On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Charles Hopkins from the Holy Family Flag Football Program in Philadelphia. We talk about how he recruits players with strong character, academics, and game film as the program continues to grow. He describes the small-school atmosphere at Holy Family while still offering impressive facilities, resources, and athletic scholarships for flag football. Lastly, we discuss the program’s demanding weekly schedule, coaching philosophy, and his advice to recruits to choose the right school first and let flag football be the cherry on top.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to Discover College Flag. Today, I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Chuck at Holy Family. Welcome, Coach.
Coach: What’s going on? How we doing, Matt?
Matt: Doing well, thanks. Appreciate you jumping on here. Um, y- well, at this point, you guys are, like, really veteran flag football team, ’cause you’ve had two seasons, which, uh, most people can’t say, right?
Coach: Really, it’s real- it’s been a great experience. It’s been a great experience these years since beginning it. I’ve been telling my team that, you know, that we’re the vets, you know. We have some stuff happening right now with our conference, um, with flag being Division 2, s- we’re definitely looking at it like we’re the big dogs.
Matt: Yeah. No, that’s fantastic. And I mean, it’s interesting ’cause I guess, uh, what Pennsylvania officially said that it’s a varsity sport for high school girls back in September ’24, and that’s when you got hired, right?
Coach: Yeah, so I got hired in August of ’24, so-
Matt: Oh, okay …
Coach: forecasted that it was going to be. And for all intents and purposes, like, before it became a varsity sport, uh, officially, um, there were so [00:01:00] many schools that already had teams, that had already been competing in sort of like a intramural, kind of unofficial level at the high school level.
And, um, with my history in flag, like, I’ve been coaching flag since 2019. And I’ve been coaching like youths, so like boys and girls at much younger ages, um, through rec centers and different travel programs. So I had already seen what was coming on the horizon, and it was kind of just like my growth led me to Holy Family, and it was, like, perfect timing.
Like, boom, August I get hired, September it’s a varsity sport.
Matt: Awesome, awesome. Well, uh, with that, you know, in terms of your, your recruiting c- because you’ve had a team for a couple of years, y- you’re, you’re a little bit, uh, you know, have a little bit of luxury that you’re not, you know, trying to find anybody and everybody, uh, to, to join the roster.
You got people coming back, which, you know, that’s the big issue, right, when new programs don’t have anybody returning. So, so right now, like, are you… I m- I guess your, your class of ’26 folks are [00:02:00] probably at school and, and locked and loaded, or are you still trying to find anybody for ’26, you think? Are you happy with your, your, what you got?
So, this
Coach: class of ’26 was, like, my first legitimate recruiting class, right? The class of ’25, like, that was, you know, after our first season. Um, I didn’t really get the opportunity to recruit that class ’cause I was so busy with the first year of the program and just creating a program and doing those things. So, um, I was fortunate enough that, you know, word had spread throughout the Philly area that we had a team and we were the first team in the Philly area that had a college team, and that we were actually competing on the NCAA level.
This wasn’t like a club level where we’re just trying to find games. We have a schedule, we have a conference championship, and all of those things. And so that attracted some, um, more young ladies to our school for the class of ’25. So this was my first real recruiting experience. And let’s just say it was, uh, definitely an interesting one.[00:03:00]
Um, but to speak to some of the things you said, um- Mm. I only really, I had a very small group come in with this class, but they’re, they were two very, like, important pivotal recruits that we were really aiming for. Um, and then every one on my team was a, you know, was an underclassmen. Well, not necessarily underclassmen, but nobody graduated from our team from last year, so our entire cohort came back, and that was, like you said, you know, speaking to that, I, I, I’m, I’m kind of in a, a good position because other schools, especially in our conference, the CACC- They are, um, trying to figure it out and trying to build their rosters out, and I already know, like, what I got, you know.
And we already have an idea of what our offense can look like and things like that, so we definitely have some advantages in that regard, so. With the class of ’26, where we’re at now is we’ve got our incoming freshmen, so we’re actually about to hold an interest meeting with the entire student body, just to kind of see if there’s [00:04:00] anybody on campus that maybe we missed out on or that maybe didn’t get the chance to play last year that would be interested in checking it out and trying again this year.
