High school football players skip workout to shovel snow for their neighbors

A man shovels snow.
(Image credit: iStock)

A winter storm may have canceled the Bethel Park High School football team's weight lifting practice, but they still were able to get some exercise in, while also giving their neighbors a hand.

Last week, the team's coach, Brian DeLallo, tweeted that instead of coming to school and hitting the weights, he wanted players to "find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel their driveway. Don't accept any money — that's our Monday workout."

DeLallo told Fox News that the team's former head coach, Jeff Metheny, came up with the idea to shovel snow in lieu of workouts more than 20 years ago. "I learned it from Jeff and we've just carried on this tradition," he said. Their community of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, has been supportive of the football team, DeLallo added, and this is a way for the players to show their appreciation.

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Forty teens shoveled snow, including 16-year-old David Shelpman. He spent seven hours clearing two driveways, and when he was finished, volunteered at a spaghetti dinner for homeless veterans. Lending a hand "makes me feel like a part of something bigger than myself," Shelpman told Fox News. "I definitely always do feel good about being able to help others out."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.