An Invitational To Remember

The Fluvanna volleyball teams suffered a major loss when Tom Farruggio tragically passed away.

“He was the JV head coach and varsity assistant coach for four years. He had a calming force on the staff, and was great at team building, along with helping the players shift their view to be more optimistic,” said Varsity Coach Christi Harlowe Garrett.

Varsity team Captain Christina Walker recently spoke regarding the impact of Farruggio on the team. “Tom Farruggio was one of the most optimistic coaches the program had ever seen. You never saw him without a smile on his face. Even though he coached JV, he was still so involved in the varsity program as well, and was a major unifying force between the two. In every varsity game, he was sitting on the last seat of the bench, high-fiving and encouraging every player that came on and off the court. It was these simple things that he did that reminded us that win or lose, volleyball is just a game, and our passion should play out both on and off the court.”

To honor Farruggio and his family, the previously-titled “Fluco Invitational” annual volleyball event was renamed the Tom Farruggio Invitational. This year’s event, which took place at FCHS on Aug. 25, was used to raise money for the Farruggio family’s charity of choice.

Multiple items were sold this year, including tournament shirts and “fierce” bracelets, a saying that Farruggio brought to the volleyball teams to invigorate them.

Many counties participated in the invitational, including Liberty Bedford, William Monroe, Fort Defiance, Harrisonburg, Western Albemarle, Broadway, Spotswood, Monticello, R. E. Lee, and Waynesboro.

Farruggio is survived by his wife, Carolyn Farruggio, who teaches at Fluvanna Middle School, their daughter Hannah, a 2017 FCHS graduate, his son Andrew, who is a senior at FCHS, and daughter Olivia, a 9th grader at FCHS.