OAKLAND − The Indian Hills girls flag football team is probably the only one in North Jersey to be discussed on a sports radio talk show.
It’s not because the Braves are championship contenders. At least not yet. They’re still winless after a tough 13-12 loss to Fair Lawn last week.
And it’s not because sophomore quarterback Julia DiMasi looks like a budding star.
But when you’re the host of the talk show, you can talk about whatever you want, and Braves first-year coach Danielle McCartan doesn’t mind talking flag to her audience. In fact, talking football is one of her biggest jobs as a host on WFAN and it’s affiliated stations.
“I was on a national [show], on Infinity Sports Network and people would call in from Texas and say they had no idea flag football is what it is,” McCartan said. “I said now, the Jets and the Giants have [sponsored] teams up here, the Eagles have teams. It’s huge in this area. It’s exploding. It hasn’t even reached its pinnacle yet.”
Making the call
This is the fourth season of club flag football in New Jersey. When McCartan got the call, actually a text, about becoming the Indian Hills coach, she was working an overnight shift at WFAN.
“I was working my third overnight in a row and I got a call from [Indian Hills girls basketball coach] Julie Haledjian she said I have to ask you something, I’m like, ‘I’m trying to host a show, can you send me a text?’” McCartan remembered. “She texted me about the job and I couldn’t go to sleep. I didn’t have to think about it.”
Space won’t allow us to list all of McCartan’s current roles/jobs. By her count, it’s currently four. Her main job is teacher. But she wanted to be the Indian Hills flag football coach when the program was created and didn’t get the chance. She knew she would find a way to fit this in.
“She is very serious about this,” DiMasi said. “She doesn’t take this as a joke. She came to work right away, which I appreciate a lot.”
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Indian Hills senior Bella Rapp said. “She’s accountable for the things she talks about. She knows what’s she’s talking about. She doesn’t come from…golf. She comes from football. She has good knowledge about football.”
A few days after getting the job, McCartan was at a Tom Coughlin Jay Fund event and was chatting with Giants Super Bowl champion Kevin Boothe. McCartan told him she was coaching flag football, and Kevin said he was coaching his daughters in the same sport.
“I said give me the one play that works every time,” laughed McCartan. “He said jet sweep.”
Facing an early fourth-and-long against the Cutters, guess what play Indian Hills ran? Jet sweep. It ended up a few yards short.
Talking the talk
During the game, McCartan acts like any other coach. She praises her team for good execution. She fusses at the officials, even getting flagged for chirping the ref just before halftime.
“I don’t know what I got the penalty for,” McCartan said. “All he did was throw it and say ‘that’s on you’.”
Indian Hills trailed 7-0 at halftime, then 13-6 before scoring with 11 minutes left, but missing on the extra point. The Braves got the ball with a minute left and drove down the field, but a last pass into the end zone fell incomplete.
Her players think it’s cool to have a sports media personality as their coach. They appear to like her and trust her. Some follow her on Instagram (the ultimate seal of approval in 2025).
“She’s an amazing sports announcer and meets so many people,” Rapp said. “She has made this season one to remember. She’s brought a different energy to this team.”
“She’s been to the Super Bowl, you have to be a pretty big name to go to that,” DiMasi said. “She gets plays to run from other players. It definitely helps us a lot.”
There’s nothing like real world experience. McCartan can now look at any football coach in America and understand, at some level, what it’s like for a team to go through a losing streak, what it means when a fourth-down play comes up short and how to keep your team focused on the right things.
“Getting close and losing means you’re hanging tough with the other team,” McCartan said. “Games in the beginning of the season when we were getting blown out, that was tough, tough for morale. When you go out there and get blown out, you start questioning, are we doing things the right way, are we practicing the right way, are these plays working?
“This is a huge improvement from where we started to where we are.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Danielle McCartan: WFAN host coaches Indian Hills girls flag football
OAKLAND − The Indian Hills girls flag football team is probably the only one in North Jersey to be discussed on a sports radio talk show.
It’s not because the Braves are championship contenders. At least not yet. They’re still winless after a tough 13-12 loss to Fair Lawn last week.
And it’s not because sophomore quarterback Julia DiMasi looks like a budding star.
But when you’re the host of the talk show, you can talk about whatever you want, and Braves first-year coach Danielle McCartan doesn’t mind talking flag to her audience. In fact, talking football is one of her biggest jobs as a host on WFAN and it’s affiliated stations.
“I was on a national [show], on Infinity Sports Network and people would call in from Texas and say they had no idea flag football is what it is,” McCartan said. “I said now, the Jets and the Giants have [sponsored] teams up here, the Eagles have teams. It’s huge in this area. It’s exploding. It hasn’t even reached its pinnacle yet.”
Making the call
This is the fourth season of club flag football in New Jersey. When McCartan got the call, actually a text, about becoming the Indian Hills coach, she was working an overnight shift at WFAN.
“I was working my third overnight in a row and I got a call from [Indian Hills girls basketball coach] Julie Haledjian she said I have to ask you something, I’m like, ‘I’m trying to host a show, can you send me a text?’” McCartan remembered. “She texted me about the job and I couldn’t go to sleep. I didn’t have to think about it.”
Space won’t allow us to list all of McCartan’s current roles/jobs. By her count, it’s currently four. Her main job is teacher. But she wanted to be the Indian Hills flag football coach when the program was created and didn’t get the chance. She knew she would find a way to fit this in.
“She is very serious about this,” DiMasi said. “She doesn’t take this as a joke. She came to work right away, which I appreciate a lot.”
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Indian Hills senior Bella Rapp said. “She’s accountable for the things she talks about. She knows what’s she’s talking about. She doesn’t come from…golf. She comes from football. She has good knowledge about football.”
A few days after getting the job, McCartan was at a Tom Coughlin Jay Fund event and was chatting with Giants Super Bowl champion Kevin Boothe. McCartan told him she was coaching flag football, and Kevin said he was coaching his daughters in the same sport.
“I said give me the one play that works every time,” laughed McCartan. “He said jet sweep.”
Facing an early fourth-and-long against the Cutters, guess what play Indian Hills ran? Jet sweep. It ended up a few yards short.
Talking the talk
During the game, McCartan acts like any other coach. She praises her team for good execution. She fusses at the officials, even getting flagged for chirping the ref just before halftime.
“I don’t know what I got the penalty for,” McCartan said. “All he did was throw it and say ‘that’s on you’.”
Indian Hills trailed 7-0 at halftime, then 13-6 before scoring with 11 minutes left, but missing on the extra point. The Braves got the ball with a minute left and drove down the field, but a last pass into the end zone fell incomplete.
Her players think it’s cool to have a sports media personality as their coach. They appear to like her and trust her. Some follow her on Instagram (the ultimate seal of approval in 2025).
“She’s an amazing sports announcer and meets so many people,” Rapp said. “She has made this season one to remember. She’s brought a different energy to this team.”
“She’s been to the Super Bowl, you have to be a pretty big name to go to that,” DiMasi said. “She gets plays to run from other players. It definitely helps us a lot.”
There’s nothing like real world experience. McCartan can now look at any football coach in America and understand, at some level, what it’s like for a team to go through a losing streak, what it means when a fourth-down play comes up short and how to keep your team focused on the right things.
“Getting close and losing means you’re hanging tough with the other team,” McCartan said. “Games in the beginning of the season when we were getting blown out, that was tough, tough for morale. When you go out there and get blown out, you start questioning, are we doing things the right way, are we practicing the right way, are these plays working?
“This is a huge improvement from where we started to where we are.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Danielle McCartan: WFAN host coaches Indian Hills girls flag football
