
Aaron Feis, 37, was killed on February 14 as he protected students at the Parkland high school massacre

Grieving teenager football players wore their jerseys on Thursday to the funeral of their hero coach who died saving students at the Parkland high school massacre.

Coach Aaron Feis, 37, died while acting as a human shield by lying on top of students at Stoneman Douglas High School while gunman Aaron Cruz was killed.

He was among three adults who died trying to protect the youngsters. Fourteen students were also slain.

On Thursday, mourners turned out en masse to attend Feis's funeral service in Coral Springs.

He was a former student of the school and had been teaching there for eight years.

Among the mourners was his a student who said he had become a father figure to him.

'His time was infinite when it came to students and athletes,' Brandon Corona said.

Feis's friend Joe LaGuardia said he knew instinctively that he would have been trying to save lives when he heard about the shooting.

Teenagers wore their football jerseys to Feis's funeral in Coral Springs, Florida, on Thursday morning

Former students and police officers also attended the service where Feis was eulogized as 'one of the greatest people' they all knew

Teenagers acted as pallbearers at the ceremony and bravely carried Feis's body out to the hearse after the service

Other youngsters from the Coral Glades Jaguars wore their jerseys to the funeral

The hearse which carried Feis's casket is pictured making its way to the cemetery where he was buried after the service

A fire truck attached an enormous American flag to its ladder and lowered it to fly over Feis as he was driven away in the hearse

'There wasn't a question in my mind that after I finished Ash Wednesday service I had to go and check out Aaron's Facebook page or get ahold of the family because I know that Aaron would be running to save lives, I just knew it.'

'He was one of the greatest people I know.

'I knew that the inspiration that his family and his wife gave him was the strength that allowed him to make a decision in split second in order to give his life over to his students in order to save them, even if it was only three students or a half dozen students.

'That was the Aaron I know,' he said.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel was among those who spoke at the service.

He knew Feis before tragedy struck the school last week and remarked on how every football coach kept him on as an assistant.

A group of young mourners leave the church in Coral Springs after the service on Thursday

There was a large turnout for the funeral which is the latest of the victims from last week's shooting. All are expected to be finished by the end of the week

Some of the students wore ties beneath their Eagles jerseys. Others found comfort in one another and were able to smile through the morbid occasion

Mourners carried flowers out of the service on Thursday. The congregation was a blended mix of teenagers and adults

There was a large police presence at the service, as there has been at all of those of the shooting victims

Mourners hug outside the church after the funeral of Aaron Feis on Thursday in Coral Springs, Florida

'Everybody wanted him. He was the connection to the kids. Kids would do more for Feis than others.

'Why? Because they didn't want to let Feis down.

'Before you even heard how he died, you knew he died putting himself in harms' way to save others,' he said.

Earlier this week, the Miami Dolphins presented Feis's family with a cheque for $17,500.

He knew one of the people on the team and all were impressed with how he gave his life to save the children he was looking after.

Millions have poured in to GoFundMe pages set up by officials to pay for the funerals and benefit the victims' families.

The money will also be used on counseling for surviving students and teachers.

Last week's shooting reignited the national debate on gun control and has given way to a wave of protests.

Feis (left while teaching and right with his young daughter) was a former student of the school and had taught there for eight years