The Reality Behind Womens Football - Before the Crowds Came - The Bibs, Balls and Cones - With Lou Roberts - Coach Lou - Stoke city, Burnley Women and now Posh Women

What happens when football has shaped your entire identity—and injury suddenly takes it away?

Lou Roberts is a former Stoke City Women captain and the current Assistant Manager of Peterborough United Women. In this episode, Lou takes us through her journey from playing football when opportunities for girls were scarce to representing Wolverhampton Wanderers, spending 13 years at Stoke City and rebuilding her life after three ACL reconstructions ended her playing career.

Lou speaks honestly about identity loss, serious football injuries and finding her way back into the game through coaching. We explore her transition from player to leader, her experiences coaching at Stoke City and Burnley Women, and the realities of working in women’s football before the crowds, investment and recognition it receives today.

We also discuss leadership, understanding players as individuals, balancing football with family and running Arc IT Solutions—and why, despite everything, it’s still the balls, bibs and cones that Lou loves most.

This is an honest conversation about women’s football, ACL recovery, career-ending injury, resilience, leadership and discovering that when one version of your life ends, there may still be another way back into the world you love.

Follow You Can Do Hard Things with Jenny Melling for more honest conversations about resilience, identity and overcoming life’s hardest moments.