May 29, 2020 - Tony Green has been named the first head football coach at the Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Wheatley. The YMLA Lions will field its first-ever high school varsity football team this fall. Green was promoted from athletic coordinator, a position he has held at YMLA since the school opened five years ago. 

 
The all-boys public school currently is open to 4th through 11th grade – expanding to 4th through 12th grade in the 2021-2022 school. This year’s varsity squad will consist of 9th, 10th, and 11th graders. YMLA will be the only school in District 14-4A, Division II that will not have a senior class. Besides YMLA, other 14-4A schools include Navarro, Wimberly, Austin Eastside Memorial, Austin Achieve and Manor New Tech. 
 
YMLA opened its doors in 2015 and moved to the Wheatley campus in 2017. The school became YMLA at Wheatley. The Wheatley name has a rich history. Wheatley was an all-black high school that opened in 1933 and closed in 1970. The Wheatley Lions produced numerous all-star athletes including Cliff Johnson, long-time major league baseball player; Willie Mitchell, who played in the first Super Bowl for Kansas City Chiefs; and Clyde Glosson, a world-class sprinter. 
 
There is a lot of history here,” said Green, who played college football at Alabama A&M University. “As soon as you walk into the building of Wheatley, you see all those names and plaques of people who came before. There have been many professional athletes and just professionals like principals and doctors. We play homage to those guys. It is definitely high expectations for our kids.” 
 
Green says his team will strive for balance and push to dominate the run game offensively.
 
“We are a brand-new football team,” he said. “Our goal is to get better each week. We are going to have young kids. Our goal is to mold them into leaders. There are four playoff spots and our big goal is to get one of those playoff spots.”
 
YMLA is scheduled to kick off the 2020 football season August 27 at Alamo Stadium against Randolph.
 
“Coach Green has been there since day one, building a football program from scratch,” said Todd Howey, SAISD senior executive director of Athletics. “His consistent energy and positive attitude are exactly what we need at YMLA to field a competitive varsity football team. He is aware of the challenges and I have no doubt that he and his staff will rise to the occasion.”