Resources

Soccer and Scouting Basic Training Trainer's Guide

Appendix

The Name Game

Needed: Large playing area, any number of players, several beanbags or small stuffed animals that can be thrown easily (Have as few as half the number of objects as you have players or up to one per player.)

The leader arranges participants into a circle, asks everyone to raise one hand, and explains the rules: (1) Throw the beanbag to someone who has a hand raised (but not the person beside you). (2) Call out your name and drop your hand when you catch the beanbag. (3) Remember the name of the person who threw you the beanbag and to whom you throw the beanbag. (4) If you drop the beanbag, don't try to retrieve it—the leader throws a beanbag to another player, and play continues until everyone has caught the beanbag and no more hands are raised.

The leader throws the beanbag to the first person and continues the pattern until everyone has caught the beanbag. Repeat the game a few more times as people remember names. Then play again, with everyone calling out the name of the person catching the beanbag.

The 10-Week Soccer and Scouting Season

The Soccer and Scouting season begins in week two and runs midway through week 12 of the Soccer and Scouting program. The 10-week Soccer and Scouting season consists of the following:

Ten midweek meetings/practices. Every week, teams meet on one evening of the week for an hour and 45 minutes to cover a variety of Soccer and Scouting ac-tivities. Practices begin after the second weekend prac-tice/game. Lesson plans are contained in this booklet.

Ten weekend practices/games. Every weekend (usu-ally on Saturday), teams meet for an hour and 45 minutes to cover a variety of Soccer and Scouting ac-tivities. Weekend practices/games begin the weekend after the Jump-Start event. Lesson plans are contained in this booklet.

Midweek and Saturday Meeting Plans

The midweek den meeting/soccer practice and Sat-urday game meetings will follow this schedule (on Saturday, the closing ceremony includes a Core Values reflection):

0:00-0:05 (5 minutes)—Opening ceremony

0:05-0:30 (25 minutes)—Soccer skills clinic

0:30-0:55 (25 minutes)—Scouting activity

0:55-1:00 (5 minutes)—Hydration/rest break

1:00-1:30 (30 minutes)—Scrimmage game/small-sided soccer game

1:30-1:35 (5 minutes)— Hydration/rest break

1:35-1:45 (10 minutes)—Closing ceremony

Opening and closing ceremonies. Ceremonies play an important part in our lives. We have ceremonies to celebrate birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings, and religious and many other special occasions. Cub Scout meetings always include a formal opening and closing, which is an assembly around a short, mean-ingful talk or activity.

Soccer skills clinic. Each soccer activity includes two or three sample activities (shown in the appendix). The activities include information on

1. Purpose—Techniques and skills developed through the activity
2. Organization—Instructions on how to set up the activity in terms of space, number of players, and equipment
3. Game objective—Instructions on how to play the game
4. Progressions—Suggestions on how to make the activity more challenging

Scouting activity. Over 100 years ago the founder of Scouting called it "Fun with a purpose." Scouting is fun, but it is not only fun. There are always lessons to be learned by boys in Scouting, and they are lessons connected to the aims of Scouting: character develop-ment (improving mental skills and teaching good val-ues), citizenship training (social skills), and personal fitness (physical skills).

Hydration/rest break. Fluid replenishment and rest.

Scrimmage games (scrimmage/small-sided soccer game). Scrimmage games are played in a program-specific space. (See page 13). Each game lasts for 30 minutes. There are no half-time breaks although each coach can call a single two-minute time-out at any time during the game, if needed. Substitutes are made "on the fly."

Core Values reflection (in Saturday closing ceremo-nies). Scouting helps teach values to boys and helps them develop character. Character development is a process begun in early childhood, and the family is the first and most important source for raising children of character. In helping boys to develop character, Cub Scouting promotes 12 core values: Citizenship, Compassion, Cooperation, Courage, Faith, Health and Fitness, Honesty, Perseverance, Positive Attitude, Re-sourcefulness, Respect, and Responsibility. Character development defines the core values and requires that we discuss them immediately following a soccer game. The core values are evident in a soccer game just like they are in all aspects of life. To stop for a moment and reflect, thinking about and identifying the core values in a game just played, will teach the importance of liv-ing by a set of values.

Family Time

Each Soccer and Scouting participant will receive a home-study guide in poster form called Family Time. Family Time contains 40 soccer and 40 Scouting pro-gram ideas at each grade level for the boy and his fam-ily members to do together. By completing the tasks, the boy will meet the requirements of the Cub Scout-ing advancement program.

Ranks and Badges

Cub Scout ranks are set up by grade and age, except for the Bobcat, which all boys must earn.

The Bobcat badge is earned before all other ranks.

The Tiger Cub badge is for those boys who have completed kindergarten (or are 7 years old).

The Wolf badge is for those boys who have completed first grade (or are 8 years old).

The Bear badge is for those boys who have completed the second grade (or are 9 years old).

The Webelos badge is for boys who have completed the third grade.