baseball/scouts conflicts

[kittle]

How do you normally handle this? I have never had to worry about it before. Summer is here and we finally got my son's baseball practice and game schedule. He has practice or game every Tuesday, which is ehn his Scout meetings are. Practice gets over at 7 and his meetings start at 7. If they were in the same town, that wouldn't be much of a problem, but his meetings are 20 miles from home. I don't want him to give up Scouts for the summer (because he really enjoys scouts). But his father won't want him to miss ball. I am willing to take him to his meetings late, but how much will he really get out of 30 minutes of meetings?

 

As parents with this problem or troop that experience this, how do you handle it?

 

[Bob White]

How much will he get from 30 minutes? more than he will get from 0. You and his dad need to compromise. Perhaps an arrangement can be made with his caoch to leave 10 or 15 minutes early.

 

Scouting should be flexible to allow boys to have other experiences, is it so odd that we should ask others to try and be flexible so the boy can experience scouting as well?

 

BW

[Prairie_Scouter]

This happens pretty regularly with the Scouts in our Troop as seasonal sports come around. Sometimes they're able to make meetings, sometimes not, sometimes they'll come to part of a meeting. I encourage you to have your son come to the Troop meetings as often as he can, even if he might miss part of them. You might check with your SM as well to see if there are meetings that might be easier for him to miss, if he has to miss one. My experience is that that's a better approach than leaving Scouting for the whole season. Of course, you have to strike a balance as well so that your son isn't just running from one activity to another; it's not an easy thing to do.

[Fuzzy Bear]

kit,

 

Scouting is a fun packed year-round program. Baseball is seasonal. After he wins the series, tell him to come on back. He will be missed but I am sure everyone will hold his spot. Scouting goes on.

 

FB

[Scoutndad]

Very common for my den...

I have 9 Webelos and they are very involved with summertime acitivities...

I try to encourage other interests and hope they find their way back after summer is done.

As a WDL, I don't exclusively schedule around my sons hectic sports schedule. I try and strike a common meeting schedule to make the most of everyones summer...

I think it is great that they have the parents that allow them the ability to explore and enjoy other experiences.

I challenge them to apply the newly learned Scout Law in the sports they play, and activities that involve their families.

Lastly, I try and attend at least one game for each of the boys to watch them play and scream my bloody head off (cheering not admonishing).

 

 

[Lynda J]

I agree with Bob White. I had a boy in our Den when we were Webs that came in about 45 minutes late all spring because of soccer practice. He still is a good scout. His parents moved and he went into a troop out of state. But you get in what you can.

[ljnrsu]

BW,PS,FB great reply.

 

Our Troop had the attitude that something is better than nothing. Come late/leave early whatever is necessary. We understand that Scouts is not the only activity the boys do.

 

Everybody needs to be flexible.

[tortdog]

You might think of moving him to a unit that meets on another night. For example, we have three Varsity teams in our immediate area (all go to the same high school). Each meets on a different night.

 

During the summer, our Varsity team has picked an activity that is conducive to part-timers and summer. We will often be meeting at a lake or the Gulf on a day other than Tuesday (our regular meeting night). That way, people who are busy during the week can still make our Saturday training.

[Kahuna]

The problem is that coaches will never compromise with Scouting. I would be surprised if a coach lets a kid go 15 minutes early to go to a Scout meeting. IMHO, the solution is for parents to go after them like Jesus in the Temple and explain it's just a game. Unfortunately, most parents would defer to baseball or football and ignore Scouting. It is certainly true that they will get more out of Scouting in 30 minutes or even ten than none and SMs should be flexible. But why do WE have to be the ones to compromise when they never do.

 

Further rant will be mumbled to myself.

[molscouter]

First, just pick your son up 15 minutes early. The coach doesn't need to know why. If a coach is that controlling, why play for him?

 

Second, we have this conflict (and more) with my son. We established a priority list for what he will go to if a conflict arises:

 

1. Single performance (band or choir concert); there is only one opportunity to do this.

2. Game (repetitive, but more important than a practice). For Scouts, this means a campout. He can decide between a game and a campout. But he isn't on any traveling type teams either. For a Friday game, I will drive him to the campout late (or early Saturday, if it's a night game).

