When Sue Smith started playing football, there were not as many girls' clubs as there are today, and most female footballers began in youth categories at local boys' teams. The facilities and training methods have also changed significantly.
"When I first started playing for Tranmere, we trained twice a week, and the club was one of the leading teams in women's football at the time. Now everything is different," she told Cech.
"Training facilities have improved, girls can play football at school too, and everything has changed dramatically, which is fantastic."
The role of the coach is, of course, also important to the development of players.
"I don't think I was properly coached until I played for the England national team. I was 17," Smith said.
"At that time, there were not enough coaches who were prepared to lead a women's team.
"There is an increasing effort to involve more female coaches, and young girls can aspire to those roles. It is important for them to see that they can become professional footballers as well as coaches."
Catch up on the first part of Cech's discussion with Smith here
Sue Smith now works as a reporter and analyst across several platforms. That was also a step into the unknown for her in some ways, particularly because she was often the only woman in the mixed zone, for example.
"I like challenges," she said with a smile. "It was sometimes a little intimidating, but I grew up around boys and have some really good male friends, so I was comfortable.
"For other commentators and co-commentators I spoke to, though, it was harder to overcome," she explained, reflecting on her experiences of working in a predominantly male environment.
"Everyone was amazing and helped me a lot," she recalled of her early days in front of the camera.
The most criticism, both then and now, has come mainly from outside: "Social media is the worst. I ignore it now, but I used to look at it almost constantly and wonder why people were writing such things about me.
"It is no longer important to me. As long as the people I care about think I am doing a good job, that is the only thing I really care about," she concluded.
The full television version of this episode of the Big Pete documentary series will be available on CANAL+ Sport and the CANAL+ streaming service in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, Myanmar, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania and Hungary, and on SuperSport in South Africa and Switzerland.