'Tradition' key as Sprayberry begins new Coach Fominaya era begins

Sprayberry Yellow Jackets participating in summer workouts

When the 2025 Georgia High School Association football season gets underway, the Sprayberry Yellow Jackets kick off with new head coach, Pete Fominaya, who took over in January after the departure of former Sprayberry head coach, Brett Vavra.

Fominaya, who spent the past seven season as the head coach of Hiram, is the first Sprayberry head coach who did not graduate from the school, however recognizes the tradition of the Yellow Jackets program and the impact on its community.

"This is a really special place. They've been playing football here at Sprayberry for over 60 years and there's a lot of tradition here, people really care about this program in this community," Fominaya said. "We've got kids on the team who their dad played here, their grandparents went to school here so there's a huge sense of community and pride," Fominaya added.

Wrapping up Week 3 of summer workouts, Fominaya praised his players for adapting to the transition of a new coach and their approach to preparing for the season. "The boys have been great. They're eager, they're hungry and it's been really exciting to work with them every single day," Fominaya said.

And while Fominaya's hiring marks the first time the Sprayberry program is being led by an individual who is not an alum of the school, speaking highly of his predecessors, Fominaya credited them for providing a foundation he can continue to build on.

"Both of the were alumni, both of them really cared about this place, they both had different strengths, two different styles and I think I'm really able to build off of specifically what the previous coach did," Fominaya said of Billy Shackleford and Vavra, with the latter leading the Yellow Jackets to their first region title since 2008 last season, which they finished 11-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals.

"My responsibility now is to take that, what he built and take it to the next step," Fominaya said. The Yellow Jackets will open the 2025 season on August 15 when they travel to take on Alexander.