West Charlotte High football focused on process in 2026

CAMERON WILLIAMS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

West Charlotte High football coach D.J. McFadden is focusing on building a new identity for the Lions with a rebuilt roster after  losing experienced contributors to transfer.

Summer is here and the new-look West Charlotte Lions football workouts are underway.

New coach D.J. McFadden is optimistic about the upcoming season despite losing several players to transfer. 

“I think we are going to be just fine,” he said. “Of course we lost some guys, but I think with the talent we do still have we can win. We are big and still fast and athletic. We just have to go out there and do it. We have to get the young quarterbacks caught up and we’ve got an older guy, so we will see what he looks like. But, overall, I like where we are at. I think we still have enough to compete for the conference.”

One thing that excites McFadden is the number of freshmen who showed up for the first day of workouts. 

“The main difference I see with the incoming freshmen here compared to Independence is simply the numbers,” he said. “We had like 55 freshmen come out, which is just crazy. That was almost a little overwhelming. Then, too, just the overall size of them. We have had some big freshmen walk through the door whether that be o-linemen, D-linemen or skill guys. Just the overall build of them is something that we weren’t used to. But, like I said, it is exciting to see the numbers we had come out, and these young guys are enthusiastic about coming to West Charlotte and are ready to get to work.”

The Lions lost key players from last season like Davion Jones and Jamouri Nichols but the message from the coaching staff is that this year's team isn’t going to dwell on that and focus on the players that come in.

“The good thing about a lot of kids that stayed is that they were on last season’s undefeated [junior varsity] team,” McFadden said. “They have kind of come up together. Sure, a lot of our guys are still friends with [those that left], and there’s no hard feelings. … 

“There’s no hard feelings with us as the staff or the kids. The kids jumped at the opportunities because had some of the other guys stayed, they may not have had the same opportunities they have now to play. … We have sophomores right now that are rising juniors who were cut their freshman year because over the years West Charlotte has been so loaded.”

McFadden said these Lions are hungry to prove doubters wrong.

“[These players] have shown up with us day one,” he said, "they’ve been out there every day in the spring, they bought into the discipline and accountability that we brought, and they’ve taken in and ran with it. They’re just hungry for their opportunity, and they’ve seen the social media posts about how bad they’re going to be this that and the third, and that’s just been our message, let them talk and time will tell. We are saying the work’s going to show at some point.”

The motto is simple: West Charlotte is focused inward and let the chips fall where they may.

“It’s about us, bro,” McFadden said. “We’re not worried about anybody that left anymore. The school year is over now. We wish them all well. We’re not worried about anybody that left. We’re not worried about any other program. We’re not worried about any of that.”

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