WEBELOS
I received a question this month about why there were no Den Meeting plans for Webelos in the cub Scout Program Helps. The answer is because they are in the Webelos Leaders’ Book – Here is the description from www.scoutstuff.org -
Webelos Leader Guide
The basic book for Webelos Scouts and their leaders has explanations of the activity badge programs and has references to the new oval Webelos badge, the revised Cub Scout Leader How-To Book, and the Ethics in Action program. WW33853C $8.95
ATHLETE
PHYSICAL SKILLS GROUP
Southern NJ Council
Webelos aged boys thrive on physical activity. Scouting recognizes this need and has geared the program to meet those needs. Competition is a normal part of everyone’ s life. One’s emotional health depends in no small degree upon one’s outlook toward this aspect of life. Boy Scouts of America believes that helping boys keep competition in the proper prospective is a part of helping them live happy and successful lives. The skills of winning and losing gracefully can only be learned by winning and losing.
Therefore, we believe that competition should be used as a learning process and as a means of enhancing the growth and development of Scouts. Competitive events should be planned so they result in a positive experience that develops character and sportsmanship. This doesn’t always mean winning.
EXERCISE
Exercise is unique in that the more you do, the more you can do. As you grow older, exercise becomes more and more important. It protects us from heart attacks, high blood pressure, and excess fat (which can cause or add to many other problems). Begin with this pledge, then proceed to your exercise program.
FOUR-STEP EXERCISE PLAN
1. Start with a warm-up period of stretching exercises about 5-7 minutes. The warm-up exercises will gradually raise your heart rate to the right activity level.
2. Move on to your main exercise period from 20-30 minutes.
3. Check your heart rate every 5 minutes or so.
4. Finish with a cool-down period of about 5 minutes. Stopping heavy exercise suddenly can make you dizzy, even faint. So taper off with a good cool-down exercise. One of the best is walking. After cooling down, stretch major muscle groups to keep flexible.
PRESIDENTIAL SPORTS AWARD:
The President wants your boys to get physically fit! Boys aged 10 and over can take the Presidential Sports Award Challenge by participating in a variety of sports. Request the Presidential Sports Award pamphlet. You must enclose a long, self-addressed stamped envelope or they will ignore your request. To find out all about the cool awards the boys can receive write to:
Presidential Sports Award
P.O. Box 68207
Indianapolis, IN 46228
Field Trip Suggestion
ü Visit a college, high school or commercial weight training facility and let the boys try the weight training equipment (with proper guidance). Set tour up in advance - never spontaneously show up and expect someone to accommodate you.
ü Visit a non-traditional athletic exhibition, such as a martial arts or gymnastics exhibit.
Activities
ü Teach the boys the proper warm up procedures regarding sports, to ensure better performance.
ü Teach the boys exercises to increase strength and endurance. Keep a record of each boy’s progress. Or, to keep competition to a minimum, set a den goal. Remember - each boy should “Do Your Best”.
ü Ropes can be used for a variety of athletic activities - tug of-war, climbing, jumping rope, 3-man tug-of-war, and boys against parents tug-of-war. (The bigger the rope the more fun it is in tug-of-war).
ü Attend a high school or college athletic event. A televised event will do but is not as exciting as being there.
ü Invite a sports figure, coach, or a trainer to a den meeting to discuss exercise, training rules and why they are important.
ü Make homemade barbells, you will need a broomstick, and two strong cloth sacks (or old pillowcases). Fill each sack with 5 pounds of sand or gravel. Wrap the mouths of the sack around the broom handle about four (4) inches from the ends. Tie in place.
ü Invite a knowledgeable person who works to stay physically fit to come to a den meeting and teach the boys proper stretching, the importance of both a warm-up and a cool-down when working out, as well as some exercises to work specific parts of the body. A local high school athlete or trainer is ideal for this because the younger boys idolize the older students.
Games
Hobble Racing: Boys gather at the starting line and each of them tie their own ankles together with a strip of fabric or cord. At a given signal, they all start racing for the finish line. The boys may jump, waddle, hop, creep, or crawl toward the finish line. If a boy purposely bumps another player, he is disqualified. The first racer to cross the finish wins.
Anatomy Tag: Boys should be in a restricted area such as a back yard. One person is “it” and runs after any of the other boys until he tags someone. The boy that was tagged becomes “it” and must keep his hand on the spot where he was tagged until he tags someone else. Boys should try to tag each other in inconvenient places such as the back of the knee, ankle, etc.
Kangaroo Hop Relay Race: Boys assume semi-squat position. Keeping their feet together, they spring forward to cover a set distance. The first team finished wins.
