The Commanders' Week 8 Flag Coach of the Week is Kipp DC's Tierra Reeves. Coach Reeves has been instrumental in bringing girls flag football to life at KIPP DC, inspiring a new generation of athletes to enthusiastically embrace the game. She's led her team to an outstanding 14-2 record, a testament the culture she's built in just two seasons. She also launched a traveling flag football program, expanding opportunities for girls to strengthen their skills and passion for the sport. Through her dedication and vision, Coach Reeves continues to elevate girls flag football and empower student-athletes across the D.C. community.
Commanders.com sat down for an exclusive with Coach Reeves following her Coach of the Week win.
Congratulations on being named Week 8 Flag Coach of the Week. How does it feel?
"I was actually shocked. It's definitely rewarding knowing that the work that I'm doing on and off the field is being recognized. We're headed in the right direction for this sport. As someone who has been in the sport for 15 years, just seeing the trajectory, seeing where girls flag football is headed – it being offered into the Olympics— is a pivotal point. Women's flag football used to be shunned upon. When you'd say football, all you think of is men in pads. It used to be when you'd go to high school, all you'd have was basketball, the traditional football, your soccer, your tracks, and now that we can offer flag football to these young women and have an extra sport at these schools that they can excel at and now actually get scholarships for, it means a lot because that means we're heading in the right direction."
What made you want to be involved in girls flag?
"My AD, Kendra Williams, she came to me and was like, 'We're starting to play football,' and I was like, 'OK, whatever.' She was like, 'And you're the coach!' I was like, 'No, I'm not.' I was like, 'OK. I don't want to do this. I cannot do this.' I personally started playing flag football 15 years ago when I needed an outlet after my mom died, and it changed my life. It gave me a space where I could be genuinely me. I was surrounded by women that looked like me, women that had the same mindset as me. It was a space for us, and that is what I wanted to do when I accepted the job as the head coach. I didn't want anything else out of this program, but to create what I had. I know what it did for me, and that was what my team lives by is, 'This is a sisterhood.'"
What advice would you give to a student-athlete who is maybe considering playing girls' flag?
"When I got involved, I wanted something bigger out of the game. Growing up, opportunities like this didn't exist for us. So as a coach, I'm a mentor as well, and I want them to understand that it's not always about winning. It's the little things, 'Oh, we scored this time,' or 'I got a great flag pull.' I'm always, always praising them. In the first year that we actually started flag football, I had cheerleaders. My quarterback was a softball pitcher. These girls knew nothing about flag football and working at Kipp DC, we are probably in majority of the most troublesome wards. So these kids are coming from either poverty, they're coming from places where they're in one bedroom apartments, and it's a family of six of them in there. The only meal that they may get is when they come to school. What I try to create is a sisterhood, a family. These kids, even during offseason, these kids are always around me. I'm a mom-coach. I'll get them cleats, hygiene things, whatever they may need. These are my girls."
What would you tell a student-athlete who is maybe thinking about trying out girls flag?
"Believe in yourself. Don't doubt yourself and always work on your craft."
