USA FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES COACHES OF 2025 15U AND 17U U.S. BOYS AND GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAMS
Coaches to lead Junior National Teams at 2025 Junior International Cup announced
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – USA Football, the sport’s governing body responsible for fielding the U.S. National Teams for international competition, including the 2028 Olympics, has announced the coaches for the 2025 15U and 17U U.S. Boys’ and Girls’ Flag Football National Teams. The eight coaches include a mix of returning veterans and faces who are new to the international scene.
The Junior National Team coaches play the pivotal role of introducing elite athletes to Olympic-style 5-on-5 flag football and helping them develop as they progress through the U.S. National Team Pathway. Top athletes may progress to the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams to represent their country in World Championships or the Olympics.
The 15U and 17U U.S. Boys’ and Girls’ National Teams will compete at USA Football’s Junior International Cup in Los Angeles this coming June. The Junior International Cup is an annual tournament that features the best 15U and 17U National Teams from around the world. In 2024, the event included teams from Canada, Japan, Mexico, Panama and the U.S.
“We’re excited to announce the coaches who will lead our 15U and 17U U.S. Boys’ and Girls’ National Teams during the fourth annual Junior International Cup,” said Eric Mayes, USA Football's Managing Director of High Performance and National Teams. “These coaches have extensive experience serving as role models and assisting young athletes with their development. We know their infectious passion for the game and leadership will prepare our Junior National Teams for the global stage.”
USA Football hosts U.S. National Team Trials in March. Eighteen athletes per division will receive invitations to attend the training camp in Minnesota. After the event, U.S. National Team coaches and staff will select the final 12-athlete rosters that will travel to USA Football’s Junior International Cup in June. The remaining athletes will serve as alternates.
U.S. National Team Trials take place in March at the United States Performance Center, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Athletes will compete in athletic testing and practice sessions throughout the multi-day event. Of the 80 boys and 80 girls, only 18 per team will advance to Training Camp before the final 12-athlete rosters are selected.
The Junior National Teams will hold its first of two training camps at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, the headquarters and training facility of the Minnesota Vikings in Eagan, Minn., in April. The Junior National Team’s second training camp will occur in May at the United States Performance Center.
U.S. Boys’ National Team Coaching Staffs
Rudy Fernandez, 17U Head Coach
Fernandez joined the U.S. National Team Program in 2023, helping to lead the U.S. Boys’ 17U National Team to a gold medal in USA Football’s Junior International Cup as an assistant coach. The Las Vegas, Nev. native became the head coach of the U.S. Boys’ 15U National Team in 2024 and guided the team to the Junior International Cup’s gold medal podium.
Fernandez played flag football for 15 years and has two decades of coaching experience, dating back to 2003. In 2005, Fernandez founded RYAN Football in memory of his late brother, Ryan, who embodied a team-oriented and giving spirit. Under Fernandez's leadership, RYAN Football has won numerous regional and national championships hosted by several different operators.
In addition to coaching flag football, Fernandez won a conference championship during a three-year stint coaching tackle football at Palmer Trinity School.
Throughout his coaching career, Fernandez has mentored more than 30 players who went on to compete in college athletics.
Todd Thomson, 17U Assistant Coach
Thomson joined the U.S. National Team program in 2024 as Fernandez’s assistant coach at the 15U boys’ level. He and Fernandez will once again be paired together after leading the U.S. Boys’ 15U National Team to a 43-20 win over Japan in the Junior International Cup’s Gold Medal Game.
Thomson earned Tom Flores High School Coach of the Week honors from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022. He is the head coach at Desert Oasis High School girls’ flag team in Las Vegas, Nev. Thomson was the Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada Coach of the Year in 2023, when Desert Oasis won the 2023 4A State Championship. He also coached the Desert Oasis boys’ soccer team to a 14-4-2 record and a 4A state semifinal appearance.
Thomson is the head coach of the powerhouse Apex Predators 14U and 17U teams at the club level and serves as the program’s vice president. Across his extensive coaching career, Thomson’s teams have won numerous regional and national tournaments.
Jonathan Nagapen, 15U Head Coach
Nagapen is entering his first year with the U.S. National Team program. He played football at various levels in high school and college, but he really got into flag football as a way to introduce his kids to the sport. It quickly grew into a much larger pursuit. Nagapen and the G-MEN All-Stars Flag Football club team have captured numerous championships, including the 2024 NFL Flag 13U National Championship.
Nagapen’s success as a coach has carried over to tackle football. He won the 2024 New York Catholic State Championship while serving as the offensive line coach for Iona Prep.
Jesse Marrow, 15U Assistant Coach
Marrow begins his first year with the U.S. National Team program after leading the 14U Boys’ Grey Team to a gold medal finish in USA Football’s 2024 Select Bowl. The team’s success resulted in its participants receiving invitations to 2025 U.S. Junior National Team Trials.
