With the 2016 football season about to kick off, new head coach John Flynn said he’s excited to take the reins of the fighting flock of Falcons as they get ready to play some ball.

Flynn is likely familiar to many local athletes and parents already, as he’s been involved with Fountain Hills Unified School District for a number of years.

He started out driving the bus for athletics, where he got to know a lot of the athletes who play for the high school teams. More recently, he took over as Director of Transportation for the district, where he now manages the comings and goings of all of the buses, vans, etc. in the district.

So, how did he get to Fountain Hills?

Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Flynn attended a private school in Pennsylvania before heading off to college at Bloomberg University.

“I eventually sold my ownership piece in a business and was planning on retiring when my in-laws moved out here and we followed them,” Flynn said. “I had coached all of my life and, when I retired, I always said I wanted to drive a big vehicle.”

Flynn’s wife found an ad for a sports driver here in Fountain Hills, which led him to becoming a Falcon.

“It turned out to be a great job,” Flynn said. “I got to travel with all of the sports teams, got to know the kids who were involved with the program, so I was a fan.”

When the opportunity opened up for the Director of Transportation, Flynn thought his business sense and his experience driving would make him a good fit, so that’s what he tackled next.

As for his coaching experience, Flynn played college ball before going on to serve as an undergraduate assistant at Bloomberg. He also served as a graduate assistant at a couple other schools before moving on to youth and high school football back east.

“I caught the bug again when we came out here,” Flynn explained. “I coached for Dysart for a year, then went to Bourgade Catholic for two years.”

From there, Flynn said he got disillusioned with coaching.

“Frankly, it’s not the same as it is back east,” he said. “The commitment, both from parents and players, just isn’t there. From my perspective, football is an all-in thing. That means good character off the field, doing the best you can in the classroom and then working your butt off in the weight room and the off-season.”

Flynn said he didn’t see that in the previous programs he worked with in Arizona, and it’s a mentality he hopes to instill in his players here at FHHS.

Helping out with the Falcons last year, Flynn decided to step into the head position when he found out that former coach Willy Dudley would not be coming back for the 2016 season.

“We have some of the challenges here that I saw at the other programs I’ve coached for in Arizona, but the bottom line was that I knew, from all the time I’ve spent traveling with these teams, that this is an athletic school,” Flynn continued. “We have good athletes here. The question is, how do we motivate them? How do we get them to realize that, whether it’s football, band or whatever, it’s really an opportunity to hone your other skills such as hard work, dedication, pushing through adversity and taking advantage of opportunities that come your way?”

Starting out this season, Flynn said he’s already seeing positive. The team had 36 players last season and the numbers are up, currently resting at between 48 and 51.

Due to low numbers last season, Flynn said a lot of freshmen had to be thrown into the fire at the varsity level. He said the team is committed to playing a JV season in 2016.

He said kids are buying into the idea of commitment, too, as he already witnessed a dramatic drop in concerns from teachers from the beginning of the 2015 season to the end. That’s something he aims to continue in 2016.

“You don’t just show up, play football well and we’ll ignore the rest,” Flynn said. “That’s not going to happen.”

Flynn said he’s already got a handful of student athletes who have committed to making the grades and staying on the field, and the support he’s seen from the teachers and staff of FHHS has “been incredible.”

As a coach, Flynn said his philosophy is “do no harm,” and that while he expects his players to be all-in and hands-on, they should expect the same thing out of him.

“And they’ll tell you that the two things I say to them over and over again are that I’m not going to tolerate what I’m not going to accept, and that you don’t walk on grass,” Flynn added, smiling.