Urban Football Coaches Association Celebrates 20th Anniversary

by Jeff Fisher
Host, NHSCA Sports Hour

Over the past few years I've written about my association with the Dorsey High School football program in Los Angeles.

Thanks to a friendship with Martin Ludlow, who is the founder of the Dorsey Football Boosters and the team's strength and conditioning coach, I've learned a ton about inner-city football.  That brings me to today's subject which is the 20th anniversary of the Urban Football Coaches Association.

Sunday, I talked with Brian Stewart on the NHSCA Sports Hour, about the organization's upcoming Coaches' Clinic on May 13th and 14th in the Los Angeles-area.  Stewart, who is the President of the UFCA and the defensive coordinator at the University of Houston, is excited about the growth of the organization whose mission is to offer minority coaches the best training and career development skills at all levels of football.

Currently there are seven African-American head coaches at the NFL level, and at the end of the 2010 college season, there were 13 black coaches at Division I schools.  While the current numbers aren't great, there is growth, and that's where the UFCA steps-in.

This year's clinic will be a star-studded affair that will feature the legendary John Wooten, who along with the help of the late Johnnie Cochran, helped open the door to top coaching positions for coaches of color in the NFL through the Rooney Rule that ensures that minority candidates are interviewed for head coach openings at the professional level.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, Wooten will be honored at a reception on Friday, May 13th along with Hue Jackson, a Dorsey alum, who is the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Juan Castillo, who was named the the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator earlier this year.

Castillo's story is an incredible one that you can learn about below...



Organizers expect more than 500 coaches to attend this year's clinic.  To learn more, please go to the UFCA's website at www.ufca-usa.com.

Below is a video that looks back at a past clinic...