Marrow played tackle football for Enfield High School in Connecticut as a running back and cornerback. He was recruited by DIII programs but decided to attend the University of Connecticut.
Marrow also competed in basketball and track in high school. He won a state championship as a team captain and starting point guard on the hardwood and delivered the speech when his team was inducted into the Enfield Hall of Fame in 2024.
Marrow played 8-man contact flag football after graduating from high school and later began traveling to play 5-on-5. He began coaching with the Lady Supreme club team, which included star quarterback and future two-time Junior International Cup gold medalist Ava Wallace. Marrow’s teams have captured numerous tournament, regional and world championships.
U.S. Girls’ National Team Coaching Staffs
Joshua Saunders, 17U Head Coach
Saunders joined the U.S. National Team program in 2024 as assistant coach of the U.S. Girls’ 15U National Team. He is one of the most successful flag football coaches in Florida state history. According to MaxPreps, Saunders holds the national record for the most career wins by a girls’ high school flag football coach as of the end of last season. The Tampa, Fla. native’s 261-30 record, as tracked by MaxPreps, makes him one of only two coaches with more than 220 wins and one of only six with more than 160.
Saunders has coached Robinson High School’s girls’ team to eight Division 1A State Championships and received Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year honors several times.
Saunders coached Deliah Autry, the 2013 Hillsborough County Outstanding Flag Football Player of the Year, while she was a student-athlete at Robinson High School. Autry has made the U.S. Women’s Flag National Team four times, winning a gold medal at the 2021 IFAF World Championship in Jerusalem, Israel, silver at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Ala. and gold at the 2023 IFAF Americas Championships in Charlotte, N.C. and 2024 IFAF World Championship in Lahti, Finland.
Nadia Bibbs, 17U Assistant Coach
Bibbs is a first-year coach in the U.S. National Team program. Her athletic career began as an Adidas All-American high school basketball star. She played college basketball at Boston University for one year and at Northwestern University as a three-year starter. Bibbs gained international experience during more than half a decade spent with Mexico’s National Team and transitioned to flag football when her days on the court ended.
Bibbs played some tackle football in her childhood, which made the move to flag football natural. She earned roster spots on the U.S. Women’s National Team twice, winning a gold medal in the 2021 IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Jerusalem, Israel and a silver medal in the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Ala.
Bibbs served as an athlete representative to the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team selection committee in 2024 and elevated USA Football’s National Team Development Program as a Select Bowl coach in the 20U Women’s division.
Jake Jimenez, 15U Head Coach
Jimenez enters his first year with the U.S. National Team program after contributing to the 14U Girls’ Grey Team winning a silver medal at the 2024 Select Bowl. He is the head coach of the girls’ flag football team at Redondo Union High School in California.
Jimenez helped start Redondo Union’s flag program with support from the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams before girls’ flag became an official sanctioned varsity sport. He led his team to victory at the Super Bowl Experience in 2020 and claimed the League of Champions title. Jimenez and Redondo Union won the Bay League Title in 2023, the first year flag football was recognized as a varsity sport in the state.
Jimenez played baseball in high school and college. He was a scholar athlete who received All Bay League nominations.
Melinda Nguyen, 15U Assistant Coach
Nguyen is entering her first year with the U.S. National Team program, but she’s far from new to the competitive flag football landscape. Nguyen is the women’s flag football head coach at Kansas Wesleyan University in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and she led the 14U Girls’ Blue Team at the 2024 Select Bowl.
Nguyen took the reins at Kansas Wesleyan in 2023, leading the Coyotes to a 15-6 record. The program produced 13 All-KCAC players, including 2024 U.S. Women’s National Team alternate Brianna Hernandez-Silva.
Nguyen led Kansas Wesleyan to a 19-4 finish in 2024 and a second straight appearance in the KCAC Championship Game. She was selected as the KCAC Coach of the Year, and her players took home 14 All-KCAC selections and KCAC Offensive Player of the Year and KCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Nguyen ran cross country and track in high school before competing in club and NIRSA flag football at the University of Maryland. She captured multiple championships in 9-on-9 and 8-on-8 game types during her time at Maryland. After college, she worked as a performance trainer for X-Factor Athletics and served as offensive coordinator for Team America in the Women’s Flag Football Network.
About USA Football: USA Football is the governing body of American Football in the United States. As a Recognized Sports Organization of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the sole U.S. member of the International Federation of American Football, USA Football selects, trains and leads the U.S. National Teams in tackle and flag football disciplines, while delivering world-class football development resources, sport standards and competitive opportunities to empower athletes at every level. USA Football is committed to ensuring every athlete has access to develop and compete in the game through safer, inclusive and innovative pathways.