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Frequently Asked Questions
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Parent Questions
Q: Are players required to wear shin guards and cleats?
A: Shin guards are mandatory for all soccer activities, but cleats
are optional.
Q: Do parents get a refund if their child starts the program late
or drops out early?
A: No. The fee for the Soccer and Scouting program is a flat fee for
12 weeks, regardless of when the player joins or leaves the program.
Q: Is it okay to sign a child and pay later?
A: While this is not Soccer and Scouting policy, the local council is
authorized to make that determination.
Volunteer Questions
Q: What do I do if a parent's behavior on the
sidelines becomes unacceptable?
A: Verbally abusing players, coaches, or referees will not be tolerated.
The offending parent should be asked to leave the field.
Q: What do we do if there is an obvious imbalance of talent
between two teams?
A: In the instance where teams are mismatched, coaches are asked
to move strong players to defense or rotate them out of the game for brief periods
of time. The pack/league head coach has the authority to reassign a player to a different
team if teams are significantly imbalanced with regard to talent.
Organizational/Administrative Questions
Q: Why was soccer chosen for the pilot test over baseball,
football, or basketball?
A: Many councils have experienced tremendous growth recently
in their Hispanic American/Latino communities, especially among first-generation
families from Mexico and Central and South America. The vast majority of these
families view soccer as their national sport. Councils that have blended
soccer with traditional Scouting programs in an effort to reach Hispanic
youth have been successful in recruitment, program delivery, and retention. "It's
in our blood" was the phrase one Latino professional Scouter used to explain
the success of Soccer and Scouting.
Q: How much does it cost for a youth to register in Soccer
and Scouting?
A: Each local council sets the fee for a youth to register in
Soccer and Scouting. The parents who registered their boys for the pilot program
in Denver paid $30 for the first season and $20 for each additional season for
a total of $90 for the year.
Q: What timeline is recommended for the four-season schedule?
A: Recommendations are as follows:
- Season 1: September through November
- Season 2: December through February
- Season 3: March through May
- Season 4: June through August
Q: What do we do if we can't recruit enough volunteer coaches
and parent helpers?
A: Not having enough volunteers, unfortunately, can affect the quality
of the program offering. But here are the best ways to work around this issue. First,
instead of one coach and two parent helpers per team, you could lower that to one volunteer
per team. The only other option, which you would try to avoid, is to increase the size of
the teams to reallocate the volunteers according to availability.
Q: What do we do in the case of bad weather?
A: First you need to determine the regulations of
the facility where the program is being held. In any instance where there is a risk of
injury to either players or volunteers, the program would be canceled for that
day/time.
Q: How would we make up missed program time due to bad weather?
A: To make up for missed time, each midweek and/or weekend practice may
be extended beyond the 1-hour, 45-minute schedule, up to 2 hours and 15 minutes. Making
up for missed time by adding weeks or days isn't an option.
Q: How does a council register someone who doesn't have a Social Security
number?
A: In April 2003, a letter went out to Scout Executives from Ed Weisshaar,
Director of Registration Service, detailing the procedure for this. The SE submits a written
request to the Director of Registration Service at the national office detailing the reasons
for an exception. The personal profile report must be included as an attachment to the letter
for exception.
Q: Can a boy still join Soccer and Scouting if he's missed the first few
weeks of the program?
A: Yes. The scenario of a boy joining Cub Scouting weeks after fall roundup
is similar in Soccer and Scouting. First, new boys should be added to the appropriate grade-specific
den, preferably with the least number of players. This helps to even up the number of players per
den. The volunteer coach may need to spend time with the new boys to summarize some of the practice
materials or techniques. A team buddy can help the volunteer coach tremendously to orient a new boy
with some of the activities that he has missed. The idea is to help new boys feel welcomed
into the program.
Q: Besides schools, churches, and community-based
organizations endorsed by BSA, can a youth-serving executive approach existing
soccer leagues as prospective chartered organizations for new Soccer and
Scouting units?
A: Though the idea of approaching already existing soccer leagues to charter new
units would seem enticing to any membership-minded youth-serving executive, we don't recommend this
approach for two reasons. First, youth soccer leagues are governed by their own rules and regulations
set forth by their national soccer organizations. These rules and regulations may conflict
with some of BSA's membership standards. Second, most soccer leagues focus their programs in the
spring or fall and don't offer a year-round program. Soccer and Scouting offers a year-round
character-building experience for young people.
Q: How important are bilingual/bicultural youth-serving executives in managing
Soccer and Scouting?
A: They are very important. Keep in mind that Spanish-speaking parents will be an
important audience in Soccer and Scouting. Bilingual youth-serving executives must be
available to explain this new program in Spanish to interested parents, and able to answer their
basic questions relating to registration and uniforms, and, equally important, how they can
volunteer to help in their son's program.
Q: What Soccer and Scouting resources are available in both English and Spanish
to support youth-serving executives and program directors?
A: The Cub Scout Division has produced the following English/Spanish
resources:
- Program Helps - one for each of the four seasons for Tiger Cubs (first
grade), Wolf Cub Scouts (second grade), Bear Cub Scouts (third grade), Webelos (fourth and
fifth grades). These are published in English and Spanish.
- Family Time Posters - one for each of the four seasons for Tiger Cubs,
Wolf Cub Scouts, Bear Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts. These are published in English and
Spanish.
Contact your local Boy Scouts of America council for these publications.
Q: What other training resources are available in Spanish?
A: The Scoutreach Division has recently translated and made available to
local councils the following Cub Scouting training materials:
- 94-126 Youth Protection Guidelines Video and Leader's Guide
- 94-210 Guide to Safe Scouting
- 94-220 Cub Scout Leader Specific Training Video
- 94-221 Cub Scout Leader Specific Training Manual/CD-ROM
- 94-230 New Leader Essentials Video
- 94-231 New Leader Essentials Manual/CD-ROM
Q: Are any of the boy handbooks available in Spanish?
A: Yes. The following handbooks are available in Spanish:
- 94-217 Cub Scout Leader Book
- 94-219 Tiger Cub Handbook
The Wolf Cub Scout Book will eventually be available to local councils in Spanish.
Q: Who can I contact if I have other questions relating to Soccer
and Scouting?
A: If your question is related to Cub Scout support materials and the implementation
of Soccer and Scouting, please contact your local council.
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