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LATEST POSTS
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My point in this Scouts vs. Sports thread is that most families/kids interested in youth sports type activities are not going to be interested in scouting no matter how many free nights they have available.* That's because the activity doesn't appeal much to a lot of them in the first place. A few hours of possible fun on a monthly camp out isn't what they are looking for. Another point is that sports exclusivity to the degree claimed by scouters is largely a myth. There are regional differences but opportunities for play at middle school and high school levels have only expanded, both in and out of school. Specialization, injury/rest protocols, tiered programs/leagues, freshman teams, and emerging sports have increased roster sizes and broadened options across the board. Ages also don't really align -- if you're talking about JV or Varsity play, a significant percentage of scouts have already moved on from scouting by then. Sports is not keeping them from scouting. If you are talking cub scout or cross over ages, take a look at the mandatory requirements for AOL. The most appealing active adventure, Outdoors, has practically no actual activity prescribed in it. There is not much there to appeal to an active 10 year old. That is why scout membership is declining, not because of youth sports. It is wasted energy for scouters to be distracted by sports instead of focusing on why scouting itself isn't more appealing to youth and families. Another observation as a parent volunteer in both youth sports and scouts is that too many adults in scouting want the program to be what they think "kids today" need vs. just serving youth. For a supposedly youth led organization, adults layer an awful lot onto the program and it has made it stultifying in some aspects. *Shorter statured basketball players, even gifted ones, start having free nights once the height equation kicks in. You don't see a huge wave of them showing up in scouts in middle school and early high school though. They generally transition to another sport just as you are looking at football. What would scouting have to do to make the activity more appealing to your basketball player than football? -
By Eagle94-A1 · Posted
Do not know if this happens in sports still, know it does with music, but the activity is a grade, you don't make practice, attend a game, etc and you lose points off your grade. For example, all the football players tended to have the same PE class. However during season, practice and games was the PE class, and that period was used as a mandatory study hall for the player. Ditto other sports. Band would get a study period for major activities only. -
By BetterWithCheddar · Posted
I wouldn't discount the impact youth sports has had on Scouting's decline. There are only so many nights each week a family can devote to kids' activities. I agree there are other issues for Scouting to address, but this is a Scouts vs. Sports thread. You're correct - it's a mistake to conflate making a varsity roster with success just the same as it is to only consider Scouts who earn Eagle a success. However, IF you're in a large suburban school district AND your son desires to play a varsity team sport (besides football), they pretty much have to lock-in around 5th or 6th grade (which can crowd out other activities, including Scouting). This is unusual in my region. A junior playing JV would take a roster spot and playing time from a freshmen or sophomore who is still developing. Coaches use this option sparingly (like when they have a talented senior class and don't want to cut all of the juniors). In my region, lacrosse is still a club sport while hockey usually operates as a co-op (several schools combine to outfit one team). Football is the great equalizer with an unlimited roster, but participation comes with greater health risks. I don't think my wife and I would mind if our son played high school football, but we'd rather first see how far he can go with basketball. -
Or, from my observations and stories I have heard (?) they do not have to worry about not being allowed to particpate as they can, in most cases. No absolutes of course, but the sports stories are numerous, and I have encountered a Scout on occasion that had a coach tell them it was either or, and no matter, if he missed a pracice he was benched or even off the "team". Have to wonder the definition of team here of course. -
Things are different depending on where you are. Juniors who don't make varsity can still play JV in most cases. Some of those juniors won't make Varsity as seniors, but there are other extracurricular options and most of them will still see three good years of play at the high school level. You are doing what most scouters do -- focus comparisons on the single, final, high school senior year of a student athlete's entire career. It's even less relevant when you look at how many scouts are not even active or in scouting by that age. As far as rosters, baseball, soccer, football, and even basketball carry pretty large numbers. We haven't talked about Lacrosse or Winter ice hockey. In regions where those sports are common, they can carry even bigger rosters -- 20 to 30. There are also plenty of situations in scouting where youth can't make the "cut" for something -- activities that have limited head counts or prerequisites that are harder for some kids to meet for whatever reason. And if you are in a unit that is Eagle or First Class First Year focused, which many are, scouts can absolutely get left behind by peers if they miss things. I don't see much point in attacking youth sports for scouts' membership decline. I think it's irrelevant. Issues with scouting are why it is in decline. Trying to blame sports is a nonproductive distraction away from those issues in my opinion.
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