‘South Beach Tow’ star hired as first female head football coach in Florida
Miami Jackson High School is making history.
The Generals are set to announce at a news conference at the school Monday afternoon that they have hired Lakatriona Brunson as their new head coach, making her the first female head football coach in Florida history.
Jackson is also hiring Luther Campbell as an assistant coach.
Brunson, also known as Bernice, has gained plenty of notoriety in recent years for her role as a driver and assistant manager for Tremont Towing, the company portrayed in the truTV reality series, South Beach Tow, which began airing in July 2011.
Brunson graduated from Miami Northwestern in 1995 and was a former track and field thrower and basketball standout for the Bulls.
At Northwestern, Brunson threw the discus and shot put competing for legendary track coach Carmen Jackson, who has guided that program to a Florida record 12 state championships including an active seven-year title streak that ranks second all-time in state history.
“I know she was a great student-athlete and she showed a lot of leadership,” Jackson said. “She was a very good people person and was well-liked by all the students. She was committed and an easy person to coach.
“She had all the attributes of being a great leader.”
Brunson starred on the basketball team at Northwestern and later played at Tennessee State where she also earned a degree in Health and Physical Education/Fitness.
Brunson is a physical education teacher at Jackson, which meets one of the main requirements for her to be hired as a head coach at a Miami-Dade County public school.
Brunson played football for the Miami Fury formerly of the Independent Women’s Football League more than a decade ago.
“I never envisioned her becoming a football coach, but I always knew she was a born leader and she was going to go on and do big things in the community,” Jackson said.
Campbell, who became famous in the 1980s as the popular but at times controversial head man of the rap group 2 Live Crew, has served as a defensive coordinator in recent years at Miami Central, Miami Northwestern and most recently at Miami Norland.
Campbell, who was the defensive coordinator at Norland said Jackson school officials had reached out to him in the last month about joining the staff, but he wanted the school to do something special. Hiring Brunson, he said, fit the bill.
"At first I thought 'this [expletive] might be crazy because I take football real serious," Campbell said. "But after a conversation with her, I said, 'Naw she knows her football. She's on point. I don't take this as a joke. I didn't want to be a part of no circus."
Campbell’s defenses have been ranked among the best in the county at every school he has coached. During the past two seasons, Norland has not made the playoffs largely due to playing in one of the state’s toughest districts that also includes Central, Northwestern and Miami Carol City.
But the Vikings have finished ranked among the county’s top five in total defense.
This past season, Norland sent two players — linebackers Emmett Rice (FSU) and Vosean Joseph (Florida) — sign with major FBS programs.
Campbell, 55, would likely assume the same role as defensive coordinator at Jackson.
Jackson, one of Miami-Dade’s oldest schools whose roots trace to 1898, has never won a state football championship although it has advanced to the state semifinals in 1998, 2000 and 2012.
Jackson began a coaching search in January after former coach Earl Little, a standout at the University of Miami and in the NFL stepped down after two seasons.
The Generals went 3-6 during the 2015 season, but Little guided them to a 6-5 playoff season in 2014 in which they beat Miami Northwestern in the Soul Bowl for the first time since 2002 and reached the Class 5A regional quarterfinals.
Read more here: ‘South Beach Tow’ star hired as first female head football coach in Florida
Miami Jackson High School is making history.
The Generals are set to announce at a news conference at the school Monday afternoon that they have hired Lakatriona Brunson as their new head coach, making her the first female head football coach in Florida history.
Jackson is also hiring Luther Campbell as an assistant coach.
Brunson, also known as Bernice, has gained plenty of notoriety in recent years for her role as a driver and assistant manager for Tremont Towing, the company portrayed in the truTV reality series, South Beach Tow, which began airing in July 2011.
Brunson graduated from Miami Northwestern in 1995 and was a former track and field thrower and basketball standout for the Bulls.
At Northwestern, Brunson threw the discus and shot put competing for legendary track coach Carmen Jackson, who has guided that program to a Florida record 12 state championships including an active seven-year title streak that ranks second all-time in state history.
“I know she was a great student-athlete and she showed a lot of leadership,” Jackson said. “She was a very good people person and was well-liked by all the students. She was committed and an easy person to coach.
“She had all the attributes of being a great leader.”
Brunson starred on the basketball team at Northwestern and later played at Tennessee State where she also earned a degree in Health and Physical Education/Fitness.
Brunson is a physical education teacher at Jackson, which meets one of the main requirements for her to be hired as a head coach at a Miami-Dade County public school.
Brunson played football for the Miami Fury formerly of the Independent Women’s Football League more than a decade ago.
“I never envisioned her becoming a football coach, but I always knew she was a born leader and she was going to go on and do big things in the community,” Jackson said.
Campbell, who became famous in the 1980s as the popular but at times controversial head man of the rap group 2 Live Crew, has served as a defensive coordinator in recent years at Miami Central, Miami Northwestern and most recently at Miami Norland.
Campbell, who was the defensive coordinator at Norland said Jackson school officials had reached out to him in the last month about joining the staff, but he wanted the school to do something special. Hiring Brunson, he said, fit the bill.
"At first I thought 'this [expletive] might be crazy because I take football real serious," Campbell said. "But after a conversation with her, I said, 'Naw she knows her football. She's on point. I don't take this as a joke. I didn't want to be a part of no circus."
Campbell’s defenses have been ranked among the best in the county at every school he has coached. During the past two seasons, Norland has not made the playoffs largely due to playing in one of the state’s toughest districts that also includes Central, Northwestern and Miami Carol City.
But the Vikings have finished ranked among the county’s top five in total defense.
This past season, Norland sent two players — linebackers Emmett Rice (FSU) and Vosean Joseph (Florida) — sign with major FBS programs.
Campbell, 55, would likely assume the same role as defensive coordinator at Jackson.
Jackson, one of Miami-Dade’s oldest schools whose roots trace to 1898, has never won a state football championship although it has advanced to the state semifinals in 1998, 2000 and 2012.
Jackson began a coaching search in January after former coach Earl Little, a standout at the University of Miami and in the NFL stepped down after two seasons.
The Generals went 3-6 during the 2015 season, but Little guided them to a 6-5 playoff season in 2014 in which they beat Miami Northwestern in the Soul Bowl for the first time since 2002 and reached the Class 5A regional quarterfinals.
Read more here: ‘South Beach Tow’ star hired as first female head football coach in Florida