That’s kind of… That’s pretty much it with us. We’re already have our eyes set on class of ’27, you know, seniors graduating and what we, what we’re going to do with
Matt: them. So with that, looking at the class of ’27, w- you know, where, where do you like to go to recruit? Are you looking at high school games? Are you looking at AAU club things?
Are you looking at, like, camps, clinics, that type of thing or, or what?
Coach: It’s a little bit of everything, because you never know where you’re gonna find, right? Um, one of the things that I’m really good about and one of the things that I enjoy or that has been helping me in terms of recruiting is I, I, me personally, I don’t have a social media.
And I know that sounds crazy as a coach. I say that, and everybody’s like, “What?” But I’m like, I- it’s just a personal belief of mine, and I don’t think… You know, I think that we still have to maintain our standards, and that doesn’t mean we can’t be successful. So I’m big on [00:05:00] emails. I’m big on, um, this app called FieldLevel, which has been really good in terms of recruitment, really good in terms of creating a space for young women and young people across the country to reach directly to, you know.
It’s kind of like a social media in its own sense, but to reach directly to college coaches, and that has really, really helped my recruiting. Um, but when I go out, like personally, I usually like to go to the high school games. I like, I like to go to see the high school teams out here. I do follow some travel teams.
It’s a little bit of everything, like over the summer, you know, ’cause normally our season, once we’re in season, I’m usually locked in. Our season usually ends in like April, and then from there, I go out into, you know, the Philly area, because our season’s done, our conference is done, and then the playoffs are picking up for high school girls flag.
So I get to see really big-time games and a lot of these recruits in these big-time moments, so I get to really see what they’re made of, and that really helps with recruiting. Rem- I’m pulling up to playoff [00:06:00] games, semifinals, championships. And in the summer it really picks up with the AAU travel, and I just kind of pick my moments of where can I go here.
And then I hold a camp too, so we have our own camp that we do, and we invite, um, you know, young ladies out from all over, and we do the same thing there. We’re recruiting at that camp, and it’s a lot of fun.
Matt: Okay, awesome. Well, is there- A roster size that you’re trying to hit each year or, or something that- No
that you need to focus on?
Coach: Yes. So, um, that has been one of the challenges is trying to get to the roster size that we, that we’re aiming for. Um, I’m looking at, like, max 24, 25, um, as a roster size, and right now I’m sitting at about, I wanna say, 14, 15. So it’s a, it’s, it’s a ways away, um, but we’re looking at, you know, we have a lot of really good players on our team right now who are very much established in their roles.
Um, our incoming [00:07:00] freshmen that we have are, are looking to, to learn from them and step into those roles, and that also allows us to really be able to target what we’re looking for from the class of ’27, and we can really build on that and add to that without having to be like, “We need everything.” We know specifically what we need, and that allows our recruiting to be, um, a little more, a little less pressure, a little more hands, a little more hands-free, a little more targeted, you know, and I love that.
Matt: Okay. Well, whether it’s at a camp, clinic, high school, club, whatever, kind of what makes up that hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player both on and off the field?
Coach: So I feel like flag football is at a point now where the talent is there, especially with women’s flag, especially with girls flag.
There are so many talented young women who, who are very athletic, you know, high IQ, good feet, you know, good hip movement, you know, great, um, ball skills. You’re seeing it more and more. You can see a lot of [00:08:00] work is being put in at the high school level, at the travel AAU level. These coaches are really pouring into them.
And I think it’s kind of easy because a lot of these coaches, guys, guys and girls, are coming from working in helmet and pads over to flag, and they’re just, and, and a lot of it is translates. A lot of it translates, so it’s easy to work with these young women and really get them, like, at a place where they’re, they’re, they’re operating at a high level, an elite level.
And so what I usually aim for is, like, good people. You know? I’m looking for a good person. Are you a good student? You know what I mean? Are you a good teammate? Are you a good leader? Are you a good daughter? You know what I mean? That’s what I’m looking for. Like, are you a good person? Because- I have high con- I have supreme confidence in my ability to create an athlete and teach someone and bring someone from one level of football to another level of football in terms of their own skill, on-field skills.
