to take someone who is really brave."

For now, though, the main focus is 15th-placed White Ensign's next game against Saffron Walden Town on Saturday.

"We've got 14 games left, 10 of those are at home, so we're hoping Burroughs Park will be a fortress for us and we can finish as strong as we can. I'm hoping for mid-table and above really," she added.