Correspondent photo / Bill Koch Darius Javey stands with his son, De’arius “Pop” Javey, 9, in front of a mural for the Ohio Chaney Cowboys, a traveling youth football team founded by Javey and his fianceé in 2019.

YOUNGSTOWN — City resident Darius Javey was not comfortable having the spotlight only on his own efforts working with children. After all, said Javey, in order to form a healthy community, “It takes a village.”

Javey, 32, grew up in Youngstown, enrolled at Eagle Heights Academy for middle school, attended East High School, and in 2010 graduated from the Mahoning Valley Opportunity Center. He works as a laborer for the Youngstown Water Department.

Javey said that as a student he was always involved in sports. Noting the pitfalls of many of his classmates, he said, “Good coaches I had growing up took me a long way. It took me away from difficult times and gave me a better state of mind.”

In 2019, Javey and his fiancee Timqueta Hamilton decided to give back by forming a youth football league. Javey credits Hamilton for doing “all the research and the behind closed doors work” while Javey interacted with the children and their parents. The result was a traveling youth football team known as the Midwest Bengals.

In the meantime, Louis Jones was coaching a youth football team of his own, the Little Chaney Cowboys. Last year they decided to join forces, and they changed the name to the Ohio Chaney Cowboys.

But it kept growing. Troy Williams had been coaching a youth basketball team called the Youngstown Pride since 2010, and it was a natural fit for the new organization.

Last year, the Ohio Chaney Cowboys served 163 children ages 6 to11, with separate teams for each age. They have not only coached football and basketball, but have branched out into baseball, track, and wrestling. Besides Javey, Jones, Williams, and other coaches from previous youth sports teams, many people volunteer their time to make the program a success. Williams added, “All of our ladies work just as hard as we do.”

Now that they have a connection with Chaney, they have access to high school facilities such as the football field and gym. Javey said he appreciates the support of athletic director Nick Sferra and he noted that they are also providing Youngstown schools with a “feeder system” for future competitors.

Teams are divided between “Rec” and “National.” The Rec league is available for everyone regardless of ability and the emphasis is on participation. National is more advanced as they compete with similar teams around the country. This year they have gone all over Ohio, as well as Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Most participants live in Youngstown, but it is not a requirement. In fact, Javey picks up children in Warren, and just like the others in the organization, “treats them like his own kids.” Javey’s children are among the athletes.

Jones admitted that he made mistakes when he was younger and said for him coaching means, “I try to deter kids from going down the route I chose.” He added that, “I have more fun than the kids. We had a game at Ohio Stadium and the experience of coaching in the Horseshoe was second to none.”

Javey said he likes that the program helps create better sons and daughters and better scholars, as well as fostering healthy peer relationships. He loves to “see them get better every day and smarter every day.”

Between traveling and equipment it costs a lot of money to operate the program. They hold fundraisers throughout the year but are always looking for funding ideas. They are a 501(c)(3) and anyone who wants to be a supporter can find them on Facebook under Ohio Chaney Cowboys or call Javey at 330-951-9203.

Javey let Williams sum up why they are all doing what they do: “You know the type of things that can happen to a youth, so we try to keep them on the straight and narrow and show them different things so they can have a better future.”

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