But what I can’t coach is heart. What I can’t coach is grit. What I can’t coach is effort. I can put [00:09:00] that in my culture and say that’s what I’m looking for, but that’s gotta be in you and not on you. You know what I mean? And so I look for those things when I’m at camps, clinics, tournaments, games, and things like that, is who’s the person who’s rallying everybody?
Who’s the person who’s, you know, speaking through their play? Who’s the person who’s always got high energy, who speaks very well? Who’s the person with the 4.0? You know, who’s that person? That’s who I’m looking for. You know what I mean?
Matt: Okay. Well, one of the things that, um, i- i- it always gets asked now because you’ve got varsity flag, you got club flag.
There’s varsity flag at every level now, right? Division I, II, III, the NAIA, the whole bit. So Question people ask, well, is, is there athletic scholarships now for flag? And, and so where do you guys sit in that category? I’m not, you know, I’m not trying to get into your pockets here, but, you know, if a girl wants to come play, like, what, [00:10:00] what should they expect?
Coach: So with us, um, to not get too long-winded, Holy Family at its core as a school within the NCAA, we are a Division III school. And, um, so when we first started with flag football, um, in ’24, it had not been officially designated or sanctioned a Division III sport, so we affiliated to the Division III level, right?
And at Division III there are no athletic scholarships. So because we were affiliated in ’24 and ’25 at the Division III level, we were not giving out any scholarships, right? Um, however, now that our, you know, home conference, the CACC, has adopted flag football, now that we have a, a conference schedule, we have seven total schools in our conference who all have flag football, we’re all, we are offering athletic scholarships for flag.
So I have already personally ma- made a couple of offers to some, some of my, the prospective recruits. So we definitely do have, you know, flag football specific scholarships. Like, you could come to Holy Family on a flag football scholarship, [00:11:00] 100%. And, um, so the way that that works for me to not, like I said, I don’t wanna be too long-winded, is what I look for is two things.
GPA has to be at least a 3.0, um, because Holy Family is an acceptance school, so you gotta be able to at least get in, right? Like, the bare minimum to get in is, like, a 2.5. I want people to strive a little bit above that. Um, so you gotta have at least a 3.0, and you gotta also, like, your tape has to jump off the, jump off the, the, the screen.
Like, when you, you gotta have game film. There’s a lot of… And that’s something I do wanna say for any young woman that’s watching this, there’s a lot of young women who reach out who have very beautifully worded emails, very greatly worded emails, and you never send any film. And I’m like, I see your email, and I, and I, I, I read it, and I keep right on moving because there’s no link to the film.
Because at the end of the day, it’s like, you can tell me all day you’re great, I gotta see it, you know? And so make sure that when you are reaching [00:12:00] out to at least to me and, and to all coaches, send the film over. Whatever you got, send it over. Allow a coach to be able to see you in that, in that space.
Also, understand where your GPA is at going into the email so that way you have that information. So, ’cause that, that makes, that makes a, a, a big difference, you know? That’s, that’s before I’ll even set up a conversation with, with, with the recruit and their family. I, I won’t do anything if I haven’t seen film.
I’ll literally let them know, like, “I’d love to talk to you, but I can’t until I see your film.” And so I, I, that’s usually w- before I’m ready to offer anything in terms of scholarships- I need to see those two things, and it’s gotta be something that me and, and, and my staff when we we’re watching the film, it’s like, “Okay, yeah, mm-hmm, she has what we need.
She has something that we can work with, and we wanna, we wanna use that.”
Matt: Okay. No, that’s perfectly, perfectly reasonable. Gotta see that tape, right? Um, well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. Some folks may be not familiar with Holy Family. You’ve been there a [00:13:00] couple years now. What are some awesome things about the school?
Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know by going through the website.
Coach: Okay, so Holy Family is located in the Northeast Philadelphia, um, section, or Northeast Philadelphia. Um, we are a, like I said, we are a Division II school. We are a Catholic school, a private Catholic school. Um, but one of the best things about us, like I said, is we’re an acceptance school.
So I know a lot of schools, sometimes there are some things you have to do to get in, write letters, essays, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, things like that. With Holy Family, you just have to meet the gen- the, the, the minimum GPA requirement of a 2.5. You are automatically accepted, and you’re automatically in, so that’s a good thing.
