Saints grab shovels, sledgehammers to aid West Virginia flood recovery

6:21 PM ET

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.

The Saints spent their first day of training camp trying to support a small town devastated by floods. David Grunfeld/NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune

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 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 …

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