CLEARWATER, Fla. - This isn’t your typical football practice.

Sure there is a football. And there is running. But something else is happening on this field.

The Pinellas County Warriors are putting the fun in fundamentals. And they’re creating a brotherhood.

“We’re a family, a big family,” founder Julian Cooney said.

That’s evident at Warriors’ practices. In its first year, this new league have more than 230 players. They run through the paces, with basic drills to learn everything they can about football. 

But it really is so much more than that.

“I wanted to make a difference,” Cooney said. “I wanted to make a difference, make it better for my community. I grew up here so I didn’t want the kids to go through the same things I went through. So therefore me starting this league, I felt like I could help them.”

Some of them need help. And they need football. 

“Some of them, this is all they have,” Warriors Official Kimberly Johnson said. “One parent homes, not all of them, some of them. A lot of them are raised by grandparents. Some struggle in school. Some of them just need this outlet.”

That’s why you’ll see a lot of coaching going on. But also a lot of mentoring.

“They love what they do,” Johnson said. “They all have a passion for what they do. We’re not better than no other organization but we just hold ourself to a higher standard than other organizations.”

Paul Williams has had his son in other leagues, but this one, he says is different. It’s the coaching staff that sets them apart.

“I know my son is going to learn and that’s what it’s all about at this age,” Williams said. “To me, it’s not about winning and it’s not about the glitz, the glamor. It’s about teaching him to play for the next level because he wants to play high school football.”

That’s what this league does, it gives hope. It’s a foundation, where brick by brick, these kids are building a pathway to better things.

“They’re really for the kids. They are,” Williams said. “They always have something going on to get the kids bonding together. They’re always trying to teach them more and more and more. It’s always, it’s about the kids.”