Um- We I’d like to say just in terms of across the country, I, I, I’d like to believe you can see- we see it in Pennsylvania a lot, but across the country, um, a lot of smaller schools are, are folding or being absorbed into bigger institutions, right? Um, to use an example out [00:14:00] here, if anybody’s watching from Pennsylvania, especially from the Philly area, there was a, a, a private Catholic school by the name of Cabrini University, which was fairly popular, and, um, they just recently folded in, like, I think 2024, and they, they got absorbed into Villanova.
Um, a lot of our smaller schools around here are, are going through a lot of financial struggles, a lot of low enrollment and things like that. However, Holy Family is one of the anomalies in that literally this most recent incoming class of freshmen and transfers has been the biggest incoming class in Holy Family history, um, of freshmen and transfers.
We are in a very good space of thriving. Um, we have made massive, massive… We’ve had- we’ve seen massive endowments and massive just, like, support and investment into our campus, into our university, that we have a second campus, um, outside of our main one, which is located in Newtown, and that is our [00:15:00] school of, of nursing at, at the Newtown campus.
But the main campus, which is in Philadelphia, is where all the other schools are, arts and sciences, the technology school, business school and other things like that. And so you wouldn’t notice it. I kind of like to think we’re like this hidden gem. When you come and see the campus, you’re like, “Oh my gosh, there’s so much.”
Like, we have a brand-new turf, a brand-new field house, brand-new gym, two weight rooms, a plyo room. Like, you come in, you see that, like, even though we’re this small school, we still have the resources of a Temple, of a Penn State. Like, you still get that big school investment, big school resources, but that small intimate school feel.
Like, 14:1 teacher, professor to student ratio, so it’s not like you’re in this big class like if you did go to a Penn State and you’re in a class where it might be, like, 60 students and you’re learning from an adjunct professor that you never get to meet the actual professor. Like, no, you see your professor in front of you.
They know you. They’re familiar with you. They [00:16:00] come to your games. They hang out and things like that. Like, if you get tutoring in that class, you’re getting it from that same professor. So it’s, it’s one of those schools where I know a lot of students, just like a student like myself, I needed that more intimate setting of being able to reach to my professor, reach to my teacher, and be able to ask questions and get the answer from them.
So I think that is, like, the biggest thing that a lot of people don’t realize about us, is that we are 100% a, a hidden gem In, in my opinion of when you come here, you don’t realize that this small school has all this great stuff. We have six… We have new dorms. We have anything you can think of, like, we have it all here, and it’s, it’s a beautiful thing, you
Matt: know?
Yeah, yeah. Sounds like it. Well, let- let’s fast-forward. Let’s say it’s, uh, the heart of your season in the spring there. Walk me through w- what’s a typical week look like for the players in terms of when is classes, meals, practices, game cadence, all that kind of jazz?
Coach: Okay, [00:17:00] so- I’ll bring you into middle of the season.
You’re usually looking at a week of six days, you have something going on every day. Um, outside of class, um, ’cause class is the most important, I don’t usually interfere with that. Um, the cla- the earliest class is at 8:00 AM. Um, I’ll take you through a typical day. 7:00 AM you got lift, so you gotta be up, ready to roll, you got lift.
Um, you’ll go to lift. After that, like Monday is usually your lift day, and then we usually watch film from the day, from the game before. So Monday you’ll have lift in the morning at 7:00, you’ll go to class, and then that evening we’ll meet around like 6:00 in the film room and we’re going over the last game, watching what we did great, what we could work better on, things like that.
Tuesday we got practice. Practice is, is bare minimum two to two and a half hours. So you got class, after class, [00:18:00] usually meeting in the evening around like 5:30, 6:00, we got practice pretty much to the end of the night. And we’re out there and we’re working. And practice is usually always focused on one side of the ball.
So you might know Tuesdays we’re doing offense, we’re working on an install, right? Tuesdays we’re doing offense, we’re working on what we might have messed up on in the last game. Then Wednesday we’re usually back in the film room, and then that morning you have lift again, usually around 7:00 AM, then you’re coming in Wednesday night and we have film and we have study hall.
