Jameson76

Cautious reminder that many of the advertisements on the benefits (and not discounting there are positive aspects) of youth sports are driven in many cases by groups that will benefit financially from youth sports Sporting goods stores and manufacturers that sell equipment Coaches who are paid and need customers Associations that run the "exclusive" tournaments and need the revenue Private coaching and instructional academies that need customers Groups running sports camps that need attendees Parks and rec groups that have fields that see leagues as rental clients For the "elite" youth athlete I have questioned the wisdom to pay $4k - $6 annually to participate in a sport for 6 - 8 years with hopes/plans of getting a scholarship. That same money spent could be invested and you could pay for most of college. If they like a sport, maybe there is a rec program. Interestingly the participation in Sports has come to define many youth, and I guess their parents. Not sports bashing in any way. But I have seen a evolution in the last 40 years from kids playing 3 to 4 sports, having fun, off season, doing random sports things to the drive for 1 sport at 8 or 9, year round, and that's it. Kids get burned out, injured etc. Youth need family sports (organized and just exercise) social things (church group, Scouts, youth groups) academic (school) free time All of that should part of a balance kid

We provide the insurance detail for our out of council summer camp. It's on the council website I did have to provide a certificate of insurance from the council when we camped at a county park (not sure why), the service center assisted.

A lot to unwrap here, but this pretty much sums it up As Dirty Harry said in Magnum Force "a man's got to know his limitations" Your limitations may be turning this Titanic around Not sure of the timing but 4 Scoutmasters in a few short years is a sign of trouble The one who slapped a Scout (Was his name Patton??) The one there when you joined You The next Scoutmaster victim As a comparison my home troop had 4 Scoutmasters in 16 years 70's and 80's. Current troop has had 2 in last 19 years, retired one and current. Overall in 35 years current troop has had 9 SM's and one had a short tenure due to heart attack.

Our crew found it interesting that they sort of encourage the crews to build fires not (in approved rings etc etc). Seems line a good idea to have the 20,000 Scouts going through each night to scour the ground for loose burnable debris. When I first went in the 70's we had to cook on fires, so as you came to a camp you started picking up wood about 1/2 mile out. Went in the 80's and backpacking stoves were a thing so we built no fires, same for other treks. On the Baldy climb, I have told all the crews I've been that the climb up the tailings / loose rocks seems close, but will be arduous. The saddle and going out the the lower peak there is a nice stroll. Also the hike around the back heading North East over to Copper Park along that ridge is stunning. The Mt Phillips hike is great and underrated

Not an untrue observation Many Scouters take on District or Council positions at the request of a friend and then enjoy the camaraderie that may bring. As friendships change or people move on, you may turn around and then you may not really have a lot in common with the team you are working with. Lack of friendships and common experience can impact the "fun" you may have had in the past doing whatever for the District or Council. Becomes more of job. With the troop you go in knowing the main focus of your efforts (the Scouts) will in fact grow-up and age out, that is sort of the overall hope and plan. As the older ones move on you can build relationships with the new ones, work with them, help develop them. Sort of Rinse Lather Repeat. A good bit of personal satisfaction to sit on an EBOR with a Scout who you remember being a somewhat homesick 11 year old.

Interesting that a lot of comments seem to center on Scouters who are burned out on district or possibly council positions. Personally I have been involved with unit work for many years. No district or council (well except 7 years of camp staff and 2 years as DE). No Woodbadge or anything like that. Worked with my home troop out of college #2, worked with others as I moved, worked with a local one here that my son joined. He has aged out, but I Scout on with 11 years with this one. Multiple trips to Philmont, long local High Adventure, coaching Life to Eagles now and logging 35 nights camping annually with the troop. Keep involvement at the unit level. Watch and get to know the new Scouts as they crossover. That keeps it fresh. Don't be afraid to be the old guy, who knows what is what, yet has a lot of fun doing it. Those conversations with the 7th and 8th graders on the way to outings are pure comedy gold.

Not downplaying the severity of the charges or impact on the BSA and Eagle Scouts; wonder if he earned Entrepreneurship, American Business, or Truck Transportation Merit Badges? Also assume he got to see the essential elements of Fingerprinting Merit Badge up close and personal.

Not a good read, very sad. Mainly issues that occurred years ago. The quantity of claimants will be the main story. No recent issues, but this will no doubt accelerate possible bankruptcy.

You must be thinking about the wholesale price...retail would be much higher

To be clear, Summit is not actually owned by the BSA, it is technically owned by the various bondholders and lenders. It will be years and years and years before BSA will in fact "own" Summit Bechtel Reserve. There are bond balloon payments well north of $100 million (though these will no doubt be refinanced) that come due in or about 2022. Sure it may be a nice facility, but the challenge is that the Summit is sucking up a lot of money from BSA operations. Question needs to be asked, is it worth it?

Don't forget ignore. There is ALWAYS the option to ignore.

We have sent 12 crews over the last 10 years to Seabase and the Out Island Adventure. Had 3 full crews there late May and early June. Great experience, very good intro High Adventure. Most of ours were rising 9th and 10th grade, so agree that the 14 - 15 is better age group. Not only the physical stamina but the maturity level. The variety of activities is good; fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, etc etc.

