When Charlie Holloway started coaching more than 20 years ago, his goal was to spend more time with his son and to share the game he loved. Over time, that passion evolved into a bigger mission for Charlie: to make football a game for everyone. Today, as the head women’s flag football coach at William Woods University in Missouri, Holloway is helping lead the rise of girls’ flag football.  

Holloway sees football as being about more than wins and losses. It’s an opportunity to teach lessons that last well beyond the field, and his 20-year long coaching journey reflects that belief.  

“Seeing kids fall in love with this game is what’s most rewarding,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s tackle or flag. It teaches the same life lessons.”  

When Holloway took over the William Woods program this past spring, it was midway through the team’s inaugural season. He turned a difficult situation into an opportunity. 

“My number one goal was to put my arm around those girls and say, ‘I’ve got your back,’ he said. “They didn’t know what was going to happen next, so it was just making sure they knew they had somebody.”  

Under his leadership, the Owls finished 15-8 overall and advanced to the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) semifinals, earning six All-Conference selections along the way.  

The support Holloway provides extends far beyond practice and games. As a longtime teacher, he still approaches coaching like a classroom, teaching the values of consistency, accountability and care.  

Holloway’s athletes complete weekly grade checks and attend mandatory study halls, a routine that reflects his belief that success in sports should also reinforce success in school and in life. He wants to teach the women he coaches to compete in everything they do, even teaching them to be competitive in the classroom. He describes himself as a role model before a coach, committed to developing young men and women for every challenge ahead. 

Holloway attributes part of that mindset to his time volunteering with USA Football on the League Leader Advisory Council. He’s also certified to coach both tackle and flag. Holloway credits USA Football with helping him evolve into a “transformational” coach, someone who prioritizes connection with his athletes just as much as competition.  

“When I first started coaching, I was like my old high school coaches, yelling and screaming,” Holloway said. During USA Football’s coach education training, he began to shift his approach. “It made me more understanding, more of a role model than just a coach. I want every kid I coach to be successful in life, whether that’s going on to play college football or going on to a trade school.” 

This coaching shift allowed Holloway to grow the flag football community in Missouri. Before joining William Woods, he helped expand the Junior GAC Youth Football League, where he served as Vice President. The league’s spring flag football program served nearly 2,000 athletes this past year. They started a girls’ division in the GAC with just four all-girls teams, but that has now grown so large that the league has to turn teams away due to the lack of field space. “It’s just exploded,” Holloway said.  

The same energy has spread throughout the state. In 2026, 43 high schools across Missouri will have girls’ flag football programs, a milestone Holloway believes is just the beginning. This growth will only accelerate as more schools, parents and organizations recognize the value of flag football and the opportunities it creates.  

“I think people need to take it more seriously as a real sport”, Holloway said. Flag football is fast-paced, creative, and gives girls a platform to compete and lead. Holloway envisions William Woods becoming a hub for the sport, hosting state tournaments, youth clinics and showcase camps for girls. 

Holloway’s enthusiasm for the sports growth extends beyond Missouri. Earlier this month, he coached at the USA Football Talent ID Camp held in collaboration with the Kansas City Chiefs. Top athletes from across the region competed for a chance to earn invitations to USA Football’s Select Bowl and even U.S. National Team Trials.  

“That’s a dream come true,” Holloway said. “I applied to be a USA Football coach in the first year of me coaching, so it’s just a dream.”  

Holloway is looking forward to seeing the talent at the camp and bringing positivity all day long.  

For Holloway, USA Football represents more than a coaching network. It’s a community of people working toward the same goal of building a better, safer and more inclusive game.  

“I eat, breathe and sleep USA Football. I promoted it. I think it's the best thing that has ever happened to this sport,” Holloway said. He appreciates USA Football’s commitment to continuous improvement in the sport and the opportunities it provides.  

Progress never stops for Holloway. He approaches every practice, every conversation and every challenge as a chance to learn something new. His players feel that commitment every day in the expectations he sets and the belief he has in their potential.  

“It’s not about the wins and losses in a sport,” Holloway said. “It’s about the lessons you learn from playing this great sport that teach you how to be successful and happy in life.” That forward-looking mindset has made Holloway more than a coach. It has made him a leader who is helping to redefine what flag football can be in Missouri and nationwide. 

Photo via William Woods University Athletics