WEBELOS ATHLETE BADGE

[PACK15NISSAN]

I did a search on this and found a post on the Webelos Athlete Badge, however it did not cover my questions, so I thought I would post it to see what everyone thinks.

 

My den is working on the physical requirements of the Webelos Athlete Badge. We are two weeks into it (I am tracking each boys progress) and I plan to give them hand outs on what they need to how they are doing, so they know where they need to improve.

 

Requirement 5 says: "Do as many as you can of the following and record your results. Show improvement in all of the activities after 30 days."

 

My question is what is improvement?

 

I know the obvious answers, such as doing more push-ups then you did in week one or you walked part of the 1/4 mile on week 1 and now you can run the whole way.

 

Where I have problems are what if a boy improves in week 2 and 3 but at the end of the month doesn't improve over previous times. Is that improvement? Yes, he did improve at some point but overall is that what the badge is looking for?

 

What if I have a boy who simply does not improve an one area? Do, I say work on this or does him improving his push-up technique (doing a more correct push-up) count?

 

I realize that the Cub Scout motto is "Do Your Best", if they try hard and work on things is that enough to say they improved or do the numbers dictate the badge? I don't want to add or take away from the requirements however there is quite a lot of room for interpretation here and I want to give all my boys a fair chance.

 

For those of you who care, I do not show the boys each others score or say who "won" or "lost". Doing it as a den seems to help their teamwork by motivating each other to do better and to help cheer on those who don't do as well.

[artjrk]

When we did this with our guys, we were a bit liberal in our interpretation. As you said, possible improvement in form and technique can count. We had a few kids who were very tall for their age but had little to nil upper body strength. Not a single push up and pull up, but we looked at how they attempted them. If they genuinely gave it their best then that was what we looked for. You can tell if they are trying or just going through the motions. The important thing here is, they are learning how to better themselves physically. As they age they will continue to use this information.

[PACK15NISSAN]

Well I am still not quite sure why they require pull-ups for this badge. I know it is designed to get them ready for Boy Scouts, but there are not a lot of 4th or 5th graders who do even one correct pull-up. I have several boys who play multiple sports and are very fit for their age and they still can't do a pull-up. Seems to me that they should change it to a dead arm hang or something else that tests upper body strength more in a 10-11 year old range.

[Herms]

Pack,

 

It means improvement over the FIRST scores that were recorded. Just another comment, you said YOU are tracking there progress. Just a suggestion, but I would show them how and make THEM track there own progress. This would better prepare them for Boys Scouts. When they start on there Tenderfoot they again have to do a 30 day fitness program which they have to track THEMSELVES. The idea is to get the boys to understand that THEY make fitness a part of their everyday lives. (I guess there is a lesson in there for some of us "older" Scouts).

[PACK15NISSAN]

Herms,

 

Let me see if I understand what you are saying. I will use an example of curl-ups:

 

Week 1 - 30

Week 2 - 35

Week 3 - 40

Week 4 - 32

 

So in this for this example, are you saying this is improvement and this part of the badge should be checked off on?

 

[tdk101]

We are doing this right now with our den. Only 2 or 3 of the 11 could do a pull up.

 

We found a chart online for the exercises and we put the dates on the top and are having the boys track their progress over the month. We did the initial stuff together as a den. We are fortunate to have a Phys Ed teacher as one of our moms so she took care of all of this. We will finish the month at the HS track to find the ending results, weather permitting of course.

 

We have decided that if they really tried, then we are happy with that. My own son has a hard time with some of the activities(pull ups) and he is fairly athletic.

[Herms]

The question for you is the "letter of the law(requirement)" or the "spirit of the law(requirement)"?

 

Technically, it says "AFTER" the 30 days. Now here is where personal opinion comes in. As ten year olds working on the Webelos Athlete, doing a fitness program for the first time in most cases, I would go with they showed some improvement as they did their best. Now if they were eleven (or older) working on Tenderfoot I would expect to see the improvement at the END of the 30 days as they would have already done this one time as Webelos. My view, and again it is just my opinion, the Tenderfoot requirement in Boy Scouts "builds" on top of the requirement they accomplished in the Webelos.

 

That is why it is so important in Webelos that we work the program correctly, making the boys demonstrate, to the best of their ability, the requirement, and not letting parents sign off requirements or attend a meeting/get a badge. They will be much more prepared for Boy Scouts.

 

A perfect example of this is I crossed over 6 boys to the Troop this year. Had another 5 come from other Packs. Not bragging but my 6 are much further ahead in the learning curve than the other 5. Had some boys who crossed over who couldn't recite the Laws or Oath, but still got the Arrow of Light.

 

Ultimately the decision is yours.

[Herms]

PS: The pull-ups are hard even for some of our older Boy Scouts.

[ScoutNut]

Webelos are still Cub Scouts, and Do Your Best is how they are judged. The requirement states show improvement after 30 days. That is exactaly what it means.

 

Day 1 Webelos can not do any part of a pull up.

Day 31 Webelos can pull himself up 1/2 inch.

He showed improvement.

 

Did 1 more curl on day 31 than on day 1 - he shows improvement.

 

There is no requirement for any percentage, or type of improvement. Simply that he show improvement.

 

If the boys are doing the excercises regularly (every day/other day) they should end up showing some kind of improvement, even if it is very slight.

[AnaMaria]

The requirement doesn't say to track interim progress, it says to record the initial assessment and show improvement after 30 days. That's it. No required number of days to practice or showing progress each week. Don't make it hard when it isn't.

[ScoutNut]

"No required number of days to practice"

 

 

No there isn't a required number of days to practice. How often, if at all, they practice is entirely up to them. However I will bet that if they do each activity only twice (1=day 2=day 31) they will show no improvement at all.

 

And, if that is the case, they are certainly not Doing Their Best.

[PACK15NISSAN]

Thanks for all the help everyone, I think I was on the right track, I just really wanted to assure myself by having some one else in the boat per say. I will make sure if the boys show improvement, be it nominal or just in technique they will earn their badge.

 

As far as the comment on not not having to do it but on day 1 and day 31 and that I making it too hard. If the boys can't handle doing the exercises 4 times (once a week for a month) then they aren't going to be able to handle Boy Scouts at all.

 

The purpose of doing it each week was to show them where they needed to practice and improve, to help them get the proper technique down, and to work as a patrol toward a common goal. All stuff a good Webelos leader should do.

 

I have made sure the boys understand that first or last it doesn't matter, as long as they improve and work hard. Doing it 2 times just to get a badge, that is not only lazy but defeats the whole purpose of scouting. I am not trying to create badge collectors, who simply work hard enough to get a badge and move on, I am working on making successful scouts. I can guarentee you that my boys have done better doing this as a patrol than they would have if they did it individually.

 

 

[Herms]

Your doing great Pack! Keep up the good work, and get these guys ready for Boys Scouts!