TAMPA, Fla. — When you’re the head coach of a flag football team that’s won nine state championships — more titles than any other high school in Florida — chances are people are going to pick your brain.

What You Need To Know

  • The Robinson High flag football program has produced nine overall state titles, eight in a row

  • The Knights will be competing for their 10th title this weekend at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility

  • Head coach Joshua Saunders leads the players on the field and the students in the classroom

Robinson High head coach Joshua Saunders didn’t create the sport of flag football, but he’s nearly perfected it. His Knights teams have won nine overall championships, including eight in a row.

They’ll be going for number 10 this weekend. And he’s been so successful at the high school level, USA Football has tapped him to coach their 17 and under national team.

“It’s so much fun and they have such a good time,” Saunders said. “But they are working really hard to try to be great.”

That’s what great coaches do. They bring out the best in their players. Saunders approach extends to the classroom, where he teaches calculus.

He’s been teaching for 29 years and coaching for 28. And his two professions mirror each other at times. His graphs sometimes look like plays, and the way he talks to his students is eerily similar to how he talks to his players.

“I started treating my class more like a coach,” he said. “Which honestly, that’s not the style for everybody. It’s probably a little more aggressive, a little more demanding.”

His championship trophies line the shelves in his classroom. The titles have been nice, but Saunders is most proud of how many of his former players have joined the coaching ranks.

Delia Autry, one of the best players to come out of the Robinson program, is a member of the U.S. National Team, who helps coach the younger generation.

“Any time that you’re running a program and your kids that you coached wanna coach, and want to give back and want to help, that just means that you’re probably doing something right,” Saunders said.

Definitely doing something right when you consider how he’s served as a trailblazer for this growing sport.

“It is way past anything I could have ever imagined,” he said. “When we first started, we were like, 'Yeah we want to be competitive, maybe one day we’ll win a state title.' And as it’s grown and I’ve had some opportunities to do some things, it’s way past anything I’d ever thought of.”