Chad Miller has been tabbed to lead Gilmer High’s flag football team.
Miller is an Ellijay native and 1994 GHS alum. He spent nine of the previous 15 years teaching and coaching in Gilmer. When the Lady Cats take the field for their inaugural season in October, it will be his second gig as a high school head coach.
“I feel really honored to be looked at and to have the opportunity to create a brand-new sport and program from the ground up,” Miller said. “It gives me a lot of room to build a new sport, which is probably the fastest and most popular that’s growing right now. I predict within the next two years, pretty much every school will have flag football.”
Miller, 49, has coached an array of sports over the years. Ahead of his time in Gilmer, he was the swimming head coach at Chapel Hill High School and a soccer assistant. Since returning home, he has spent time as a GHS track, football and swim assistant, as well as boys basketball head coach at Clear Creek Middle School.
“After coaching football for the past seven years and playing all through high school, I’ve always loved the sport and coaching,” Miller said when asked why he was interested in this opportunity.
“While I was at West Georgia as an undergrad, graduate and later as an employee, I was still able to play intramural sports. So I played flag football and coached for 10 years. It’s seven-on-seven and exactly what the girls will be playing now. I love the sport and it’s just so much fun.”
Aside from pulling flags to make tackles and the absence of shoulder pads and helmets, flag football also uses different field dimensions. The end zones are still 10-yards deep, but the field is 80 yards in length rather than 100. Additionally, fields are 40 yards wide but can be as narrow as 30 if space is limited. Games consist of two 20-minute halves.
“We’ll throw the ball 90 percent of the time,” Miller said. “It’s for anyone who likes quick tempo and passing. It’s basically a quarterback, receiver and defensive backs’ dream. Everyone is an eligible receiver, even the center.”
Over 40 players showed up for Miller’s four-day tryout and the roster was trimmed to 30 by May 20. Catching and finding quarterbacks were key components of the roster’s formation.
“We were seeing who could catch and looking at their speed, agility and how they can move. There are a couple girls who are super athletes and some that have some speed. I was very impressed with their abilities,” Miller said.
“We worked on defense a little bit to see who could cover a pass and pull flags. It was a chance for me to kind of get to know the girls as well.”
There will be some players on this year’s roster with experience. Over the past two seasons, a 14-under team played through the park and rec department. Gilmer won the league title last year before falling in the state championship game.
“Except the upcoming ninth-grade girls, it’s all completely brand new,” Miller said. “They have no background knowledge for the most part. It’s a clean slate. They seem very excited and eager to learn. I think it’s awesome to be able to build from the ground up.”
Flag football debuted as a sanctioned Georgia High School Association sport in 2020. At the conclusion of the 2024 season, 268 of the GHSA’s 456 high schools fielded a team. That number will stand at 307 teams when the 2025 season kicks off.
Schools will be split into four divisions. GHS is in Division 2’s Area 7 along with Dalton Academy, Dawson County, Fannin County, Heritage, LaFayette, King’s Ridge, Model, Ringgold and Rome.
The Cats will hit the field in July for summer practices. GHS will attend a preseason minicamp at Heritage July 17, and official preseason practices are permitted Sept. 10.
Gilmer’s home opener will be Oct. 2 against Ringgold and Creekview.