When a winter storm threatened to drop several inches of snow on western Pennsylvania, a high school football team determined that canceling practice was in everybody’s best interests.
Rather than exercising weights in the weight room, Brian DeLallo, the football coach of Bethel Park High School, directed his players to locate an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel their driveway.
😭I teared up doing this story!
— Gabriella DeLuca (@GabriellaDeLuca) January 17, 2022
The Bethel Park football coach told his players they weren’t doing a gym work out today — and instead instructed them to go shovel driveways for elderly neighbors.
These guys took it seriously & are on their 6th driveway 👏🏼 @WPXI pic.twitter.com/wsZipK2kpu
DeLallo told that he was sitting on his couch preparing for the Pittsburgh Steelers game when he sent out a tweet alerting his teammates that Monday’s training had been canceled.
This is something that exists before him, he explained.
DeLallo was only carrying on a tradition started by the former football coach, who educated his players about committing kindness acts.
So, when six inches of snow fell in Bethel Park, the team started to work.
📍Bethel Park
— MEGHAN SCHILLER (@MeghanKDKA) January 17, 2022
Trading the barbells 🏋🏽 for some shovels ❄️
We tagged along with the Bethel Park School District football team as they learned helping others feels better than any lifting session.
Tonight at 6 on @KDKA
See you soon! @bpsdinfo @BethelParkNews pic.twitter.com/6VZ6nZviR6
According to team captain Gavin Moul, some neighbors even denied their offer since they declined to accept any type of payment.
By the end of the day, the group had cleaned hundreds of driveways in their neighborhood.
Danny Varhola, 83, was delighted to have the young men of Bethel Park High School shovel his driveway. In the 1980s, his own son played high school football.
This is really fantastic! What a wonderful way to contribute to ones community. I hope these young men got more out of this than simply a good exercise.
