She’s the man: Coach Jordan Henry secures historic NFL dub

Jordan Henry’s recognition card on the official Forty-Niners website. (Sophia Nagra / The Puma Prensa)

Jordan Henry. 

It’s a name I can guarantee every person on this campus is familiar with. Whether you’ve had her as your Puma Peers coordinator, teacher, friend, coach, or even just set foot into her classroom– be it for lunch or a club meeting– the warmth, humor, and sincerity that she welcomes us Pumas with, is all too familiar. 

After graduating with her Bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly Pomona, where she played DII basketball, then the University of San Francisco where she received her Master of Arts, Henry went on to teach English here at Carrillo for what is her ninth year now. But, her contributions have not ended there.

Aside from teaching rigorous classes like Honors Ethnic Studies English 2 and AP Literature, she has assistant coached the women’s basketball team for five years, coordinated the freshman integration program, Puma Peers, for three, led the School Site Council as chair for seven, and recently took on the position for head football coach for women’s flag football.

Despite all of this, however, she only began to feel as though she really belonged in her fourth or fifth year teaching. Rather than her colleagues tell her how to do things, “the language started to shift to ‘how do you do it?’” Soon enough, people were looking to her for ideas and inspiration– her hard work had finally paid off. But, her struggles weren’t over yet. 

Beginning as a favor for the late women’s basketball head coach, Jeff Paul– who was actually Henry’s own coach in high school–her assistant coaching position brought its own unique challenges. Although skill wise, she was still golden, with every element of basketball still fresh in her mind– it was the first time she had to manage the emotions and interpersonal relationships of teenage girls outside of when she was one herself. “It can be a really sticky situation when it comes to having to lay down rules that people don’t really want to do,” she describes.

And just last year, following the California Interscholastic Federation’s decision to make girls flag football an official varsity sport, which gave local districts budgetary backing to make formal teams– flag football was introduced to the school, with none other than Ms. Jordan Henry filling the role of head coach. 

New to the sport herself, it was a “huge learning curve,” Henry notes, “it was a lot of trying to get ahead of everything: learn how to play, learn how to interact with a football–” meaning that she had to put an extensive amount of her own time in during the summer to catch up enough to lead a team of girls who had also never played the sport before.

There was an immense amount of pressure on her. 

Already existing in a role that is frequently looked over, Henry’s oversight was magnified by the sexism that dominates the realm of football. She cites frequent encounters with coaches, referees, and even reporters, who would “almost always address [her male colleagues] before they ever addressed [her] as the head coach.” This happened just about every single time Henry took the field, and, statistically speaking, this was more than a mere coincidence. 

Flag football players on game day (Courtesy of Miko Jaworski)

“I said I’m Jordan, and I probably came off a bit frustrated and angry, but it’s because I was feeling that way,” she recounts.

Finally, after all the hours, energy, and effort she had dedicated to the team– she got the news.

Henry had just been nominated by the San Francisco 49ers for Coach of the week. The NFL had seen her work and wished to recognize it.

This honor is not easy to come by, even more so for women, as only three of the forty coaches to receive this honor have been women, including Henry.

Not only was this a win for Henry, as she received a permanent recognition on the official Forty-Niners webpage and field-level access to Levi’s stadium– but for Carrillo, as the award came with an $1000 grant for the team; one which she hopes to use for next year after consulting with her players.

Humbly proud of her girls for their 18:3 record on the very first flag-football season in Carrillo history, Henry attributes much of their success to their natural abilities and skills used in other sports– such as hand dexterity, speed, and teamwork. One such example of this is varsity athlete and Carrillo basketball star Ruby Laughlin– who “had a beautiful interception and ran it back the entire field,” causing her dad to accidentally knock over the referee in excitement. While it did penalize her team, they still secured a win– one which pleasantly surprised them. They didn’t know it yet, but that win was to be one of many, many more.

Henry indubitably attributes the biggest part of her success to her dad, a former high school and college football player himself– as assistant coach, she was able to lean on him in times of need, whether it be to decide on plays or solidify institutional knowledge.

Despite every obstacle and frustration, Henry asserts that she remains motivated, as, “at the end of the day, most of what I do and why I do it is at the foundation, the young women I’m supporting, whether that be my students or my athletes.” 

So, if flag football has been something you are considering, even in the slightest– go for it. An already renowned team and coach on their first season out, the future possibilities are endless. Although it may seem intimidating, as Henry validates, you must give it a real try before giving up. She believes in you, now it is time for you to believe in you. 

Despite what others may say or believe to be true about young women and their supposed fragility or limitations, Coach Henry and her team have been strong examples of the sheer power, talent and limitless capabilities of young women when they are given even an ounce of an opportunity to do so. What these young women have made in one season, some football teams could never dream of in one decade.

“You just have to be brave and try”