3. Practice

4. Scouts

 

We have never had a conflict with athletic practices, but we do with choir practice. The only reason a Scout meeting comes last is because there are other opportunities to cover things that go on there and because you can get there late and still learn something. My son often shows up for a Scout meeting in his baseball uniform 30 minutes late after a game. I take him out of choir practice to get to Scouts. Now if the concert is a week away, he will be late for Scouts.

 

Third, you could pray for rain every Tuesday (This message has been edited by molscouter)

[mdutch]

Why not ask your son which he would rather go to?

[Torveaux]

This is a topic most of us either have or will have to deal with, whether it is sports, music, or chess club.

 

meamemeg, that could be about as bad as asking the boy to choose between mom and dad. I don't see a reason he cannot reasonably do both.

 

We seem to have these conflicts all year long. Soccer is my pet peeve because they cannot even stick to one season. The coaches and other players badger the kids into spring, fall, winter (indoor) and summer leagues. At least most of the other sports stick to one season and do not try to be the only part of life. Sorry, I'll climb down from the soapbox now.

 

Kittle,

 

I would use something similar to what molscouter suggested. I would have the boy go to all of the games and skip (or leave early from) all of the practices that conflict. Show up late for Scouts on game days. It is not as though these are the only practices for the sport. You may need to modify the selections for yourselves. If your boy is headed for a baseball scholarship your choices may be different than if he is just trying to impress dad or hangout with friends.

 

Molscouter, great idea having a definitive policy at home. We have a less formal process but we also factor in the investment/value. If we have paid a great deal for the baseball league and a game conflicts with a potential campout, he should play the game. This is not only about the money, but about a committment he made to his teammates. There will be other campouts. (Summer camp is a big exception for me.) This year we opted out of all summer leagues due to family conflicts. We will make a concerted effort to do more clinic type programs and parent/child sports to make up for the lost opportunities.

 

 

[kittle]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. The suggestions will help a lot. Then we will talk to the SM and let her in on what is happening. Now to answer a couple of the questions (comments).

 

BW, his dad and I aren't going to be able to compromise on this subject. I will just have to give in to the fact that he feals sports is VERY important.

 

If I asked the coach to let him leave a few minutes early, he wouldn't be allowed to play much because they wouldn't see his as devoted enough. That is just the way how small town is. The team my son is on as ended up in 1st ever since they were t-ball (5 years). He won't get much playing time anyway because he is homeschooled and he won't be on the school team. They treat summer ball as early practice for school ball.

 

Someone (and I am sorry I can't remember who) suggested that my son change to a troop that doesn't meet on Tuesday. I would have to find a troop that met on Wednesdays. Since practices are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and games are on Tuesday and Friday.

 

I sat down and talked to my son and he wasn't happy because he felt like he was going to have to choose between Scouts and ball. He enjoys both.

 

Thanks again,

Kittle

[John D]

"Since practices are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and games are on Tuesday and Friday."

 

Are you kidding? Is this a joke? Baseball has some sort of activity 4 days a week? Amazing. What about studying? What about everything else? IMHO this baseball program has taken over kids lives, it sounds like the East German gymnastic camps of the '80s or baseball camp in Castro's Cuba. Are parents too timid to raise an objection? We had a crazy swim coach here a few years ago, former Olympian, gradually increased the number and length of practices until it became a sort of cult. Screamed at kids who missed practice or gained weight. She was nuts.

I think many of these coaches and band directors are frustrated people acting out childhood fantasies of glory thru kids. The average SM has a job unrelated to scouts, but with these people sports, drama or band are their profession and hobby, their whole life. It is actually rather sad.

[Spiney Norman]

This topic comes up every year at this time. When my son was younger he too played baseball and attended scouts. Me being the dad that I am volunteered for both activities. The choice of what to do when a schedule conflict came up was totally up to him. Sometimes it was scouts, sometimes it was baseball. Sometimes he went with the scouts when I was at baseball and vice versa. Fortunately, he had coaches and leaders who understood this conflict, which more than I can say for the rest of the crowd, though I think scout leaders are a bit more forgiving. Perhaps there is less testosterone involved?

 

In our troop all we ask is that the boy make scouting a priority sometimes.