AURORA – The Palmer Ridge flag football team, coached by Frank Haist, completed its first season with a 9-8 record and a first-round win in the 4A state playoffs.
Today, he is being recognized as the Broncos High School Flag Coach of the Week. The Denver Broncos and CHSAA will continue to honor one flag football coach and one tackle football coach each week throughout the season.
Throughout the year, all Coach of the Week honorees will be recognized on the field during a pregame ceremony at Broncos home games.
Q&A with Frank Haist:
How did you become involved with flag football, and how did you become the head coach at Palmer Ridge?
I got introduced to flag football by starting the program at The Classical Academy. After that year, I stepped away from coaching for about a year. Went through some health issues, but I was blessed to get my health back, so I got back into coaching. There was an opportunity to start the program at Palmer Ridge, so I took the job. I started coaching flag football because I was intrigued by it. I had a football background as an athlete, and I thought it'd make me a better basketball coach. It's a little different dynamic of the game, it leans more on play calling and structuring. I thought I could do better as a play caller in basketball and flag football could help me do that.
As a first-year program, what kind of culture did you want to create from the beginning?
The culture I wanted to create was an awareness that they're not just players, but they're people. I wanted to create a culture where we were people first, playing a sport, and they felt valued as a person. Of course, when we get on the field, we want to be competitive and to grow as players, but also value them growing as people as well. I wanted their parents and the community to feel that as well.
Coaching The Classical Academy in the sport's inaugural season, you made it all the way to the championship. Was there anything you learned from that first year that you wanted to carry with you coming to Palmer Ridge?
I feel like what I took from TCA was that value of fundamentals. Flag pulling, avoiding flag pulls, catching balls, and throwing balls, those fundamentals are key. I think the strategy is secondary. You can have all the strategies you want, but if you can't throw and catch the ball, and you can't pull flags, then that strategy's going to be neutralized.
According to MaxPreps, your roster was made up of mostly seniors and freshman, tell me about what kind of dynamic that ensued?
It was an interesting dynamic. Not only were we a young team, but we were inexperienced. I think the seniors became the big sisters of the freshmen, and I thought they led them well. I'm certainly proud of our seniors and their leadership. The first year is always challenging. (Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach) Mike Tomlin a few weeks ago said, "Transition always brings about short-term misery." For me, it was the process of discovery, and that process can be a blessing and a burden. What I didn't have to worry about, was how the girls treated each other. They tried to treat each other like they would want to be treated, and overall, it created a good culture.
Along those same lines, with more than half of this team being underclassmen, what kind of future do you see for this program?
I think we have a very bright future. I'm excited about the word getting out, and not just rising freshmen coming up as new players, but there might be rising 10th, 11th, or 12th graders. I just talked to a junior yesterday and told her "Don't feel like you missed the boat and can never get on. There's another dock, down the way, you can jump on." This is a great opportunity, so as the word gets out, I anticipate there'll be a lot more competition for positions, spots, and teams, which will make us more competitive in the years ahead.
As a first-year program, what did it mean to the team and community to make the playoffs and win your first-round game?
It's hard to answer your question. In the midst of it, you're caught up in one game at a time. I think that as the girls look back, and as I look back, we'll appreciate that in the first year, we got in the second round of the playoffs. I think as time comes, and we have our end-of-season banquet, there'll be a lot of appreciation for where we ended our first year. I maybe compared myself to what we did at that first year at TCA and that was probably unfair. I didn't appreciate it until after I processed it but, it's a good foundation to build on.
With flag football becoming a more popular sport and seeing it become an official Olympic sport in a couple of years, how does it feel to be a part of a growing sport?
It's very exciting. Flag football takes all the fun stuff of tackle football and puts it together. I think it'll keep growing definitely in our district, around the state, and around the country. It's a great addition to these girls' sports options, so we're very excited. For many players, flag football may start off being their second or third sport, but I think in a few years, it's going to be their first sport. I'm realizing that, and I'm certainly willing to work with multi-sport athletes as we grow our program.
Is there anything we didn't get a chance to highlight or anything you want to shout out?
I just appreciate the District 38 community and the opportunity to start a flag football program. I'm looking forward to the continued popularity and growing our culture into developing young women beyond just playing flag football. Developing them into being great members of our community. I'm looking forward to that journey.
