The value of joining scouting

 I wanted to sit down tonight and write about the cost of scouting, and the value it provides to the youth and to the community. To compare, I wanted to use the sport of the season, football as a contrast.

There is no question that football provides value to the community, especially High School and College levels. Arriving at the NFL provides great entertainment value, and many of the teams and players collectively as well as individually sponsor a number of charitable organizations. Many see sports as a way out of an underprivileged situation, or rather, they dream that it could be their ticket to wealth and fame. 

Football requires discipline, there is no question. It requires that the youth suborn their desire to be, say the starting Quarterback, to the talent perceived by the coach to be a second string linebacker. It also requires, scholastically, for the youth to maintain a certain grade level, especially if they are, actually, that first string player. These are important qualities for anyone to develop, and have lifelong value even if the player never makes it to the NFL, or even to the college level.

It is also not cheap. While the cost of entry varies with school districts, there is no question that it is very costly, a cost born, unless the youth is EXTREMELY talented, by the family. A poor family allocating scarce resources has to take a hard look at the sacrifices they are prepared to make so that Johnny or Jill can play.

What is the potential payoff? Well an NFL contract is very lucrative, even at the minimum signing level. A player needs to immediately plan for the future because most do not play for long. According to statistica.com, the average player career is 3.3 years. When you consider that many players such as Tom Brady are in for ten years or more, most careers are less.

But to play in the NFL, right? Well, the odds are overwhelmingly not in your favor. According to the NFL Players Association, out of 100,000 High School Football players, just 215, or .02%, make it to the NFL. The statistics vary by sport, but the NBA and MLB show similar numbers. That is just being drafted, or signing a free agent contract. Not being the superstar earning the big bucks.

Why do I go into such details about sports? It is simple, really. There are many activities that compete for our youth today, Many of them are valuable, and provide benefit to the community, I do not mean to disparage any of them. Let me make the case for Scouting, and the important benefit that it provides communities, our country, and even globally.

As I currently reside in the Heart of America Council, let me get the bad news out of the way first. Scouting, surprise, surprise, is not cheap. To register a new youth in Heart of America, not including local troop fees, is about $114, annually. Factoring in uniforms, camp fees, and troop funding, and the total does add up. But what value?

I cannot quantitate the value of scouting compared to football. The value is many fold, and most of it does not have dollars attached. Just a few:

1. Provide positive role models for youth, especially youth that are at risk. It encourages these youth to mix with others close to their age, in building each other up.

2. Establishes a commitment to service. Service to individuals, service to community, service to country. Entwined in the very heart of scouting is the mantra "To help other people at all times." Youth are taught that they need to look outward, rather than focusing entirely on themselves.

3. Encourages faith in God. Duty to God is more than just the first duty of a scout, it crafts a narrative of gratitude. Gratitude to God, and gratitude to others. It improves the self esteem of the individual, and empowers them.

4. Teaches youth to lead. I am not ranking importance in this list, but encouraging youth to learn skills, and to turn around and teach them to others will buoy the youth up, and help them feel that they have a purpose, which is so lacking in our society.

5. Finally on this not all inclusive list, the teaching of life skills is critical to scouting. Merit Badges on dozens of subjects, basic scouting skills taught in the lower ranks, such as first aid, cooking, and camping outdoors. Citizenship is taught and impressed on every scout. Getting kids off of the video games, and into the great outdoors is very important. This can help to make youth self-reliant, and able to cope with the various challenges that all of us face in life.

6. I know I just said finally, but one more extremely important point. Scouting provides a safe place for youth. Yes, we all know about what happened in the past, and while there is no way to guarantee nothing will happen in the future, the facts speak for themselves. The BSA's Youth Protection Program is very robust, and has taken great strides in not only rooting out those who should not be in scouting, but it serves as a model for youth programs all over the country.

So, what difference does all of that mean to a family with one or more youth scout aged that simply cannot afford the price of admission? Well the Council does provide scholarships, valued up to one half of the registration fee. Also there is also popcorn sales, as well as whatever fund raisers the local unit may hold.

The question isn't whether we can afford to put our youth in scouting, it is more whether we can afford NOT to do so.