So film is usually, on Wednesdays, is usually about playbook updates, what are some new installs we’re working on, and now we’re game planning for the upcoming Saturday because we have a game, right? So now we’re game planning for the next team that we’re about to face, so here are some things that me and, uh, my assistant probably been working on that we wanna work on install going into Thursday’s and Friday’s practice.
And if you’re one of our players who say needs a little bit more assistance, needs a little bit more support in a certain class, you wouldn’t even be in the film room, you would [00:19:00] be at study hall, because you’re working with a teacher, you’re working with one of our Tiger tutors to g- help you make sure that you’re able to stay on the field, able to get on the field and actually see some, see some playing time, and able to, and able to be there, so.
Um, thankfully that’s not something that we’ve had to deal with as a team for the most part. Most of our, our, our, our athletes are scholar athletes, but we still make sure that everybody goes to study hall regardless, because we just wanna make sure we keep those routines, keep that culture and keep that support.
You know what I mean? Because you might come out of it with a good GPA, but sometimes when you’re in it, it’s, you know, there’s a struggle, you need to lean on your sister, you need to lean on each other and, and, and, and, you know, help each other out. Thursday, two hou- another two and a half hour practice.
Friday, another two and a half hour practice. And Friday is usually when we’re, you know, walk through, going through what we’re really about to execute. People know where they’re starting at, people know what’s gonna happen. And then Saturday’s game time, you know what I mean? And depending upon if we’re traveling or if we’re a home game, um- The whole day pretty much you’re [00:20:00] here early, um, getting taped up, stretching, any last minute, you know, walkthroughs we need to do when we’re in the van or we’re on the bus and we’re on our way to wherever we’re going to get a W.
And that’s usually how it works, and in between all of that you still got class every day. In between all of that, some of our players have class, some of them commute, so they work. You still have your whole life, you know, so it’s all about one of the biggest things you learn in that moment is timing, you know, and, and prioritization of what you got going on, what you need to do.
But it’s, it can be, it can feel intense, but my whole point of how we execute and how we operate like that is that, um, if you were at LSU, if you were at Alabama, this is what your life would be like. You know? You, you would have film study, meetings, eating, and all of those things, like, together, you know?
And so we try to provide that same experience to the best of our ability right here. And so that’s, that’s kinda how we operate. Like, you’re locked in. There’s something happening every day. [00:21:00] And then your only off day is usually Sunday, but Sunday team captains usually call a practice and make everybody meet on the field to go do something anyway.
So you’re about seven days a week something’s happening. Seven
Matt: days a week. All right. Well, one of the things you mentioned was in practice focusing on offense or defense or, and I, I should have asked you this earlier, but are, for the most part, are your girls on one side of the ball or, or, or do you have people playing both ways or, or do you have a, a, a, an philosophy on that at all?
Coach: Every, my philosophy is everybody gotta know what to do on- At any point when your number gets called, what we don’t want to happen is there’s a, a, a dramatic lack of quality in the play if you have to come in for someone, for whatever reason, whether they’re ineligible, whether they’re hurt, whatever the case may be, we wanna be able to plug and play and it doesn’t look different.
So we do have players who are predominantly on one side of the ball, but they still have [00:22:00] a position on the other side of the ball, and they practice it. You know, and they practice it with a, with an understanding and a preparation of, “My number can c- get ca- get called and I gotta be ready.” Okay. You know, but ultimately, that’s, that’s our philosophy.
We still practice both sides of the ball because we wanna make sure we, we teach what we’re trying to teach and we, we coach what we’re trying to coach, and imprint and install what we’re trying to install on those days.
Matt: Okay. Well, speaking of coaching, you kinda mentioned a little bit, but talk to me about your staff.
Who else is there helping you out, and kinda overall, what is your guys’, you know, s- style of play, coaching philosophy, et cetera?
Coach: So it’s, right now it’s me, and I have one other assistant at the moment. Last year it was four of us. Um, so I am the head coach, and I have always been a defense guy, so I usually call the defense, I usually install the defense.
Um, my assistant is, um, a great, great human being by the name of Dylan Thron, Coach Thron. Um, he is the assistant, he is the offensive [00:23:00] coordinator. Um, he also works at the university as the head of strength and conditioning for the entire university for all 17, um, collegiate programs that we have. So, uh, he’s a very busy man.
