With new head coach Jason Henslin at the helm, the Fountain Hills High School football team will have another fresh start this season.

The program has been in a constant state of transition recently, with Henslin being the fourth head coach in as many years. He said he’s hoping to bring stability to the team, supported by a group of familiar faces on the assistant coaching staff.

Henslin started with FHUSD back in 2005, assistant coaching under Jim Fairfield that same year. He stepped away from the local district for a while, returning in 2015 to assist new head coach Willie Dudley, who is now working with the middle school athletes.

“This senior class, I’ve been coaching them since they were sophomores,” Heslin said. “That first year I was back, those sophomores had to start on varsity just due to numbers. Even some of the freshmen that year, which are now juniors, had to start on varsity.”

According to Henslin, numbers don’t appear to be an issue this season. He’s got lots of returners building a foundation for the program with plenty of new athletes coming out to join the squad. The Falcons will be able to comfortably field a varsity and JV team through the 2017 season. Henslin said about 80 percent of his returners have “Friday night experience,” which he things will serve as a nice boost for the team moving forward.

“The guys have become more dedicated,” Henslin said. “This summer, we had at least 30 guys a night in the weight room working out. My requirement was three days a week and most of them were there four or five days a week, lifting and getting faster out on the field.”

Henslin said he believes holding his players accountable has been a major motivator. He expects a certain work ethic out of his guys, and the team knows they have to deliver if they want to be successful.

“It’s been great,” he said. “In practices the past couple of years, we couldn’t even do 11 on 11 scrimmages because we didn’t have enough players. We used trashcans as the defensive linemen and now we can actually put bodies out there, which is nice.”

Looking ahead, Henslin said the Falcons are looking pretty strong in these early goings, especially in the receiver and running back departments.

“They’re some of our strongest guys and definitely some of our fastest guys, and they’ve been helping lead the way in the weight room and everything.

“But the other strength is the mentality. The guys have been very coachable; if we ask them to do something, they do it without asking questions. There’s been a good change in attitude.”

The Falcons have had a couple of rough seasons in terms of wins recently, but Henslin said he isn’t expecting his team to shoot for the moon straight out of the gate. Instead, all he is asking is that they work hard and do everything they can to simply improve.

“Our goals are to be a disciplined team on the field and off,” Henslin said. “We won three games last year, so my goal is to improve on that and move in the right direction; no steps backward.”

Henslin said his coaching style might be partially to blame for the guys responding so well to his direction.

“I try to establish relationships with the guys,” he said. “Something I’ve come to see from my own playing days a long time ago to now is that when kids feel like their coach cares about them, they’re willing to work hard and do what’s asked…I’m trying to empower the guys, that’s my coaching style.

“It’s not just me that wants this program to be better. They want it to be better, too.”

In short, Henslin said the Falcons are hungry for success.

“Fans should expect an exciting football team that doesn’t give up,” he added. “We hope to score a lot of points and create a fun atmosphere for Friday nights.”

The Falcons’ season starts this weekend with the local squad heading to Flagstaff to play against Northwest Christian at the Northern Arizona University Skydome. This game will be at a special day and time, taking place 5p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26.

Play will continue on the road the following week with a Sept. 1 outing against Payson at 7 p.m. The first home game of the season will be Friday, Sept. 8, with the Falcons welcoming American Leadership Academy to the high school field at 7 p.m. There will be a “Kids Zone” at this year’s home games with parental supervision. This area will be sectioned off and located in the field behind the stands, where’ kids eight and under can play games and enjoy activities while their parents cheer on the Falcons.