Connor McEnroe: A journey into coaching with our Academy

As a football club that keeps equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do – and with a proud history of employing coaches from all walks of life, including those of a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background – we’re pleased to shine the spotlight on one of the burgeoning young coaches in our Academy who is working hard to help shape the future of Spurs, both on and off the field.

Connor McEnroe is only 26 but already has a wealth of experience under his belt. Having quit playing as a teenager, he quickly discovered a passion for coaching and after spells working part-time with the youngsters at Leicester City and Coventry City, with 18 months coaching in America through Gordon Strachan’s Foundation sandwiched in between, he’s come to Spurs as our Under-12s Coach via the Premier League’s Coach Inclusion Diversity Scheme (CIDS), which aims to help increase the number of BAME coaches in the professional game.

It’s an initiative we’re only too pleased to support, with Connor joining an already richly diverse Academy set-up that prides itself on producing and nurturing both players and coaches from all walks of life towards careers throughout the football system. He arrived at the start of the season as one of an eight-person cohort working across the Premier League and its Category One Academies, initially on a 23-month placement.

“This scheme has come along via the Premier League… I applied here, I wasn’t really expecting to get the job because it’s such a big, prestigious club with amazing staff and people around already but I went through an interview process and luckily I was offered the opportunity,” explained Connor, who previously spent six years in Coventry’s Academy, working with the Under-8s up to the Under-13s.

“The recruitment was a tough process as you can imagine for an organisation of Tottenham’s calibre – it wasn’t just about getting out on the grass and coaching, it was presentations, it was Zoom meetings, it was question and answer sessions with Chris Powell (Head of Academy Coaching) and Gary Broadhurst (Head of Academy Football Development)… I was taken aback a little bit by the elite level of the staff but I went through that process and thankfully I was offered the placement here. The Club, via this scheme, has assisted me massively because I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be here off my own back yet. Eventually, hopefully I would have been, but it’s been accelerated and thankfully this initiative has put me in a position to be selected as the best person for the job at this particular time. At this stage of my career, it’s a fantastic learning opportunity because I’m around coaches like Wayne Burnett, Paul Bracewell and Chris Powell, who works with the England senior team and is serving as a bit of a mentor to me now – I feel like I can go and sit with him and talk to him about anything and everything. I get to sit and listen to what these top coaches are talking about and you learn so much just off a conversation. I’ve found it so easy to get used to working here as well because of the people already in the building – they’re really amazing, really welcoming, they want to help and it’s something I can’t thank the club and the Premier League enough for.

“Really the bigger picture is black, Asian and minority ethnic coaches and trying to get them into football more because if you look around the game, how many do you see? This initiative will really help to show the level of diversity that there needs to be in football. One thing is evident and that is that Tottenham has always gone the right way very quickly in that regard and is probably leading the way in my opinion. You can go around the country and it’s not as diverse within some organisations compared to here – we’ve got Chris Powell, Troy Archibald-Henville, Anton Blackwood, Sam Cox, Chris Riley, myself… there’s a lot of diversity there across the different Academy age groups and that’s without even mentioning those who have gone before like Justin Cochrane, the late Ugo Ehiogu, Chris Ramsey and Led Ferdinand. That's also been reflected in the first team set-up over many years as well.

“The biggest thing for me – and something I’m quite passionate about – is you see the boys walk in the door aged eight or nine, they’re from so many different backgrounds, nationalities and upbringings and they each need someone who they feel they can relate to. I found it difficult growing up because at home, my mum is Bajan and black, my dad is Irish and white, and when I went to football, although I was born in England and I’m of mixed heritage, I didn’t always feel like there was someone where I felt that I could really relate to that person.

“Where Tottenham is based, the Training Centre in Enfield, it’s a very diverse community. We have players of every race, every nationality, but sometimes also of a similar upbringing because of the area, so it’s vital that the coaches understand where the kids have grown up, what challenges they’ve faced outside, what they go through day-to-day and thanks to our broad range of staff members, we’re able to do that.

