Re: Cub Scout "Scout Spirit
Peter Van Houten (peterva@QM.WV.TEK.COM)
Wed, 26 Jan 1994 08:43:05 -0800
RE>>Cub Scout "Scout Spirit"
John McCollum contributed to the thread by stating:
>> Mike, I'll join with several of the other posters and caution against
>> making the boy feel like he has to decide between Scouts and athletics.
In
>> every such case somebody loses and unfortunately, in many cases it is
Scouting
>> and therefore the boy. Besides, no one wants a Scouting program that
consists
>> totally of non-athletes.
>> I'd recommend adapting as much as possible to allow participation in both
>>programs without compromising requirements.
I'd like to ditto the comments about not forcing a choice between athletics
and Scouting. Point being, if the parents are not hard-core behind scouting,
you'll probably lose. As a parent who is a Cub Scout leader (Cubmaster & Den
Leader) and a coach (Basketball, Baseball and Soccer) I can attest to the
frustrations of scheduling and attempts to prevent conflict.
The best solution is to provide as much cooperation and flexibility as you
can. Remember these are only Boys growing up...they want to have as much fun
as they can.
Case in point: This past weekend we scheduled a winter activity, reserving a
large tubing area for our pack. Everything was scheduled 6 months in
advance. What we didn't count on was the YMCA changing their basketball
schedule so that the first game of the season fell on the same Saturday as
our trip. Whammo....I've just lost 60% of my pack to basketball. Parents
immediately felt they had to make a choice, and being it was the first game
they were going to choose Basketball. Boys were disappointed as they wanted
to do both. So what did we do....we gave parents options (thats a key word,
options -- its something people don't think up on their own, even if
obvious). Option 1: Go up early and come home at noon. this was for those
with afternoon games. Option 2: For those with games in the morning, we had
a group that met and carpooled at noon. Option 3: If your game conflicted
with option 1 & 2 you come up after your game is over. As such, everyone
played Basketball, and we had over 150 people attend the winter activity.
Thats not bad attendance by anyones counting.
Cooperation, flexibility and understanding goes a long way in ensuring the
BOYS have a great time being BOYS.
In Scouting . . .
Peter
Peter Van Houten / E-Mail:
peter_van_houten.techsupport@qm.wv.tek.com
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
