TAMPA, Fla. — This isn’t your average football game. But for players, like Bailey Trinder, this feels right at home.

What You Need To Know

  • Bailey Trinder used to play on the field in high school

  • But an accident changed on that

  • Now, he's back on the field

“It’s the closest thing you get to high school football,” he said.

A multiple sport athlete in high school, Trinder shined on the gridiron and baseball diamond.

For him, he says all that changed when he was 17.

“I wrecked my truck and had a vehicle accident and had a spinal cord injury,” Trinder said.

He had to spend the second half of high school rehabbing and getting used to being in a wheelchair.

But that injury wasn’t stopping him from playing the game he loves.

This year, at 21, he’s got his helmet back on and is competing in the National Wheelchair Football League with the Hillsborough County Buccaneers.

“Just to be able to get back to the competitive sport nature of football and actually be able to have some contact with the chairs. It’s such a great feeling to have,” Trinder said.

It’s a feeling shared with his teammates, like Ronald V. Richardson.

“I don’t care,” Richardson said. “You can change my number every year. I don’t care, as long as I have a number.”

He’s been playing wheelchair sports for more than 20 years and doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to give this up,” Richardson said.

You can see that in the intensity in between the lines.

“You look at all these NBA stars and the NFL, put them in a wheelchair and let’s see what they can do in that wheelchair,” said Wayne Bozeman, head coach of the team.

According to Bozeman, a lot of the guys out there have waited their whole lives to be able to play football and thanks to this, they now have that chance.

“The guys are just so excited to get out here and play in front of people,” he said.

That’s how Trinder feels because he gets to play in front of his family like he did back in high school.

It’s these moments that have helped him overcome every obstacle he’s faced.

“Sports is definitely what helped me through it all,” Trinder said.

This is the second year the team has been in existence in Tampa.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers partnered with the Hillsborough County Bucs by giving them officials jerseys and decals for their helmets.