RALEIGH — A 7-on-7 youth football team coached by Washington superstars Terrance Copper and Jimmy Williams recently won its division’s North Carolina state championship in Raleigh.

The 7-on-7 league allows young players an opportunity to continue playing football outside of the fall. Copper, a Washington native, dazzled with the Pam Pack before taking his talents to East Carolina and then to the NFL. Williams, also a one-time Washington standout, is entering his final season of eligibility with the Pirates.

Copper said the team started as one of the weaker teams in the league, so the championship win was exciting.

“The more me and Jimmy started developing them and teaching them the game, they started getting better and better. We started to peak at the end of the season and won it all,” Copper said. “Also, this was our first year doing 7-on-7 and playing in this league. For those kids to win the championship in their first year, it was an amazing feeling to see the kids’ faces and also see the work they put in and really go from worse to first.”

Williams isn’t the only ECU athlete working with Copper and the Premier Sports Academy in Winterville. Pirate guard B.J. Tyson is also interning. He and Williams are both learning how the academy operates from both business and program-execution standpoints. While Williams is helping out with the football programs, Tyson is working with the basketball teams.

“Those guys do an awesome job,” Copper said. “The kids love their energy and personalities.”