Been 3 times, recently in 2014. Went in 85 during the Jamboree year, place was empty. More open than many trails I hike and camp in the southeast. 2014 there were crews at campsites, but the sites are heeewge. Actually did not see another crew camping...well maybe across a field. Passed a crew now and then, but you can go for hours and only see your crew. Last day we hiked out from Zastrow to Rayado...5 miles or so over basically good western terrain (down at the SE corner of the ranch), saw cows. Stopped when we got to the road.

That is a good general list, but also we as leaders need to make sure we understand the context. Yes the reporting scout may feel bullying took place, it is the catch all phrase. But in some of those instances, especially the verbal, social, and group issues there can (and I stress can) be times where the one feeling bullyed may have played a part, poked for a reaction, and then got a reaction. Critical to fully speak with and understand what caused this to transpire. Not excusing a reaction, but we as leaders need to understand the background Had a scout who complained he felt bullyed, basically the scouts were not including him in all the reindeer games..but...the scout was a bit of a troublemaker, cause some strife, like to stir things up. We talked with the larger group about being friendly and also that a if they had a problem, maybe a conversation with scout would be helpful. Talked with the scout about his attitude and what he may could bring to the solution. Not a specific bullying issue but at an Eagle BOR we asked a Scout about what good life lessons he gained from Scouting (open ended question). He admitted that when he was an 11 year old he could be a bit of a pill, he was trying to do something with some older scouts, they told him to not be such a a**hole and maybe he could, he needed to shut up first and not be a jerk. Made an impact on him that his behavior could have a negative impact on people's perceptions (lightbulb moment) Absolutely, some quiet conversation and fact finding can go a long way. May lead to some tough conversations and intraspective thoughts

We do ZERO fundraisers. Scouts pay annual dues for registration. We charge a nominal fee for monthly outings, basically break even to cover campsite expenses, etc. For summer camp and high adventure that is funded by the Scouts attending. Works for us. In my limited experience the time and commitment to a sales effort is not well spent for the return

Most of our Scouts hammock, so it's not an issue. We have mixed age patrols. That being said when we have 6 patrols on an outing, they function for cooking, setup, etc as a patrol; but still hang out with friends for camping. As a side note, my observation over the years has been that Scouts that are inseparable in 5th grade may have drifted apart by 8th grade. Have Scouts function as patrols, but also let them associate as they like.

Oh boy - the uniform police are coming, always good times. Let's also get riled up about red epaulettes vs dark green ones, rows of knots, placement of temporary patches, and headgear.

I try to evenly distribute the weight in my pack to some degree, makes the trail miles much easier. Though you likely want slightly more weight in the top. Keep water low and not too much stuff randomly strapped on bouncing about. I may have missed the intent of this discussion.....

I was on the Council Advancement call, apparently the council has a stated goal for number of Eagle Scouts for the year. I assume this is not new, but it is a little disheartening. The goal of the BSA have never been to generate Eagle Scouts. That is really a byproduct of a superior and engaged program. Not sure if I really like that. Do wonder if all the councils are pushing this "goal"? As a side-note we seem to be about 31% of goal right now. Guess districts are going to need to run second shifts on the EBOR's to meet goal. If we exceed the number in December does the council plan to hold off on EBOR's to sandbag some for 2020?

Only one I recall suspending was a First Class one, we casually asked about his camping events, Scout sort of fumbled so we dissected that item, realized he had not in fact met that requirement, so we encouraged him to go on the outing coming up, get that wrapped up, and we would see him later. For an EBOR the applicant has had a SM conference, the application has been approved by the unit, the application has been approved by the council, all the boxes have been checked. Unless the applicant is way out of line, would not see suspending an EBOR. If the board maybe spotted some signature not in place on the Eagle project packet or application, maybe, but that would likely be an oversight and not a planned attempt to deceive.

Odd that a program that was built on the outdoors, with that outside emphasis being a differentiator in the crowded marketplace that serves youth, is ever so slowly (actually not so slowly) being pushed to the back of the offerings. Not saying you have to camp every week but if you purport to be a trained leader in Scouts BSA you should embrace the concept of the outdoor adventure and you maybe should have actually camped at some point so you have that experience and understand how that works. We go outside, we go do STUFF, we go have FUN.

I do hope they add members. For small group or patrol activities, 8 to 10 is a good number. For a full troop that may be a tough road to get critical mass to do activities and have a good number of outings and events

We had a Scout join later than most, he was 15 and maybe 9 months. We had a conversation about his goals, he indicated an interest in earning the Eagle rank. At our first summer camp (we attend 2) had discussions and I told him if he was committed then the second camp would be a good thing to earn some additional MB. He did attend and we worked with the camp to get into MB sessions that could be completed and could assist with rank advancement (also some for fun). Then last summer he went to high adventure and attended the second summer camp. He did wrap up his Eagle in June. Not a bad plan. The Scout summer camps can assist with the rank advancement. Hope she enjoys the journey.

We had National Camp inspections back in the 70's. I recall being a provisional camper, helping tidy the waterfront up. The guys from "National" came though. That's what I was told. As a Program Director and Camp Director we had specific inspection standards and review in early 80's. Again, the mysterious guys from "National" came though

Where did you get those numbers? 2017 Annual report numbers all youth = 2,659,439 2018 Annual report numbers all youth = 2,499,349 That seems to be down about 160,090 youth and a decline of 6%