A Historic “First Down” for DuSable

By J. Coyden Palmer

When Konesha Rhea walked onto the sidelines September 11th at Stagg Stadium to lead the DuSable Panthers in a game against the Dyett Eagles, it wasn’t just her realizing a childhood dream, she was also making history. Rhea, 44, became the first Black woman to ever lead a Chicago Public School varsity football program as its head coach. For the south suburban native and graduate of Thornridge High School, making history is still something she is trying to wrap her head around.

“I was nervous but ecstatic,” said Rhea, describing the feeling of being a head coach at her team’s first game. “It still hasn’t really sunk in.”

Rhea has been around football a long time. She played two years for the Chicago Force, the city’s now defunct women’s tackle football team and served as the team manager for the Country Club Hills Stallions, a semipro team, under John Irving. Playing for John Konecki when he coached the Force, Rhea said she learned the fundamentals of the game and how to teach them.

Rhea said in addition to fundamentals, team and personal discipline is a key to building a winning team and health culture. She said many of the athletes who play in the Public League, lack football discipline and fundamentals. She said she observed it every year when she worked with the Stallions; guys thought they knew how to play football but they really didn’t. But she also realizes she can’t do it alone.

“I encourage my players to help me establish a code of conduct to build a positive culture here at DuSable,” Rhea said. “Everyone is held accountable, including me. I was late for practice one day, so I had to run. It’s about building trust in one another.”

 Working at a school in a neighborhood, and with young men who often come from a high-risk background, has its own set of challenges. Being able to relate to her players off the field is just as important as coaching them on the field. Rhea calls it a “3 in 1 system,” where her players are getting a mother-figure, a coach and a big sister.

“I’m nurturing like a mother, teaching like a coach and being a sounding board like your big sister,” she said. “I’ve got access to resources and I’m going to show them there is a better way than what the streets are offering. Staying safe will be our biggest challenge here and making sure our players are pulling their grades in the classroom.”

Rhea said coaching at a historic school like DuSable is an honor. She has her own family ties to the school. Her grandmother and several of her uncles are alums. The historical significance of what she is doing also has led her to believe it was only fitting that the team’s first games this season were played at Amos Alonzo Stagg Stadium. Stagg himself grew up in a poor, Irish neighborhood in New Jersey, and had to deal with similar challenges as the players on DuSable’s team.

Taking on a program that is going to have to be built from the ground up, Rhea has already faced some tough obstacles. Having only 14 players on the team and many of them are underclassmen, she has no fantasies about what she can realistically do in her first year. In fact, DuSable’s first two games of the season were declared forfeits. The first game due to improper paperwork and the second game because DuSable only had 14 players dressed in uniform at game time; 16 players are required. But despite those setbacks early in the season, Rhea and the Panthers are moving forward. It was that type of attitude that caught the eye of DuSable Athletic Director Patrice Cash, who made the decision to hire Rhea.

“She came on our staff as an assistant coach and we really liked her style and the way she worked with the kids,” Cash said. “So, it was a natural progression for me to name her our head coach. When I first approached her about taking the head coaching position, she was a bit taken aback. But I’m all about empowerment and if I see someone doing something great, I want them to showcase that to the world.”

Asked if she ever thought hiring a female head coach in a male dominated sport may not go over well, Cash said the thought did cross her mind, but she believes that if anyone has earned the respect of male coaches, it’s Rhea. She also noted that there are now women coaching in the NBA and NFL, so society is changing as women can bring a different perspective to the coaching world.

“You don’t always have to coach through fear or dominance. I was really amazed at how well the players enjoyed her coaching style,” Cash said.

Senior Dontrell Reed is one of the team captains. He said having Rhea as his coach has been “amazing.” He has played football all four years at DuSable. He felt Rhea was also a head coach in the making.

“She knows a lot about the game, more than many men do,” Reed said. “I don’t have any concerns about other teams making fun of our team because our coach is a woman because she is such a good coach. I feel like we are really benefitting from her knowledge.”

Reed’s teammate Lorenzo Beasley has played organized football for six years. He sat out his freshman year due to a leg injury. He met Rhea his sophomore year. Now a senior, he said he could not think of a better way to close out his senior season than playing for a coach who is making history.

“She makes us put in some work,” Beasley said. “When I found out she was going to be our new coach, I sent her a welcome text message because I was so excited. She is hard and strict on us like I like. I feel like I have improved a lot on both offense and defense.”