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The USL Championship announced Rhode Island FC’s Khano Smith had been awarded the Championship’s Coach of the Month award for July after leading the side to an undefeated month with three victories in four games that moved the first-year club into the playoff positions in the Eastern Conference.
Appointed as Rhode Island’s first Head Coach and General Manager last year ahead of its expansion season, Smith has helped his side progress impressively throughout the current campaign. While the side won only once in its first 14 games, it also drew nine times, including earning home results against Louisville City FC and Sacramento Republic FC.
The season turning point came on June 22 when RIFC handed LouCity its first home loss of the season with a 5-2 victory at Lynn Family Stadium, a result that marked the first time Louisville had conceded five goals in a home game in the USL Championship in its history. Since then, the side has built an eight-game undefeated streak which saw Rhode Island take victories against Miami FC, Birmingham Legion FC, and North Carolina FC in July.
“We’re a new team and we’ve always said to them, ‘We’ve always been close in matches, we’ve always been competitive, and things will start going our way at one point’”, said Smith. “It was going to take time for us to come together and get to the place and the continuity and the relationship compatibility of other teams. We’re certainly not finished. We know we have a long, long way to go, but it was great to have a good month.”
A former assistant coach at Birmingham Legion FC, Smith is the fourth first-year coach to earn the Championship’s Coach of the Month award this season following Detroit City FC’s Danny Dichio (March), Indy Eleven’s Sean McAuley (May) and Oakland Roots SC’s Gavin Glinton (June). For the former Bermuda international, the award is a tribute to his staff and players, but he was also appreciative of the coaching and performances that are being produced elsewhere around the league.
“To be honest, if you look at the results over the past couple of months, there are quite a few other coaches that could have gotten this award,” said Smith. “New Mexico has been amazing. Las Vegas, I don’t know the last time they lost. So, certainly, other people is deserving of this month’s Coach of the Month. I think the USL has so many good coaches in it. It is certainly a growing league that’s producing good players and coaches.”
Smith earned the award with 45 percent of the ballot. Las Vegas Lights FC’s Dennis Sanchez finished second on 30 percent after also leading his side to an undefeated month that included the Lights’ first road victories in club history against Sacramento Republic FC and New Mexico United.
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