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Good Movies for Training/Team Building


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My troop runs a leadership training/team building weekend about every six months. We usually do it as a cabin campout, and integrate parts of the current Troop Leader Training material, the older JLT material, and some of the troop's unique, traditional training conducted by the SM, SPL and other older scouts. On Friday night, we like to show a movie with a message pertinent to leadership and team building. Following the movie, the SPL and JASM(s) lead the group in an informal discussion about the themes in the movie, and how they can relate to our troop.

 

I'm wondering if anyone can suggest any age-appropriate movies (our guideline is usually PG-13). In the past, we have used October Sky, Remember the Titans, and Apollo 13. The youth all responded to these movies quite well (probably the first two more so than the third). We'd like to try something new this year, so I'm just curious is anyone has any suggestions.

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Master and Commander is pretty good, with boy officers ordering the adult crew around. There are a few pretty tough scenes - one where a boy has his arm amputated, and another where the doctor uses a coin to fix a fractured skull of one of the older sailors. Otherwise, it is a pretty good movie with leadership, team work and chain of command demonstrated.

 

The John Wayne classic, The Cowboys, shows how the boys come together after JW bites the dust. Today's youth don't get as excited about cowboy movies as us older folks used to, but you'll never know with your boys until you give it a try.

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Also in da nautical theme are the A&E "Horatio Hornblower" series of made for TV movies. The first few are the best in some ways, showin' a young Midshipman Hornblower struggling through leadership choices and fears. Though a couple later ones show leadership when operatin' under a tyrant of a captain. :)

 

Plus if yeh use Master & Commander or Horatio Hornblower, they'll all want to become Sea Scouts :).

 

B

 

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How about "Armageddon"?

Two teams (patrols)with the common goal of saving the world from devastation.

Shows team building, teamwork, problem solving and making tough decisions.

I do not know what it is rated, but it is a good movie! :)

 

Another good movie is "Miracle on Ice".

The story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team.

Again, team building and team work to achieve the goal of winning the Gold medal.

 

Of course, there is one movie out there that in it's own off-the-wall way shows team work and problem solving....

 

"KISS and the Attack of the Phantom of the Park" ;)

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I'd like to add "We are Marshall" to the list. It was just on the other day and I thought it was very good.

 

 

From Wikipedia: We Are Marshall is a 2006 motion picture directed about the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed most of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, the rebuilding of the program, and the healing that the community undergoes.

 

From the website:

 

"Life hit the West Virginia town of Huntington and its Marshall University even harder. When it did, Jack Lengyel came by to help pull them onto their feet by taking the job no one wanted: rebuilding the Marshall football program only months after a plane crash wiped out Marshall's beloved Thundering Herd. Matthew McConaughey portrays Lengyel, the energetic, compassionate coach of inexperienced players whose chances of victory are slim and none. They'll go with the slim. And as they do, their true-life story of heart, healing and football will thrill and inspire you. It's game day. Time to play till the whistle blows!"

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I would suggest "Twelve O'Clock High" starring Gregory Peck from 1949. Yes, it is old...but this picture shows several good examples of leadership styles. The impact of those techniques is also made quite apparent throughout the movie.

 

The varied approaches to discipline and order are well illustrated throughout the show and will be reasonably easy for Scout age boys to pick-up on. If you use this movie, I would have the disscussion about what the boys learned immedeiatly after the credits roll...while the impression is still fresh and questions come naturally.

 

Be sure to have those who are conducting the training pre-screen this movie so as to be ready to point out the pertinent differences among the leadership styles and the examples of discipline and what impact those things have on people...have your post-show critique in a town-hall/forum venue that allows the Scouts to get "their 2 cents worth in" and ask if any can relate what they saw in the movie to something they have seen or experienced at school,church, Scouts or at home.

 

Good Luck...hope this helps.

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Personal courage and tenacity:

"The Pistol", the Birth of a Legend" Being the story of Pete Maravich and how he revolutionized basketball. Racism confronted, new technigues vs tradition, cliques vs loyalty.

 

"Drumline" Loyalty, competition, personal success, fitting in and not.

 

Hope you can find'em.

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If the Troop is entirely Christian, "Facing the Giants" is a good one. The acting isn't great, but the movie is. I'm just a little biased, since it was filmed here in Georgia. Sort of a "Remember the Titans" meets "The Purpose Driven Life."

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