Seb Hines is one of two Black managers currently coaching in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). He is the coach of Orlando Pride, and today he has guided the team to its first-ever league title, making him the first Black Manager to win a trophy in the NWSL, according to Versus.
He won the league title with three matches still to play in the campaign. What is more, Orlando Pride have conceded just 13 times in 23 league matches so far this term.
He first took managerial duties at the club at the end of the 2022 season and built the team into a winning side.
Hines was asked what being the first black coach to win a trophy in the NWSL means. “It means a lot,” he said, as per TalkSport. “When I stepped into this role, you always had doubters and people who said that you may not be ready, but now I can be a person who was given an opportunity to be successful with the backing of the ownership and Hayley Carter coming in as well.“
He continued, “You can see that with great support staff, you can be successful and you can achieve something, and that’s really important to me to have people around. Hopefully I can be an advocate for many more black head coaches around the world, so yeah, I’m really pleased.”
Before becoming a soccer coach, Hines was a former defender by trade. He was born in north Yorkshire and a product of Middlesbrough’s youth academy. He subsequently broke into the first team setup during Gareth Southgate’s reign at the Riverside Stadium.
Born to an American father and an English mother, he made his debut with Middlesbrough in January 2007 when the defender scored an impressive effort from long range against Hull in the FA Cup, as per TalkSport. However, injuries disrupted his early career and limited him to 87 appearances for the Teessiders.
He subsequently opted to join Orlando City in 2015 and made 59 appearances before retiring in 2017. He branched into coaching, starting at Orlando City’s youth side. His impressive performance saw him recruited by the Orlando Pride as assistant coach in 2020 and interim head coach in June 2022. He was made a permanent coach in November of that year.
With the NWSL’s coaching staff being predominantly white and male, Hines and Lorne Donaldson of the Chicago Red Stars are paving the way for other aspiring Black coaches to know that they too can make it.
