USA FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES COACHES FOR 2022 U.S. BOYS' 15U & 17U FLAG NATIONAL TEAMS
INDIANAPOLIS – USA Football, the sport’s national governing body and a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, has selected the 2022 U.S. 15U and 17U Boys’ Flag National Team head coaches and their assistants. Leading the 15U team is head coach SCOTT KALLIVOKAS of Purcellville, Va., and assistant coach LUIS RODRIGUEZ of Miami. The 17U head coach is JOHAN BETANCOURT and assistant coach RUDY FERNANDEZ, both of Miami.
The head coaches and their two assistants possess more than 60 years of combined coaching experience in flag and tackle football spanning high school, organized flag leagues, and independent flag teams.
“We’re excited to welcome our coaches for the 2022 U.S. Boys’ 15U and 17U Flag National Teams,” said USA Football Managing Director of High Performance and National Teams Eric Mayes. “We’ve partnered with some of the nation’s most experienced and successful flag football coaches to elevate our sport and provide exceptional competitive opportunities for our young athletes.”
U.S. Girls’ and Boys’ 15U and 17U Flag National Teams will compete against global competition this summer at the inaugural Junior Flag International Cup, hosted by USA Football. The U.S.-based event will convene top flag national teams from several countries. More details of this international youth flag competition will be announced later this spring.
Kallivokas is the former varsity quarterbacks and wide receivers coach for Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Va. In 2012, he founded Virginia Xtreme Sports (VXS), a non-profit, volunteer-driven youth sports organization that offers opportunities to participate in competitive flag football. VXS flag teams have won three NFL FLAG National Championships, two AAU National Flag Championships, and 17 NFL FLAG Regional Championships.
During his 25 years of coaching experience across flag and tackle football and AAU basketball, Kallivokas has coached and mentored more than 100 athletes who participated in college athletics.
Rodriguez won a conference championship while previously serving as the varsity football head coach at St. Brendan High School in Miami, Fla. He is currently the varsity wide receivers coach for True North Classical Academy (Miami, Fla.) and the offensive coordinator for the 10U Suniland Sundevils youth tackle team.
Rodriguez competed as a player in the Top Gun Division in 4v4 and 5v5 flag football competitions for 13 years. He is the founder of Red Zone Sports, an elite flag football program that has won seven NFL FLAG National Championships. Additionally, during his 12 years as a coach, he’s coached or mentored more than 25 athletes who have advanced to compete in college athletics.
Betancourt has more than 10 years of experience coaching flag football, including with Rudy Youth Athletic Network (RYAN) Football and the Miami Immortals. His flag teams are some of the sport’s most accomplished. They’ve won nine United States Flag and Touch Football League (USFTL) National Championships, five NFL FLAG National Championships, and 21 NFL FLAG Regional Championships.
Betancourt currently coaches tackle football at Gulliver Prep in Miami, Fla.
Fernandez is a Miami (Fla.) native who played flag football for 15 years. He has nearly two decades of coaching experience, dating back to when he began coaching flag in 2003. Fernandez also won a conference championship during his three years coaching Palmer Trinity School’s tackle football team.
Fernandez started RYAN Football in 2005 in honor of his late brother, Ryan, who was "a team-oriented, cheerful and giving spirit." Coach Fernandez’s RYAN Football flag teams have won six Beast of the East tournaments, three Let it Fly National Championships, nine USFTL National Championships, and seven NFL FLAG National Championships.
USA Football will announce rosters for the 2022 U.S. Boys’ 15U and 17U Flag National Teams in the weeks ahead.