New Coaches, New Direction: Inside KWU Women’s Flag Football

What Does New Leadership Mean for the Program? 

A new coaching staff gives the KWU women’s flag football program an opportunity to create a new identity and direction. While the team already has a foundation, new coaches can bring different experiences, coaching styles, expectations, and goals to the program. 

This season marks a new chapter for KWU women’s flag football as Landin Sledge takes over as the new head coach, and Shayna as the assistant. 

A New Perspective 

Sledge joins the program as the head coach. Before coming to KWU he is coming from UNC Charlotte where he coached the Women’s Flag Football Club there and over the past 4 years he amassed a 30-10 record with wins over other Division 1 and Division 2 club teams. 

When asked what drew them to KWU women’s flag football, Sledge said, “I saw it as a step up from my past coaching experience at UNC Charlotte and when I looked into the school and the program what Melinda Nguyen has built here over the past 4 years of her tenure was nothing but success and I wanted to continue to build off of her success on the field but off the field rebrand what KWU Flag stands for not just on campus but into the community as well.” 

Learning the Team 

Taking over a team is never just about learning plays and creating practice plans. For the new coaching staff, the first step was hoping to bring to the program a different mindset of WE/ME where we are a team in every aspect of the game and not a bunch of individuals.  

” We are going to be more out in the community and be known throughout the town better than in the past.” Sledge said. 

His first impression of the team was that we had very little college flag experience and that we needed to get more women apart of the team.  

Working With a Small Roster 

The new coaching staff isn’t just taking over a team with a new system. They are also working with a roster of just 10 players. 

Having a smaller roster has its pros and cons. 

“Having only 10 players to me isn’t really an advantage on the field during games but in practice it has it advantages because I can be more individualized with their development” Sledge said. 

The smaller team of 10 players allows the coaches to give each athlete more individual attention and focus on their development. While having fewer players can be a challenge during games, it makes practices more organized and manageable. The coaches are also taking on more responsibility so the players can focus on communication and playing. 

Coaches Vision 

With a new season coming up and very few players the coaches are going to have to approach things different.

Sledges philosphy going into this year is to be 1% better everyday in any aspect. 

“My coaching philosophy is we want to get 1% better everyday and I am applying that in the weightroom we want to increase the amount of weight everyday, in conditioning we want to get faster everyday, I want them to learn something new about the game everyday they come out to anything flag football related.” Sledge said. 

Growing the Program 

With a roster of 10 this season, growing the program could be an important part of the coaching staff’s future plans. 

The coaches hope to get more people to come out for flag. They are holding walk-on tryouts coming up for anyone who thinks they got what it takes. 

The season may be a new beginning for KWU women’s flag football, but for its new coaching staff, it’s an opportunity to build something new.