By Duncan Nixon
The Fluvanna High School fall sports calendar is out, and it is full.
The sport that leads off the fall season is golf, with the Flucos hosting the annual multi-team George Bockman Memorial event on Aug. 6.
The golf season is shorter than fall sports seasons that are played indoors or under the lights because golf cannot be played after dark. Therefore, the schedule needs to be completed before daylight saving time ends on Nov. 1. The golf team will be on the road Aug. 10, 13 and 17 before hosting Goochland on Aug. 20.
Fluco football starts quite a bit later. After two scrimmages on Aug. 13 and 21, the regular season starts Aug. 28, when the Flucos host Spotsylvania. They then travel south to take on Buckingham County on Sept. 4. On Sept. 10, they will host Chancellor High. Their bye week follows, and then it is into the tough Jefferson District, with seven district contests in a row. After a couple of down years, Fluco football has come back strong in the last few seasons under coach Mitchell Pace.
Volleyball is a sport in which the Flucos have consistently fielded strong teams. Head coach Cristi Harlow has retired, but there is no reason to think the Flucos will not continue to be strong under new coach Aime McCall. The Flucos’ volleyball season starts with two scrimmages in mid-August.
The regular season opens with road contests against Buckingham County and Mills Godwin High. On Aug. 29, the Flucos will host the Farruggio Tournament and then host Buckingham and Mills Godwin. Regular-season play against Jefferson District opponents does not begin until Sept. 15, when the Flucos host Goochland.
Field hockey is a sport that the Flucos came to later than many of their rivals. This season, the field hockey squad under coach Jennifer Payne has a grueling schedule of 19 contests. Many of the scheduled opponents are not the usual Jefferson District schools.
The schedule starts Aug. 25 at Spotsylvania High. The team then travels to Justice High. The field hockey team’s first home game is Sept. 8, when the Flucos host Charlottesville. The next day, they host Western Albemarle.
The Fluco cross-country team under coach Melanie Kennedy has been strong in recent years, but two of the top girls and one of the top boys have moved on in the last two years. Kennedy coaches both the boys’ and girls’ teams.
This year’s schedule includes a number of multi-team events. On Sept. 2, the Flucos will run in the Ragged Mountain event north of Charlottesville. On Sept. 19, they will compete in an event at Fork Union Military Academy. On Sept. 26, they will run in the VICA event, and on Sept. 30, they will host the Route 53 meet.
The Jefferson District year-end event will be run over the Fluco course on Oct. 21. Cross-country is another sport that cannot be contested after daylight saving time ends. It would be impossible to run three miles through the woods in the dark.
The competition cheer squad also competes in the fall. This year, there are four meets on the schedule before the district and regional meets. Only one is at home. It is scheduled for Sept. 26.
