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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Much of Utah is under a flash flood watch Monday night, and the threat of more rain could be crippling for some already hit hard by floods.
But some residents of Saratoga Springs are still cleaning up from fast-moving mudslides that damaged their homes on Sept. 2. So, a group of third-grade football players decided it was a good night to skip practice and help out.
Members of the the Westlake third-grade football team had their eyes on one play: cleaning up their teammate Hunter Greene's flood-damaged home.
Seeing all these kids running around in their football jerseys, this is what natural disasters are all about.
–Russell Greene, Hunter's father
Practice was canceled, Coach Gabe Lee said, so the team could come together in a service project for their friend.
"We're trying to get out as quick as we can, but we can't because we are trapped," Hunter explained, describing the day the mudslide hit. "Me and my mom are grabbing everything we can to survive."
The two got out, but what's left of their house is a mess. So, on Monday evening, Hunter's teammates switched up their drills a bit.
Instead of sprinting, they shoveled; and passes were traded with sweeping. But one thing stayed the same: these pee wee players have got each other's back on and off the field.
"Seeing all these kids running around in their football jerseys, this is what natural disasters are all about," said Russell Greene, Hunter's father.
Their coach said he's not teaching his boys just how to play football, but also how to be a team.
"I said, ‘Do you know what a service project is?'" Lee recalled. "And one of my boys said, ‘That's when you help somebody in need.'"
Meanwhile, Saratoga Springs officials say in addition to volunteers, they'll be relying on resources from Salt Lake and Utah counties to help with the cleanup.
