Mike Triplett, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Saints grab shovels, sledgehammers to aid West Virginia flood recovery

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The New Orleans Saints dug in and got to work on their first day of training camp Wednesday -- grabbing shovels, sledgehammers and paintbrushes as they spent the afternoon helping to revitalize a park that was damaged by floodwaters in West Virginia last month.

No NFL team can appreciate the devastation suffered by this small community more than the Saints, who lived through Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago.

So it was important for them to keep their training camp here -- as long as the community welcomed them and wanted them. And the Saints took it a step further by rearranging their normal routine to spend the day out in the community, teaming with Lowe's Home Improvement on the restoration project. Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday's trip to work on the park replaced their typical conditioning test.

"Good luck feeling bad for yourself in training camp after coming out here and doing this," offensive tackle Zach Strief said. "Coming out here and giving back and helping a little bit, it's not just the right thing to do, it's the only thing to do, because we understand what they're going through."

While at the park, Payton and Drew Brees met with a neighborhood family that was devastated by the flooding. Their teenage daughter is still missing after being washed away in the aftermath of heavy rains that came relentlessly down the mountains. The National Weather Service reportedly described it as a "one-in-1,000-year" event.

According to The Associated Press, more than 20 people were killed in addition to homes that were destroyed.

The PGA Tour's Greenbrier Classic had to be canceled earlier in July because of the damage. But the community was grateful to have the Saints back for the third straight summer.

"It's awesome. I mean, they've become part of the community," said White Sulphur Springs police chief J.R. Pauley. "Folks look forward to them coming anyway. I think they were kind of afraid they wouldn't come. At this point, the community certainly needs something to look forward to, an uplifting thing. Kind of like this deal here (the park project).

"Hopefully when they get done, the kids will be able to play ball here this fall. I don't know at what point the city would've been able to put it to that point."

Pauley said the recovery is moving "slowly but surely."

"We're starting to move forward," Pauley said. "It's slow -- it's going to be slow. It'll be years before they ever recover. But it is moving forward."

Strief said the players were not only giving back, but also taking things like pride and camaraderie out of the experience, forming "position groups" of guys working together throughout various areas of the park.

"[Punter Thomas Morstead] said it right -- it's good for the soul," said safety Roman Harper, who said he hadn't worked like that since he was with his dad growing up in Alabama. "We're not just showing up here spending money, but we're actually putting some sweat into this thing. And that definitely gives you a better feeling inside, for sure.

"I'm glad we're doing this. It was something that really kind of moved me when Sean brought it up that this is what we're gonna be doing. And I'd much rather be doing this hard work labor than running 300-yard gassers any day."

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