AURORA — The George Washington flag football team, coached by Tyla Wilder, is 12-3 and ranked No. 13 in 4A.
Today, she 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 Tyla Wilder:
How did you become involved with flag football, and how did you become the head coach at George Washington?
I actually am a George Washington alum, I graduated in 2014. My background is in basketball because flag football wasn't an option for me. I played basketball in college and then once I came home, the athletic director connected me with the coach and I started coaching basketball. I coached basketball first at the JV level, then the year flag football became a CHSAA sanctioned sport, the position was open. I started out not knowing anything about football but being in the realm of sports all my life, I really wanted to fill a gap in sports and build a sports culture of well-being.
Without having any direct experience with flag football before coaching, how did you train for and learn this sport?
When you play other sports, there's a lot that you can apply and learn that way, and that's what I did. The first year I printed out the rule book for flag football, and used basketball to kind of translate it. I had a whole bunch of basketball players that I'd recruited, some soccer players, and ultimately, we learned football through other sports. After we got the foundation, it just ultimately became me studying and making connections with other coaches. It's a constant process with constant adjustments and studying.
Since being the GW coach since the sport's debut in 2024, how would you describe the culture you've built at this program?
It's one that's constantly changing. You've got to get comfortable with establishing a new identity each year, but ultimately, I'd say there is an awesome foundation on the mental aspect of sports. Our identity is based on, when things are not going our way, when things are hard -- who are we when adversity hits. The goal is a culture where girls could be dominant and compete, but also do it with grace and sportsmanship. Coach-led culture and player-led team is what I always say.
What were your expectations coming into this year? Have they changed at all as the season has progressed?
I try to come into seasons without too many expectations in regard to a record or anything like that. If I'm being honest, having the success that we've had the first two years, especially the first season, I've at least wanted to maintain, making the playoffs and having a winning record.
Coming off an eight-game win streak, how do you prepare your team mentally and physically heading into the postseason?
Physically at this point, I'd say it's details, but not working them too hard. The preparation that we're going to have for playoffs happened already. We have to trust what we've done this season. Mentally it's looking at our schedule, highlighting some of those tougher games where we've come back from being down, or we didn't score until the fourth quarter, or we went into overtime. It's going back to those games and remembering what we had to do, and who we were to overcome that -- reminders of what we've already done and established to get to this point. You don't change much, you do what works and take it up a notch or two.
With 13 juniors on this roster and a few of them being members of this team since they were freshman, how does their experience help this program?
Those juniors were the start of building a foundation for this program when we went to the semifinals that year, so they know what it takes to win. It's a different level of competition once playoffs hit, so we're planning to lean on them in regards to their experience.
Over the past few years, we've seen a rise in women's sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, and now flag football. What advice or encouragement do you have for young girls who are interested in starting their flag football career?
You won't regret it, just give it a try. I feel like flag football is unique to some of those other sports you mentioned, I think it's just easier to find a space where you fit. There are so many different aspects. In basketball, the same people who are playing offense are also playing defense. Whereas there's so many different defensive positions for flag, offensive positions and ways that you can contribute. There's essentially a space for everybody, so just give it a go, you might fall in love.
Is there anything we didn't get a chance to highlight or anything you want to shout out?
Of course, my team and the GW community. Being a GW alum, you recognize the foundation that was set years ago, and the continued support from the GW community is amazing. Then obviously, I don't get this recognition without the execution and positive mentality of my athletes. They deserve all the credit, always.
