After a long hiatus, Pop Warner football is returning to San Pedro this summer.

It’s been a while since an independent youth football team was active in the Harbor Area. While teams have existed in Palos Verdes, Torrance, and other South Bay cities, San Pedro and its neighboring communities haven’t had a team in more than a decade.

“It’s really happening,” says Corey Walsh, the San Pedro High School football head coach who also serves as president of the new Port of Los Angeles Buccaneers Pop Warner chapter. (The high school is not affiliated with the Buccaneers.) “We’ve been grinding on this for the last four months.”

Walsh, 33, is no stranger to youth athletics. The son of longtime SPHS football coach Mike Walsh, he’s had two successful seasons with the Pirates after taking over the team in 2022. So, why a Pop Warner team?

“After last season, things slowed down for a bit, but I was able to take some time to self-reflect and figure out what small steps we could take to try and improve our [football] program,” says Walsh. “I realized we needed to reach the youth in our community at a younger age.” He says Pop Warner football is the best way to do it.

Walsh noticed many incoming freshmen were struggling academically or had behavioral issues impacting their chances to play high school sports. Walsh hopes that instilling the values and ethics already taught at the high school level to middle schoolers can put the kids on a better path to success. Plus, it’s a great way to nurture athletic talent at an earlier age.

Serving boys and girls ages 10-14, Pop Warner is a nonprofit organization played by more than 400,000 kids a year. For its inaugural season, the Port of Los Angeles Buccaneers, working under the nonprofit umbrella of LA Monsters Sports Academy Inc., hope to put together three to four teams of 30 or more youths to compete in the Southern California Conference.

“I want to instill the values of being a good human, treating people with respect, being accountable and trustworthy, and some of our core foundational values and principles at the high school level at a younger age,” says Walsh.

With interest from more than 80 kids and a strong group of coaches, volunteers, and board of directors, the POLA Buccaneers are still in need of funding to reach their $70,000 goal for the first season and are asking for the community’s help. The equipment alone costs upwards of $30,000.

A GoFundMe page has been set up, and the organization is seeking donations and grants from local businesses, politicians, and community members.

“We’re at the point where anything helps,” says Walsh. spt

For more information, visit polabucs.com. To donate, visit gofund.me/59feee3a.