Question 1

What ages does FlagPlay serve?

Accepted Answer

Girls in grades 7–12. The platform is designed end-to-end for middle- and high-school athletes on the road to a college roster spot — no rec leagues, no adult tiers, no recruiting noise from outside the pipeline. (FlagPlay-hosted combines open to grades 5–12.)

Question 2

How is FlagPlay different from Hudl?

Accepted Answer

FlagPlay is a recruiting database built specifically for girls' flag football, not a team film-management system. During launch, athletes can create profiles, publish film, see verified-coach profile views, and use the recruiting tools at no charge. Coaches get the full verified recruiting workflow at no charge during launch too. Flag football is an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women, debuts at LA28, and had 24 states with officially sanctioned girls' varsity play in the latest documented snapshot.

Question 3

How does FlagPlay connect to the Olympic / national-team pipeline?

Accepted Answer

Flag football debuts at LA28 as a 5-on-5 game with 6 men's and 6 women's teams of 10 players each. USA Football is the U.S. national federation. FlagPlay does not select national-team athletes; it keeps recruiting profiles, verified combine stats, and published film together so qualified evaluators can review a consistent record. See the Resources page for source links.

Question 4

Can HS / college flag athletes earn NIL?

Accepted Answer

College, NAIA, and NJCAA athletes follow the NIL rules that apply to their association and school. High-school NIL rules vary by state. FlagPlay does not broker NIL deals; athletes and families should check the current state-association rulebook and the school compliance office before signing anything.

Question 5

What is free on FlagPlay?

Accepted Answer

During launch, FlagPlay gives athletes the full profile and recruiting experience at no charge: athlete profiles, photos and videos, public share links, verified-stat badges, profile-view details, follows, and coach contact approved by the parent or athlete account on file. The athlete profile and share link stay free permanently. NextPlay is a separate highlight-editing product with its own plans.

Question 6

Can I see exactly which coaches viewed my profile?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every verified college coach who opens your profile shows up on your dashboard with their name, school, school logo, and a timestamp. The "Who viewed you" widget is on /dashboard and is free for every athlete. Hudl paywalls this and only shows aggregate counts; we believe the athlete deserves to know who is paying attention. You also get a push notification the first time each day a new coach lands on your profile (toggle in /dashboard/notifications).

Question 7

How do I make my profile visible to college coaches?

Accepted Answer

Open your profile editor (Dashboard → Profile) and turn on "Public recruiting profile." Add a position, grad year, and at least one highlight reel — complete profiles surface far higher in coach search than sparse ones.

Question 8

Do reels show view + like counts like TikTok or Instagram?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every public reel shows a view count and like count right next to the duration. Views are real play-events (not page loads) deduped to one per viewer per day; anonymous viewers count too. Signed-in viewers can like; anonymous viewers see a "Sign in to like" prompt. This is the social proof Hudl never built — coaches see at a glance which reels are getting eyeballs.

Question 9

Can I follow other athletes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Athlete follows are available at no charge during launch. Follow athletes and jump straight to their latest profile, film and offers. The follow graph is private; there is no public follower wall.

Question 10

What is the trending feed on the dashboard?

Accepted Answer

A view-velocity feed, updated each time you load your dashboard: athletes whose profile-view count over the last 7 days exceeded their count over the prior 7, ranked by absolute view delta. It surfaces who is climbing the recruiting boards in girls' flag football right now, across the whole platform — useful for athletes to benchmark and for coaches to discover hot prospects early.

Question 11

How do combine results get verified?

Accepted Answer

Results captured on VALD timing/force hardware at a FlagPlay combine are auto-verified and carry a Platinum badge; results staff-confirmed after the fact carry the provenance tier that matches how they were confirmed. You can also add self-reported results yourself — those show as unverified until a staff member or a verified combine confirms them.

Question 12

What is NextPlay and what does it cost?

Accepted Answer

NextPlay is a separate AI highlight editor sold and billed by NextPlay. Link it to FlagPlay and published reels post to the athlete's FlagPlay profile automatically. Current NextPlay plans: Athlete: $14.99/mo · $99/yr · $40.99 for 3 months; Family: $24.99/mo · $179/yr · $67.99 for 3 months; Team: $149/mo · $402.99 for 3 months; Team Pro: $249/mo · $672.99 for 3 months. Check NextPlay's pricing page for the latest terms.

Question 13

How do I sign in to NextPlay — is it a separate account?

Accepted Answer

From FlagPlay, choose "Open NextPlay" and confirm the secure account link. The handoff opens NextPlay without asking you to create another FlagPlay password. NextPlay remains a separate product with its own account terms and plans.

Question 14

Which NextPlay plan supports my athletes?

