A high school football team in Halifax, Nova Scotia is making headlines for the way it's treating its newest member— a 17-year-old wide receiver named Kenny Cooley, who just so happens to be transgender.

"They’re just so open and they accept you for who you are," Cooley told CTV News while tossing a football around the field at Halifax West High School this month.

Though he doesn't have much experience playing football, Cooley said he's been welcomed by teammates and coaches with open arms, and is excited to start the new school year as a member of the family.

"I had a couple guys come up to me during training camp and say, ‘This is a family sport. This is all about family. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re part of the family if you’re playing for this team,’” Cooley told the Chronicle Herald.

The warm welcome was a relief for Cooley, who transferred schools this year because students at his former weren't "very accepting of the LGBTQIA community."

Now, he's even helping the students at his new school in ways he didn't even expect.

Head Coach David Kelly said he believes Cooley is unknowingly helping the team understand issues that transgender youth face by "giving them a perspective that they probably would not have had before."