Story Written By: Damon Cook @ CHSAANow.com
AURORA, Colo. — Doherty flag football is off to a 9-2 start in its first-ever season as a program. Under the leadership from coach Rodney Pierson, the Spartans have allowed just 42 points in 11 games.
While Pierson might be the one receiving the recognition, he said this is a team award and one that all the girls will share. When the opportunity presented itself for Pierson to get in on the ground floor of the new flag football program, he knew he wanted to jump in and make a change from the very beginning.
Rodney Pierson
Previous Coaching Experience: High School Boys Football (27 years), Youth Flag Football (12 years), High School Baseball (nine years), Youth Track and Field (11 years).
Record at Doherty: 9-2
Record as a Head Coach: 9-2
Did you have any expectations coming into the year that you'd be 9-2?
You know, I talked to our athletics director at the beginning of the preseason in July, and I told him, realistically, I'd be happy if we were .500. As a coach who has been around the game for a long time, you always want to win every game you play. Realistically, I didn't know if that was going to be possible. I didn't know what caliber of girls we were going to have or anything like that.
I knew Doherty had a long-standing success in female athletics, especially in some of the different sports: basketball, volleyball and track. So, I was optimistic, but realistically, I said, 'OK, .500.' The fact that we're here right now, where we're at, is beyond my wildest dreams, and they've far surpassed my own personal expectations. Obviously, the team has exceeded expectations.
You've held your opponents to zero points in seven of your 11 games. What has worked well for you on defense?
Our No. 1 emphasis is on defense. I think emphasizing defense, especially with some young girls, not just underclassmen, but girls who haven't played before, has been key. Teaching defense and how to pull flags and those sorts of things is easier for new players to understand. Offense can sometimes be hard with all the different play calls and strategies. So, there are a couple of reasons for our success. Between myself and my assistant coach, Josh Ramos, we have made it a point of emphasis that if we pull flags, they don't score. We were talking about it yesterday in practice, we pull flags every single day in practice, and by doing that, we emphasize how important that side of the ball is.
How fun is it to teach girls who are new to the sport?
It is incredibly rewarding. My daughter is a sixth grader and has been playing since second grade, mainly in a boys' league with some co-ed players. A couple of years ago, we started an all-girls team in the winter with some other coaching friends. It's similar to that; they were fourth graders at the time. Now, to have these high school girls with such athleticism is just incredible. Being able to take those girls and teach them the game of football is where I'm supposed to be as a coach right now. I am blessed to be there and to work with them. My number one role on the field has always been as a teacher, so to teach these young girls who don't have football experience and see them excel brings me a joy that is hard to describe.
You recently played Air Academy, your old school, what was that like?
That was nice, though it feels like ages ago. I'm actually a teacher in District 20, even though I coach down in District 11, where Doherty is. At the time, when I got the Doherty job, District 20 didn't want to have a flag football program, and I really wanted to get in on the ground floor, and Doherty's job opened up. We played Air Academy earlier this season, way back in September. I found out then that one of my former players from Pine Creek, where I spent most of my time, is now one of the girls' coaches at Air Academy. We had a great chuckle about that at the end of our first game. It's a small world connection between where you've coached and where you're at now, and the relationships you build in sports, whether it's tackle football or girls' flag football.
What about flag football makes you passionate about it?
I just think it offers high school girls another athletic avenue to pursue. To be a little biased, my daughter's a sixth grader. When she was younger, she was all about the idea of possibly playing tackle football, but her mom wasn't so keen on that. We built a family with the youth teams I've coached since my oldest graduated high school and played flag football all through elementary school. My daughter has played all the way through elementary school and absolutely loves it. It's another avenue for girls to be athletically successful and build their confidence in ways they haven't experienced before. We have a lot of multi-sport athletes: track girls, basketball girls and volleyball players. But I also have girls who haven't participated in sports before and wanted to find a place to belong. I take pride in the fact that these girls might not have interacted with each other before in high school, and now they're part of a team. They're laughing, joking and pumping each other up on the sidelines. It's truly about the family we've built. That was a huge part of what excited me about building something from the ground floor — to leave a mark on what this sport is going to be at Doherty, locally in Colorado Springs and across the state. I think it's an amazing opportunity for girls to participate in something that has traditionally been male dominated.
How is the flag football culture in Colorado?
It has been very positive. There's respect and camaraderie among certain staff at the varsity level in tackle football, but there's also a lot of antagonism because you want to beat the other team. You might not like the way they do things, or you might. I was lucky enough to meet a gentleman this last spring through our youth team, and he got in on the ground floor at Mountain View High School. Tim Test and his team are dominating their northern league. We've become really close through flag football, talking almost every week, bouncing ideas off each other, and sharing strategies. I look forward to continuing that, especially after attending a great coaching clinic hosted by the Denver Broncos. I had the chance to meet coaches from the pilot program and picked their brains about their experiences and how new rule changes might affect games. I really do look forward to this because I believe that's what builds successful programs statewide — not just in your school, but statewide. We want to have Colorado on the map as having great flag football programs. That should be one of our focuses: to show that Colorado girls can play great flag football.
Is there anything else people should know about Doherty flag football?
When I found out about this award, the first thing that came to mind was how great a testament this is to my girls' hard work. I shared with them at practice that my name is the one that gets in the newspaper, but this award is a testament to their dedication and trust in myself and Coach Ramos to teach them the game and put them in positions to be successful. Ultimately, it's all about the girls. I love coaching and might be overly prepared compared to other youth level coaches because of my type A personality, but it comes down to the girls buying in and what they do on the field that makes us as coaches look good.
