MINNEAPOLIS -- There are three things you can count on in a Minnesota August; the state fair, the heat and the start of high school football. Monday was the first practice for many schools, but for one team, this is so much more than just the beginning of a new season.

"We all have come together to realize it's the best thing for our student athletes, and that's the key here," says Josh Thurow, Athletics Director for Minnehaha Academy.

When he says, "come together," he's talking about the SMB Wolfpack, a football co-op of several schools in the cities. St. Paul Academy, Minnehaha Academy and Blake have joined forces. Separately, they barely had enough players to field a team, and those who did play were playing offense and defense.

"It just made a lot of sense from all the schools' perspectives involved in this. The time to act is now, don't wait until you're forfeiting games because you can't come up with enough bodies. Let's be proactive, let's jump ahead and combine and provide our kids with a better experience," says Thurow.

At Monday's practice, there were more than 60 kids. That's enough for coaches to even start a J.V. squad. Extra kids aside, Coach Collin Quinn says he doesn't plan to change his style.

"Year in and year out, it's my job to build a family, bring a group of boys together and help them love each other -- that never changes, no matter what kids I've got," said Quinn.

The kids do have to give up a little bit of school identity. They practice at Minnehaha Academy and will play at Blake's field in Hopkins, but the benefits seem to outweigh any of that.

"Before the season even started, we got up and we started making friends with the Blake and SPA kids. It's been really a good time, they're a lot of fun to hang out with," says Dawson Rademacher, a senior at Minnehaha Academy.

Just a pack of kids coming together to play football, and hopefully learn a few life lessons and make a few life-long friendships along the way.