ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Practices are loud at Lakewood High School.

There’s regular loud. And then there is Coach Cory Moore loud.

On the field, he’s in his element. And there’s not much that can stop this coach. 

“Nothing like a high school practice,” Moore said. “This is great. I love it.  I love it. It’s electric to be with young men.”

Lakewood is still chasing that elusive state championship. They’ve been close so many times. But it’s more than winning that title. Coach Moore is building something bigger.

“If we can get a good system that means after the football season, I’m still going to have championship rings, I’m going to have championships in the community and they’ll be championship young men,” he said. “So goals are great, but we want to build a dynamic system to be great individuals.”

Coach Moore might not have a state championship ring yet. But he’s got a Super Bowl ring, thanks to his NFL internship with the L.A. Rams. He took advantage of a program that allowed him to help scout for the Rams and it resulted in some bling. 

“Getting an opportunity to work in the NFL is great, but this right here is football at its purest level,” Moore said. “You know, where the individuals love the game of football. It is so important that I have a responsibility and the staff, we have a responsibility to give back and to push these young men, and lady, for them to be the best that they can be.”

Just as Coach Moore is always trying to improve himself, he’s always looking for ways to improve his program. This season, he’s added dinner to the schedule to make sure his players are properly fed. 

At Lakewood, players get their mind, body and soul fed.

“It’s going to help us out a lot, cause like, team bonding and us being together, us taking, us just being together is going to help us play better as a team,” said senior quarterback Anthony Colandres said.

This is home cooking. Lakewood home cooking. And this is home base. Coach Moore can’t imagine being anywhere else.

“This is home for me because this is where I grew up,” Moore said. “I grew up in the neighborhood and I’m from this community. So this right here is a dream job to be able to be a part of your community.”