One football team traded in the pads and weights for 50lbs of firefighter gear and obstacle courses.

Heritage High School’s (Lynchburg, Va.) football team took a day to workout with the local Lynchburg Fire Department. 

Head Coach Brad Bradley got the inspiration for firefighter-and-football after he saw a video of a small college in Oregon doing the same thing.

A squad of 30 Heritage players were faced with a grueling three-hour workout. They strapped on 50lbs of gear and climbed flights of steel stairs, carried ladders, rolled and unrolled hoses, and crawled through narrow obstacle courses.

The players worked along side 12 of The Lynchburg Fire Department recruits.

Bradley told The News & Advance, “I think we came away with a way better appreciation of what it takes to be a firefighter in Lynchburg City. And I think the fire department in Lynchburg City has a much better appreciation for what our kids do at Heritage High School.”

Roderick Farmer, a former Heritage multi-sport athlete, is one of 12 firefighter recruits. Farmer spoke with players, quoted William Ernest Henley, and left them with a clear message that today was about "making yourself better”.

The Lynchburg recruits are almost complete with an 18-month long training session and will graduate July 11th, with the ceremony being held at Heritage High.

Coach Bradley felt this experience gave the team a different workout perspective as well as a new team-bonding experience.