Moorestown’s Albert Thomas Jr. doing what he loves

Moorestown native Albert Thomas Jr. is making waves in another part of the world.

“Sports can teach you so much about life, and it transfers into every aspect of life,” Thomas said. “No matter what sport you play, it teaches you something to develop for life.”

Earlier this year, Thomas was announced as the head coach of the Dominican Republic Men’s National Flag Football Team, and as expected, he’s excited and ready to take on a new role. He’s been playing and coaching sports for years so with the experience he has, he’s more than equipped for the challenge.

“It’s exciting to see where flag football is going,” he said. “It’s the one thing that we all are striving for – inclusion. Anybody can play. It’s for men, for women, college students, high school (and) middle school students… It’s literally for anybody. Everything about it is great.”

Thomas – better known as AJ – moved to Moorestown from Camden with his family when he was five-years-old. Growing up, he was a student athlete who played a ton of team and individual sports like basketball and wrestling. His journey in flag football began with playing in high-level leagues across the tri-state area, including Elite Sports Association (ESA), Mercer County Flag Football League (McFFL), Burlington County Flag Football League and the Lower Bristol Flag Football League. Sports is what his family does, and a fun fact is that Moorestown High School alumnus Pro Football Hall of Famer Dave Robinson is his great-uncle. He graduated from Moorestown High School in 2009 and although college wasn’t his favorite it helped him grow up, he said. Thomas now has a 12-year-old son, Chase, who’s also a Moorestown student-athlete just like his dad was. Thomas has previously coached Chase’s travel flag teams and has worked with multiple organizations to help train teams, coaches and players, and he’s currently a coach for three flag football leagues, including the Dominican Republic Men’s National Flag Football Team.

Years ago, Thomas and friends Brandon Feinstein and Dan Friscia co-founded Team Supreme, a flag football team that competed at national and world championships in Orlando, Florida. The team achieved great success, winning world, national, regional, and local championships. That’s when Thomas decided to transition from athlete to coach, wanting to give back to the sport that shaped him into who he is. Moorestown native John Cedano, a friend of Thomas’s, tried out for the Dominican Republic Men’s National Flag Football Team in May and made the roster. After finding out that the team terminated the former head coach, Thomas decided to throw his hat in the ring. It wasn’t long before he got the call from Cedano that changed his life. He’s led teams locally, regionally and nationally, and now he’s going to do it internationally.

Flag Football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 games in Los Angeles, and even better for Thomas is that the Dominican Republic Men’s National Flag Football Team has the possibility of making the 2028 Olympics. Something Thomas learned from playing sports is that it teaches accountability, especially when it comes to preparation, the outcome, how you train and how you mentally prepare, but now he’ll be looking at the field from a different angle as coach.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” he said. “When you’re doing something you love, it doesn’t feel like work. I know it’s going to be worth it because I know people are depending on me. It’s bigger than me, and I want to make sure I give all my grace and gratitude and effort to this. I’m excited. I’m blessed, I’m thankful and I’m appreciative of this opportunity.”