First Flight High School football enters its next era this school year when the Nighthawks hit the gridiron under new head coach Jimmy Wills, who hails from Blue Ridge School in Virginia. He’s all about developing a winning culture.

As the Nighthawks get underway this season, Wills expects a lot from his returning players but he also welcomes all new recruits.

Given the ’Hawks had only one win and nine losses last season, he admits it’s going to be a bit of a rebuilding process. Wills wants to build a foundation the athletes can buy into.

“We have a lot of good athletes [out for the team] who play multiple sports,” he said. “At Blue Ridge, we had athletes full of talent and experience.

“Here, we’ll have to rebuild, recreate, rebrand and build from the ground up,” the coach said. “From the youth programs all the way up, we will build a program and a culture.”

Wills comes off a six-year stint at Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va., an all-male prep school that boasts six recent state championships.

The Barons compete in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association. He also coached at William Monroe in Stanardsville, Va. for several seasons.

Wills knows it takes more than dedicated upperclassmen to win ballgames and he talks just as much about First Flight Middle School becoming an awesome feeder program.

As for the varsity program, he wants his guys to take pride in what they’re doing. This spring, Wills had the guys beating a path to the weight room and many of them reached personal bests during the sessions, Wills noted. He expects everyone to give 100 percent effort.

“We’re heading in the right direction with good, high-quality kids,” the coach said. “We want to develop a family culture … the culture for the future, set a foundation that will last for years.”

Part of the foundation is the fieldhouse locker room. It’s been cleaned, painted and equipped with essentials including a brand new 65-inch color flat screen TV to watch game film on, Wills said.

Another part is the adjacent practice field.

“There was also lots and lots of work done on the practice field,” he noted. Wills showed off the new football logo and explained how often the coaching staff were in meetings, which take place in coach Jim Prince’s old office.

The program struggled those final few seasons under Prince starting with the dreadful COVID 19 year when all schools and sports were disrupted. During Prince’s 15-year tenure, the Nighthawks recorded 66 wins and 93 losses.

As for this season and the opening home game against Washington County on Sept. 6, Wills thinks his team will be ready.

“They’re already getting bigger, faster and stronger,” he added. “I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

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