He wears a lot of hats, um, but he’s a football guy at heart. He played, he coached football for years and, you know, he got his degree in exercise science and things like that. So he and I kind of are the only two that are still here. The other two volunteers that we had were just, um, one of them was a close mentor of mine, just had to move on.
He’s, he’s helping out in the youth sector now, doing some, some, some coaching with the travel team. And the other one was a, an assistant who I gave the opportunity to, to see the game at the college level because he’s preparing to take on a, hopefully a pro- prospective, um, head coaching role at another university, and he’s a friend of mine.
So I said, “Come, come hang out with us. Come see what the game is like at this level. Come help.” And so, um, but normally what we do is, um, just to speak to what we did last year, is we had, you know, one [00:24:00] coach who focused with the quarterbacks, another coach who worked with the receivers and the corners, another coach who worked with the linebackers and running backs, and then myself, I worked with our rushers and our centers.
So, ’cause that was like really my, my, my, my, to me the most crucial part of the game is gotta be able to snap the ball, gotta be able to disrupt. So I worked with the centers and the, and the, and the rushers. And we would, you know, separate into groups, and kind of our philosophy was making sure that we all s- had one voice, right?
You never wanna be coaches and he’s saying one thing, and he’s saying one thing, and he’s saying one thing, and he’s saying one thing, and it gets mixed up. So we made sure that we spoke, we made sure that we stayed together in, in, in lockstep and in unity of what we were trying to do, so when one coach spoke, it didn’t sound different than another coach.
It’s everything we’ve all been saying, we’re all getting it from the same person, so.
Matt: Okay, awesome. Well, Coach, really appreciate the time a- and everything you’ve told us, but I’m gonna leave you with one last question, and that is if you had one piece of advice for, [00:25:00] you know, any girl going through this, this college recruiting process right now for flag, what would that be?
Coach: Um, let flag football be the cherry on top. So when I say that, what I mean is a lot of young women, and a lot of them, it’s, it’s a lot of excitement right now around flag football. And, you know, especially with young ladies, especially with young women, because for, uh, for the longest time, you know, historically in America, football has been inaccessible to them because of, you know, just helmet and pads.
And now that we have flag football and it is as popular as it is, and it is, it’s, it’s growing like wildfire all across the country- A lot of them are looking, some, so we have a lot of young women who are looking at this as their only ticket to college, you know, kinda similar to, you know, some of our young men.
And I will always stress, like when you’re in this process and you’re looking at a school, don’t just look at a [00:26:00] school because their flag football program’s great. Look at the school and see, like what does the campus feel like? What does the student body feel like? What majors do they have? Is it, what do I wanna study?
Is this a school that I feel like when I leave here, I wanna come back and, and pour into and contribute to? You want the school to be the draw. You don’t want the flag football to be the draw. You want the school to be like, “This is where I need to be. I love this place. I love this environment. They have the major that I’ve been looking for.
You know, the, the, the, the people here are great. You know, they got great food. I love the colors.” Like, whatever, and you let all of the things be the cake, and then it’s like, “I love all of these things, and then on top of that, the flag football program is popping and I can come and play.” Like, then let that be the cherry on top, and let that be the deciding factor, and make sure that if, if the flag football was away, you’d still wanna go to that school.
Like, you’d be really, really itching to get to that school. [00:27:00] That’s what you want, and that’s what I would suggest to any and all, like young ladies who are, who are, you know, looking forward to this, and looking, and are in this recruiting process. Like, really, really dig in and research the schools, and make sure that this is something that you would want and this is the place you’d wanna be outside of flag, because then the flag will just make it 10 times more better.
Like, it’ll just, it’ll, it’ll make it so much more worth it.
Matt: Absolutely. Well, Coach, really appreciate it. Wish you the best of luck this spring, and, uh, it, it, hopefully you’ll bring back, uh, home that inaugural CACC banner for you.
Coach: Oh, yeah. I think that’s ours. I think that… I don’t mean to be cocky, but that’s ours.
Matt: All right. All right. I love it. All right. Take care, Coach.
Coach: Yes, sir.