For the new comers, whether its their first time out or they’ve transferred, the new look Fluvanna County High School is a beautiful new facility. For those who’ve been around the program, the new digs located off of Route 53 are something of wonder. Where the football team was used to operating its weight lifting program in what was essentially amounted to a broom closet with outdated equiptment, this summer their training in a crisp new gym with plenty of space.
“Going from the old school to the new school it’s not as though we’re now approaching things any different,” said football coach Jason Barnett, now entering his third season at the helm of the program. “It’s just that we have whole new opportunities.”
Outside, it’s a freshly laid field turf sitting in between bright aluminum stands and dramatically larger press box. Forget just football for a second, for the entire Flying Flucos athletic department, the new set up will be a breath of fresh air. And it just so happens that football coach Jason Barnett and his team are putting their best effort forward to make the most of their new opportunities, starting with a summer weight lifting and conditioning program before the team dons full pads on July 30th.
“We were lifting in a dungeon and now it’s this bright beautiful brand new room,” Barnett said. “The kids are excited – we’ve seen quite a few more people come out this year than before – and they coming out here and trying to get better and faster. To be able come out and do all this, it’s good for them because things haven’t always gone their way the last few years. Finally they see some good things happening to them, this school, this gym, this field. This is something that this community can be proud of.”
Whenever a new facility is opened, or an old one revamped, there’s a general sense from the community around the school that everything is going to be different. But ask any coach or player at a school where those changes have been made recently – Monticello, Western Albemarle, Albemarle, Charlottesville to name a few – and you’ll quickly hear that a new facility only opens more doors, it doesn’t produce talent. Neither of those sentiments are lost on Barnett or his coaches and players. They all feel like there’s more pressure to get this program where they want it to be and now they feel like they have the right opportunities to get that done.
“Basically now it comes down to living up to expectations,” Barnett said. “(To the player’s credit) a lot of those expectations are coming from themselves, not just us on the coaching staff. They’re pushing each other right now and trying to make each other better. There’s a lot of accountability now that hasn’t always been here for the players.”
Inside the building, Barnett is walking the talk too, lifting along side the players bringing his usual intense but charasmatic and bubly personality as he reached a personal milestone, throwing up 300 pounds on the bench press and joking with players and assistants for the remainder of the day about his accomplishment.
The player responsibility the coach talked about was certainly evident outside on the new field as Barnett and his team worked through some 10-yard scrimmage drills. If a player jumped offside, or took a step backwards instead of forwards, pushups were due. Barnett didn’t have to police any of the violations, the players did themselves, and in a number of cases, while one athlete was doing the pushups, another watched closely while offering support to make sure those were done well.
Rising junior Jovan Burton remembers summers past and has observed a noticeable difference amongst his teammates in both attitude and productivity.
“People are excited to get things done in the weight room right now, they don’t have to stand around and wait anymore,” Burton said. “I see people now doing work outs they didn’t usually do. People are pushing each other to be their best.”
There was a lot of turmoil this spring over whether or not Fluvanna would spend the year at its old location off of route 15 or in the new location. Heated debates, countless meetings and lot of media coverage detailed the controversy of building a new school and the possibility of leaving a state of the art school vacant because of a tax rate issue. The situation was eventually resolved, but not without a strong division throughout the county. Now that it’s a done deal, Barnett is hoping the community can come together the way so many do on Friday nights – politics aside and supporting the school.
“I hope that Fluvanna recognizes that this facility is something to be proud of, that they rally behind the players because these young men are coming out and working hard,” Barnett said. “They’re proud of what they have and excited to work. Fluvanna County support is a very important thing to these kids. As much as we talk about this being a team sport and rallying around each other it always feels nice when you know the people in the stands have your back. When they see that, feel that, that’s going to help us a lot more than I think people realize.”
And Barnett, Burton and the rest of the Flucos know each hour they put in here in June and July in their new home will pay dividends come August 24th in the season opener at the new school against Prince Edward.
“It’ll be here soon and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Burton said. “I’m excited to see how things work and see what’s in store for us this year.”
