The Patrol Method
Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program
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LATEST POSTS
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It is never simply apples and oranges in these comparisons. So many other things affect the outcomes and the possibilities. Too often the broad brushes just smear the actual info and ultimate data. All activities have some kind of cost, though some are far more expensive monetarily. Yet, often the kids just want to participate on their own terms. We used to often play the now almost defunct baseball game, work up. It allowed many more players if they chose to wait the rotations. Another baseball type game was three flys up. Pick up games still exist, though too often they get taken over by bullies and bigger kids, which is sad. I was fortunate to have a place on HS teams, but I was not a star, just a needed body with basic skills. No easy and absolute answers or solutions. But, we still need to make the effort. -
@mylo_cat, I think I know who in particular helped you. Rock solid customer service. Excellent display skills. He used cordage instead of screws to put up display racks. I hope you get to visit the shop and thank the staff in person. ETA: They would love a thank-you with picture. Seriously, they work for bonuses in smiles. -
I don't understand the math here. Rosters for most varsity level team sports are 20-25 kids -- baseball, basketball, soccer. If your eligible demographic is 200 kids, that's at least 10% of the grade. But that's also probably 50% of the hopeful demographic that actually wants to play the sport. Not every kid in the grade wants to play a sport or make the commitment to play it at such a competitive and all consuming level, but scouting seems to like to assume that everyone does. There are also plenty of nonschool options for kids that don't make Varsity cuts and they are not all high end travel. Like scouting, there are teams and leagues at all levels of play. Do a certain percentage of kids and parents aspire to be the star starting player in a sport and pursue it that way? Yes, of course, but scouting seems to like to exaggerate that number to blame declining interest in scouting on sports. -
By BetterWithCheddar · Posted
On the same day you shared this link, I received an email from my local council advertising a spot on its 2026 Philmont contingent for $2,400. 😛 I wonder how much the decline in high school football participation (where roster size is unlimited) has led to parents funneling their kids to other team sports (where roster sizes are limited)? If you Google this, I think you'll find participation hasn't dropped but rather remained stagnant even as the US population has increased. I still think the biggest issue is scarcity, which drives an "arm's race" for parents to get their kid on a high school team. Take a large suburban high school with 1,600 kids - that's 400 kids per class (or roughly 200 of each gender). When they become upperclassmen, how many kids in each class can actually play varsity soccer, basketball, or baseball/softball? 10? That might even be generous, depending on the number of underclassmen pushing for a roster spot. Even an inclusive sport like cross country caps varsity rosters at 7 or 8. You can have 50 boys or girls go out for cross country every year, but most of them will just be participating in a glorified workout club (not that there's anything wrong with kids getting exercise after school). -
You guys have to be careful here. A "day camp" is also an event that 1 day but "recurring". So say you have a 1 day skills tournament district event. If you repeat that within the same calendar year months apart and with a different name but exactly the same "whatever" it is now a "day camp" and must follow NCAP. Like I said, there is a lot of gray area out there and there are too many 22 year olds that can pivot to a different career and nothing worth a lick out there making decisions and spouting non-sense.
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