Accepted Answer

NextPlay sells plans for different workflows: Athlete — One athlete building recruiting and social highlights. Family — Multiple athletes and one shared family workflow. Team — A team producing highlights across its roster. Team Pro — High-volume team production and advanced workflows. Athlete counts, roster limits, and billing are controlled by the NextPlay plan you choose, not by FlagPlay.

Question 15

Where do reels I make in NextPlay show up?

Accepted Answer

Open NextPlay from FlagPlay, confirm the account link, and publish a reel in NextPlay. Linked reels post back to the matching athlete's FlagPlay profile automatically, where they carry a NextPlay badge. No download and re-upload is required.

Question 16

Why is FlagPlay free?

Accepted Answer

Girls' flag football is building its recruiting pipeline right now. FlagPlay is making the full athlete and coach toolkits free during launch so more athletes can be found and more verified coaches can recruit from one trusted database. That is our investment in the community. We do not sell parent contact information or charge per introduction.

Question 17

How much does FlagPlay cost for college coaches?

Accepted Answer

FlagPlay is free for college coaches during launch. School-email verification unlocks full profiles and film. Directory and staff verification unlocks recruiting outreach: you can message an athlete once the parent or athlete account on file approves you. Saved searches, the recruiting board, anti-bias mode, comparisons, analytics, exports, and up to five verified coach seats per program are included during launch.

Question 18

How do I verify my coaching account?

Accepted Answer

Sign up at /signup/coach with your school email. Confirming that address unlocks full athlete profiles and film. We then check your name against the program's athletics staff directory; that additional verification unlocks recruiting messages. Programs without a matching school domain or directory entry route to manual review before messaging is enabled.

Question 19

My program is D-II / D-III / NAIA / NJCAA — is the account really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Coach access is free during launch at every division. A verified school email unlocks full profiles and film; directory and staff verification unlocks messaging. Programs without a matching school email can use the manual verification path. There are no per-athlete unlock fees.

Question 20

How does anti-bias coach mode work?

Accepted Answer

Flip the toggle in your directory view. Athlete name and school are server-side redacted (not a CSS hack) until you commit a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or film-request rating. Once you commit, identity unlocks for that athlete and the rating is logged for audit — so first-impression bias can't steer recruiting before the numbers do.

Question 21

How does contact with athletes under 18 work?

Accepted Answer

Every coach is verified before they get database access, and no coach can message an athlete until that coach is approved by the parent or athlete account on file — each coach is approved individually, with explicit consent. Identity verified, school verified, a gate in front of every conversation — and the athlete or parent can revoke any coach's DM access in one click and the account on file can restore it later. FlagPlay keeps a record of every consent.

Question 22

Can coaches export search results or save filters?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every search can be saved (a weekly digest emails you new athletes that match) and both your search results and Kanban recruiting board export to CSV. The export never includes athlete contact info; outreach stays in-platform behind the family's approval gate.

Question 23

My program isn't in the database — what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Use the coach support form (or email vonzelle@vzttechconsulting.com) with your school name and division. We add programs within one business day of the request, then your .edu domain can match against it for verification.

Question 24

Do I need to cancel or change a FlagPlay plan?

Accepted Answer

No action is required for the free launch. FlagPlay ended its paid athlete and coach subscriptions and refunded existing subscribers. If you use NextPlay, manage that separate NextPlay plan under NextPlay's own billing terms.

Question 25

What is your refund policy?

Accepted Answer

FlagPlay subscriptions ended at the free launch, and existing subscribers were refunded. Event registrations are final and non-refundable once purchased. If FlagPlay cancels an event, registered participants receive a full refund to the original payment method. Full details are on the Refunds page.

Question 26

Can I manage profiles for multiple athletes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. During launch, families can manage multiple FlagPlay athlete profiles from one account at no charge. NextPlay is separate; choose a NextPlay plan that matches your individual, family, or team workflow if you want its highlight-editing tools.

Question 27

Will FlagPlay always be free?

Accepted Answer

The athlete profile and public share link will stay free permanently, and coaches will always be able to browse a directory teaser for free. The full athlete and coach toolkits are free during launch. If paid features return later, we will give plenty of notice before the change and will not retroactively charge for anything that was already free.

Question 28

I paid for FlagPlay before — what happens?

Accepted Answer

FlagPlay ended its paid subscriptions for the free launch and refunded existing subscribers. Any NextPlay access you already had continues under its current grant or NextPlay plan terms; NextPlay is a separate product sold and billed by NextPlay.

Question 29

My highlight reel is stuck "Encoding" — what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Encoding usually finishes within a few minutes. If a reel sits longer than about 15 minutes, contact support with the athlete name and we'll re-check the upload on our side.

Question 30

I need to fix something on my profile that I can't edit myself

Accepted Answer

Use the support form with the athlete name and what needs changing. Most profile fixes are handled within one business day.

Frequently asked questions

Athletes & Parents

College Coaches

Platform & Billing