Hundreds of students and staff gathered in the FCHS gym on March 29 to watch the annual Macho Man game, which took place after the Hands On Fluvanna day of service.

“Macho Man has been taking place since around the year 2015. SGA does plan on keeping the tradition alive as long as it remains as an interest to the students,” said SGA Adviser David Small

Macho Man operates the same as a regular volleyball game, but features male students who volunteer to train for a few weeks to represent their grade level. The games are presented in a tournament-style match which gives each grade the opportunity to be the winners of Macho Man. Whichever grade’s team wins then takes on the ultimate challenge of going head to head against the teachers.

During the 2023 Macho Man game, the freshmen came out on top, surprising those who believed that this year’s juniors (the class of 2025) would become the victors two years in a row. As a result, some felt that the freshman team pulled off a real upset by emerging as the ultimate winners of the student tournament.

“I was extremely surprised about the winners of Macho Man. I was convinced that the Juniors were going to outdo the other grades, yet I was most definitely wrong. The winning grade had me wowed.” said FCHS junior Eliza Vesga.

Determination and a dedication to practices may have made the difference for the freshmen, whose team began training on Feb. 2, practicing every Friday at 7:30 in the morning. In fact, the freshman team won every single one of the rounds against the other grades, and even defeated the teachers.

“I was really grateful to be able to participate in Macho Man. It was a very fun experience, and the practicing paid off at the end. I was really proud of my team, and their ability to pull through. Winning felt great, and I’m glad we made it as far as we did,” said freshmen team member Keen Dickerson.