P-51 Founder & Coach

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Coach Darin Thomas, a 2001 graduate of John Handley High School in Winchester, VA, excelled in basketball and track, contributing to three VHSL State Champion Teams. As a Division 1 400-meter runner at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA, he was part of a track & field dynasty, winning multiple NEC titles. Post-college, he embraced flag football, playing competitively with and against professional players.

Coach Thomas began coaching in the local rec league and then shortly thereafter he founded P-51 Flag Football to provide local youth with competitive flag football opportunities on the travel circuit. Now in his eighth year of coaching youth football, P-51 has won 29 championships in just three seasons. 

As the head coach of the EP Cavalry Air Strike Boyz, an 12u tackle football team, he oversaw a successful operation that led to 2 VAYFA Conference championships, a Virginia State Championship, an Atlantic Region Championship, and finished 2026 with an AYF National Runner-Up.  In 2025 he was selected to lead the 11U West All-stars in the Gridiron Classic and became the first coach from the West Region to win the title.  He has been named Bravo TV's, 2025 Coach Of the Year and is a nominee to win it again in 2026.

Coach Thomas holds certifications from the National Association of Youth Sports, NFL Flag, Under Amour, and American Youth Football (AYF).