Rod Underwood (born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player and currently head coach and sporting director for Chattanooga FC in the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

Playing career

Underwood began playing soccer at the college level with

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

in 1985. He became the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to play soccer at Furman University. While at Furman he was the leading goal scorer, a three-time all-conference selection, and the conference tournament MVP as a senior. In his final year at Furman Underwood earned his Bachelor's Degree in 1989. As a player Underwood spent time with

New Mexico Chiles The New Mexico Chiles were an American soccer club established in 1990 which competed in the American Professional Soccer League. In 1991, the team merged with the New Mexico Roadrunners and moved to the USISL until its disestablishment in 1996. ...

Albuquerque Geckos Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, and New Orleans Gamblers.

Management career

Underwood first began his coaching career as player-coach at New Mexico Chiles in 1994. Once he moved to Albuquerque in 1997, he led the Geckos to the USISL D-3 Pro League Championship before coaching the club through its promotion to the A-League a season later. The following season Underwood was appointed the head coach for the

South Carolina Shamrocks The South Carolina Shamrocks were an American soccer team that played in Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municip ...

in 1999. Following his stint with South Carolina, he was appointed the assistant coach for Georgia State University. On April 19, 2007

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

head coach Gavin Wilkinson appointed Underwood as his assistant coach. During the 2007 USL season he helped the Timbers finish second place in the standings, and help the club reach the semifinals in the playoffs before losing to

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

. On February 5, 2009 the Cleveland City Stars announced the hiring of Underwood to serve as the new head coach for the 2009 USL season. He became the second head coach in club history, after succeeding Martin Rennie. In preparation for the 2009 season Underwood resolved to bring new players to the squad, notably players from Africa and MLS experienced players. Underwood was named head coach for

North East Stars Athletic Club Port of Spain (previously known as North East Stars) is a Trinidad and Tobago professional football club, based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that plays in the TT Pro League. The team plays its home games at the Hasely Crawford Stad ...

in the TT Pro League on April 16, 2010. In 2010, he joined the coaching team for the MLS side the Portland Timbers as an assistant coach for the U-16 academy team. In 2012, he went abroad to manage

Mount Aureol Mount Aureol is a Sierra Leonean football club from Freetown, Sierra Leone. The club is currently a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It wa ...

in the

Sierra Leone National First Division Sierra Leone National First Division is the second highest football league in Sierra Leone, after the Sierra Leone National Premier League. Along with the Sierra Leone National Premier League, they are the two major football leagues in Sierra Leon ...

. He later returned to the United States and joined the management staff of

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...

in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

in the capacity of an assistant coach. In 2017, he was named the head coach for Montego Bay United F.C. in the

National Premier League The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it op ...

. In 2019, he was appointed the director of club relations for iSoccerPath. On March 3, 2021, Underwood was announced as the new head coach of

side

Stumptown AC Stumptown AC, formerly Stumptown Athletic, is an American professional soccer team that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club is based in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. History Following an init ...

ahead of the team's return from hiatus. On December 3, 2021, Underwood was named head coach of Chattanooga FC.

References

External links

Rod Underwood - Head Coach profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Rod 1968 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players Association football midfielders Albuquerque Geckos players New Orleans Gamblers players New Mexico Chiles (USISL) players Sportspeople from New Orleans USISL players Cleveland City Stars coaches TT Pro League managers Portland Timbers non-playing staff USL Second Division players South Carolina Shamrocks players North East Stars F.C. managers National Independent Soccer Association coaches Furman Paladins men's soccer players Soccer players from Louisiana Georgia State Panthers men's soccer American expatriate soccer coaches Expatriate football managers in Jamaica Expatriate football managers in Trinidad and Tobago Expatriate football managers in Sierra Leone American expatriate sportspeople in Jamaica American expatriate sportspeople in Trinidad and Tobago American expatriates in Sierra Leone Association football player-managers