“Look at top-level football as well – if you go and watch Tottenham playing any team in the Premier League, a number of the players on the pitch will be black, Asian, ethnic minority or players of mixed heritage but then with the coaches, you don’t always see it so often, so this initiative is something that’s only going to help football clubs, help players and help the world in general.”

Away from football, Connor has his own story about why embracing diversity is so important, especially among young people: “There’s so much difference and diversity in the world. Growing up, I was very confused because being of mixed heritage and looking the way I do, you find people expect you to behave, speak or even eat a certain way and I didn’t. It was very confusing for me when people looked at me differently for doing these certain things. I do things in my life which have been passed down from my mum and the black side of my family and also certain things that have come from my dad and the white side of my family too. I found it hard to be myself at times where people questioned what colour I am or where I’m from, why I eat certain things or listen to certain music. That isn’t something I’m ever going to shy away from but when I was younger, I would try to hide that. There’s this one story from when I was at school where a lot of kids had straight, long hair, and I looked around the room and I was the only one who was different. I went home to my mum and asked her to relax my hair because I wanted to fit in. When I think back now, that’s so crazy.

“We hear these stories on TV about racist incidents, things that are unacceptable… I’m sat there watching with my mum and I feel the same as her – we hate it, it’s a horrible feeling, depressing. It’s not just about whether you’re black or white, there’s so much more to it. Ask questions, be clever and find out about people a bit more deeply. I’m a big believer in that.”

As is widely known, the Club and its Foundation works tirelessly in our community to champion equality and diversity. Last year, we became a founding signatory of the Football Leadership Diversity Code, driving diversity and inclusion across English football, while our Foundation has been delivering workshops in local schools focusing on the life and legacy of Walter Tull, the first black outfield player to appear in the Football League, complemented by recent special appearances by first team player Ryan Sessegnon and Club Ambassador Ledley King.

On the pitch, just a few weeks ago, young midfielder Dilan Markanday earned his first team debut, becoming the first British Asian – and the first player of Indian descent – to play a competitive top-level game for us.

Connor hopes to help develop the next generation of talent within our Academy to follow that pathway: “Being at Tottenham, it’s another level,” he said. “The level of detail, the personal side of things as a coach where you’re talking to parents, organising things like that… personally I’ve had to go up another level and I feel like I’ve adapted to that well. For me, I feel like my strength is being able to build relationships with the kids and giving them an environment to thrive in – I’ve been given the freedom to go and do that and everybody here has really trusted me to go and do that.

“I want our players to be open, honest, smile and enjoy being here because sometimes in Academy football there’s pressure, sometimes it’s tough, but if you’re in an environment where you can speak and let things out, you can enjoy the moment because it doesn’t last forever for everybody.

“You see the technical ability and the level of our players, the boys who’ve been here since they were nine and they’re now 12 years of age… they can do some unbelievable things with a football and that’s due to the fact that they’ve worked tirelessly with the coaches here who are great teachers – they’re not just coaches, they’re teachers as well – and they’re taught to do things the Spurs way, the right way.”

On Connor’s role with us, Head of Academy Coaching Chris Powell said: “Our club has a history of employing black coaches at all levels and having someone like Connor on board has only added to that. His journey is different like all of ours, but he’s arrived here with good knowledge, he went through a really rigorous recruitment process and he came out on top. His enthusiasm and personality shone through – he’s authentic, he’s proud of his background and he’s someone I feel that the players can relate to. He’s certainly a lot younger than me – I still give him stick about Coventry beating Spurs in the 1987 FA Cup Final when he wasn’t even born! But he’s a good addition to the club, initially for 23 months, and I truly believe with the knowledge and experience that he has, and what he’s gaining from people like Gary Broadhurst and the rest of our team, it will only help him to develop. I’m really pleased that he’s on board here at Tottenham Hotspur.”