Hawks Add Women's Flag Football for Spring 2026, Sherman at the Helm
For clear-cut proof that Santiago Canyon College is committed to bolstering its athletic department while empowering its student-athletes and increasing community engagement, look no further than its new flag football team, kicking off its inaugural season this spring. SCC has hired Kristen Sherman, a nationally recognized coach who's already established a winning flag football team from the ground up.
Orange Lutheran High School's flag football coach since the program began in the fall of 2023, Sherman headed a squad that last year won the CIF Southern Section's Division I championship, with a record of 23-2. At one point, the squad was honored as the top team in the country by high school sports-information source MaxPreps. For her success, Sherman was named CIF Southern Section Division I's Coach of the Year and the OC Register's All-County Coach of the Year.
Boasting some 7.8 million participants in 2024, according to global data platform Statista, flag football has undergone a surge in popularity since the early 2000s. The sport will make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, and it has been featured in the NFL's annual Pro Bowl.
Here's what bodes well for SCC's future squad: The team representing the AFC in the inaugural NFL Flag High School Girls Showcase during the 2025 Pro Bowl was coached by none other than Sherman. This speaks volumes about her wide-ranging reputation as a proven winner and leader of student-athletes.
"The great thing about flag football is that it's so accessible, especially at the lower levels," Sherman said. "You don't need a background in the sport to start, and it doesn't require a lot of gear: just a mouthguard and cleats. … For so many girls and women, football has been something that they've watched men do for so long, and they've frankly been denied opportunities to do it themselves. It's been great to watch girls learn the game. Seeing their confidence grow as they figure it out is pretty cool."
SCC's squad will compete in the Orange Empire Conference. OEC schools that are either competing in, or are interested in supporting flag football include, among others, Irvine Valley, Saddleback, Cypress, Golden West, Orange Coast and Santa Ana colleges, said Nicho DellaValle, SCC assistant director of Athletics and Sports Information. "We found that flag football is a great opportunity to increase female-athlete engagement, while increasing community involvement," he said. "It's a growing sport, and we want to be on the forefront of this growth."
Top leaders at SCC are excited about Sherman heading the new squad. "For lack of a better term, Kristen Sherman is a stud," DellaValle said. "She really understands what it takes to lead a very competitive and successful program. Her knowledge of flag football is impressive, and she really gets the best out of every student she works with."
However, every first-year endeavor can have its challenges, DellaValle admits. "Starting a program from the ground up involves learning about the flag football environment and fine-tuning our recruiting tactics and the way we support the team," he said. "Every sport has certain needs, so we need to identify those and figure out ways to support that unique cohort of student-athletes."
Starting out, Sherman expects her experience at SCC to be similar to her first year at the high school level. "I'm thankful that I was able to start the program at Orange Lutheran since it gave me some insight into what it's like to begin from the ground up. I'm excited for the challenge of working with older girls. Starting out at SCC will involve playing fundamentally sound football, then building on that in terms of complexity."
While a flag football team may be new to SCC, the sport has already been part of the SCC environment, thanks to the Vince Ferragamo Flag Football League, a coed youth organization starting its second season this fall. Headed by former NFL quarterback Ferragamo, the league is run by retired NFL players in conjunction with SCC's Community Education Program. Practices and games take place on SCC fields.
"Vince is on our foundation board of trustees, and this is where our flag football conversation began," DellaValle said. "His league has been a successful community engagement effort, and it's one of the reasons why we added women's flag football to our arsenal of sports."
Sherman and DellaValle agree that the success of SCC flag football extends beyond wins and losses. "It's important to create a sense of community and family, giving the girls a place to belong and making sure they're productive students at the college," Sherman said.
"Wins are great, but it's not all about that," DellaValle said. "It's about providing a great atmosphere for the student-athletes, then trying to make their experience better and better as we continue down this path."
Release by Larry Urish, OC Register