Building a new team from the ground up is a task that is easier said than done. Adding in an entirely new sport presents even more of a challenge.

Those were the circumstances the Coffee County flag football team found itself in just a few months ago, as the new Lady Raider squad worked to get itself off the ground.

With Coffee County’s first flag football season officially in the books, it’s hard to say the program’s first year was anything other than a success. Despite the limitations of being a new program and starting as a club team, the Lady Raiders finished the season with an 8-2 overall record, wrapping up the year with a 36-0 shutout victory over Howard in Chattanooga on April 29.

“I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on it and I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish,” Coffee County flag football coach Bobby Butler said. “There was a lot of hurdles this year, but they did a very good job adjusting and so did my coaching staff.”

Prior to his time at Coffee County, Butler had previously coached flag football at La Vergne the year before. While he initially came to Coffee County to be an offensive line coach for the Red Raiders, getting flag football started was also a high priority.

While there was some initial uncertainty about whether or not the program could be up and running by the 2026 spring season, it became clear that there was strong interest among the Coffee County Central High School student body.

“Over 200 girls, when they were asked about it on a form sent out by the athletic director, said they want to play flag football,” Butler said. “I think when the numbers got put in front of administration, they couldn’t say no, so they moved forward and I knew right from the start that it was gonna be a special squad.”

That initial excitement translated into a large turnout on the first day of practice, with Butler estimating somewhere between 50 and 60 girls coming out. Among this group, several had played tackle football when they were younger.

In Butler’s estimation, it was not just the community’s love of high school football that brought out such strong enthusiasm for the new team. It was also this region’s long, storied history of girls’ sports success.

“When you look at the schools in our area, even if you just look on 55 and 41, you’ve got Warren County, Coffee County, Tullahoma and Shelbyville. It would take multiple hands to count the number of women’s sports championships,” Butler said. “That is a powerhouse of women’s sports. I don’t know if it’s something in the water in this area, but these are some of the best women’s athletes I’ve ever seen, so I think they flocked to it.”

Even though some of the girls had some competitive football experience, there was still a learning curve early on. Various aspects of the game, including some of the rules and different terminologies, had to be taught to the less-experienced players.

As time went on, the girls perfected their technique at practice and gained more experience during games.

“They not only have better skill and technique, but they just have more confidence. You could see that confidence grow, especially in the young girls,” Butler said. “It’s a completely different team. Every week and day we got better.”

Even early in the season, the team saw that this growth and development was coming.

After opening the season with a 12-0 loss to defending state champion Ravenwood on March 19, the Lady Raiders turned right back around the next day with a pair of shutout wins over Columbia Central and Shelbyville.

Coffee County’s only other loss all season was at home against No. 3-ranked Warren County on April 2.

Over the course of their season, several of the Lady Raiders’ wins, including both of their games against Brentwood and Franklin on April 9, saw them come from behind to finish on top.

Of particular note was Coffee County’s April 14 road victory over White County. Trailing 19-0 at halftime, the Lady Raiders turned it around in the second half before winning 33-32 on a last-second touchdown to complete the comeback.

“I told the girls this, that first half was the worst half of football I’ve ever seen and it was the only time all season I think I got on to them the way I do the boys, because we weren’t doing anything right. I told them I’m not calling the right plays, defense is not doing it right, from top to bottom, it was bad and I gave them a challenge,” Butler said of the Warren County game. “We crawl out of that and we win 3332, throwing a last-second touchdown. That was one of the only times that I was really brought to tears simply because of how proud I was of them doing that. That is a lot to ask a group of girls that is mainly made up of sophomores and freshmen. I think that most teams, even boys, they would just think this game’s done, let’s get on to the next one. That was a program-defining win.”

Like every team, with the offseason comes changes. Seniors who got to be a part of Coffee County athletics history as members of the school’s first flag football team will be graduating after leaving their mark.

Also departing from the team after its inaugural season is Butler, who will not be returning as a coach for either the flag football or tackle football teams next season.

While not coaching the team moving forward, Butler expects that the returning Lady Raiders will continue to lay the framework and keep growing the program for many years to come.

“I think that this is one of the most motivated teams, as far as players go, that I’ve ever seen. There are a lot of very special players on this team,” Butler said. “Jaydee (Nogodula), Andon (Selvog), Danni (Hillis), but going further than that, these current freshmen, we’ve got Lexxi Van Zandbergen, Annabelle Mullins, Jenslee Nogodula, Harper Crosslin, Abigail Harris. That group of girls will be stellar.”