Three Chair Trick: Scout “bridges” two chairs with his head on one chair and heels on the other. A third chair is under the Scout’s rear. On signal, Scout lifts middle chair over his body and puts it back underneath himself from the other side. Have two Scouts hold the end chair.
Exercise Game: Webelos form a circle around the a leader. Leader begins to do an exercise. He may do a complete exercise (e.g. one jumping jack) or a number of them (three jumping jacks) or just a part of one (1 / 2 jumping jack ending with feet apart and hands together overhead), then stops. Webelos Scouts are to follow the leader. After just a moment, he continues with the same exercise or goes on to another one. The idea is to trick the other Scouts into doing too much, too little, or the wrong exercise. The Den Chief act as judge. The last one left becomes the leader in the center of the circle.
Agility Exercises
Perform these exercises within the designated time limits. Rest two minutes between each set of exercises.
Set 1 - 8 minutes
Fish Flops - lie on your stomach, arms and legs extended and off the ground. Rock back and forth (2 minutes).
Grass Drill - run in place, drop to the ground and bounce up again (2 minutes).
Quick Foot-Knee touch - Drop quickly to one knee and bounce up again. Alternate knees (2 minutes).
Root Drill - you need a partner for this one. Square off on all fours, locking right shoulder to right shoulder. Try to rock your opponent back off his feet (2 minutes).
Rest Two Minutes
Set 2 -6 minutes
Crab Mirror - two players on all fours. One moves at random to the left, right, back and forward and the other one mirrors his moves. Switch leaders and repeat (2 minutes).
Bear Hug Take-Down - two players, one standing behind the other. Player in rear grasps other player around arms and chest and tries to pull him down. Reverse positions and repeat (3 minutes).
Sit-ups - lie on back, feet together, hands clasped behind head. Raise up and touch elbows to knees. Do as many as possible for one minute.
Rest Two Minutes
Flexibility Exercises
Fingers - extend arms to the side, palms down. Quickly flex fingers alternating between fist and open hand position (30 seconds).
Palms - extend arms to the front, palms down, wrists locked. Turn palms inward and outward in quick short movements (30 seconds).
Wrists - same position (above). Rotate wrist clockwise, then counterclockwise (30 seconds).
Forearm Twist - arms extended sideward and parallel to the ground. Flex at elbow, bringing tips of fingers to shoulders. Return to starting position. Perform both palms up and palms down (1 minute).
Baltimore Area Council
Webelos Scouts are bursting with energy and eager to impress their Webelos Leader with their physical powers. Since most 10-year-old boys already have the skills necessary to pass this badge when they first enter the Den, it is a natural first activity badge. Athlete is one of four optional badges, which may be used to fulfill the requirements for the Arrow of Light. The Webelos Leader may make this badge a basic foundation for a good relationship with the boys for the coming year by giving his/her Den some encouragement and praise as they bear down to earn this one.
If you ask a Webelos Scout what his most priceless possession is, you will receive a variety of answers. It is doubtful if any 10-year-old will recognize the importance his body plays in his life. This badge gives the leader a chance to impress on the boys the importance of keeping physically fit.
“Champ-Nit”
Your Den can stage its own decathlon - not in track and field, but in fitness duels. For extra excitement, use the “champ-nit” method of scoring.
The “champ-nit” method is a Baden-Powell idea. The founder of Scouting wasn’t too happy about “winner-take-all”. The losers, he felt, needed to stay in, to try again.
Let’s say you have eight boys in your Den. After the first duel, you have four winners, four losers. The winners drop out. After the second duel you have two winners, two losers. The losers square off again. Finally, you have one loser, the Den “champ-nit”.
This method is very effective for knotting games, first-aid competitions. or fire-building contests. In an eight-boy Den, the champ-nit will have had seven tries. So the loser wins. He gets the most practice. He needs it.
Den Activities
ü Attend a high school or college athletic event.
ü Invite a professional athlete to a Den meeting or discuss exercise, training rules and why they are important. If not a professional athlete, then use a college athlete or a high school coach.
ü Practice light stretching exercises to be done before strenuous exercises.
ü Review exercise requirements and demonstrate correct way to do the exercises.
ü Help the boys set up a regular schedule of exercise with a chart for keeping records of activity and improvement. Encourage them to exercise at least 15 minutes each day, not just while working on this badge, but every day.
ü Visit a local gym or fitness club. See if someone there will give you a tour and describe some of the equipment and what it is used for.
ü Make an obstacle course with boxes to crawl through, hurdles to jump, and bars to chin. Time the boys as they go through it.
ü Measure some of each boy’s muscles at the beginning of the month. Do the same at the end of the month to see if their regular exercise has made any difference
Dizzy Dash (or Den Leaders Revenge)
Sometimes for a Cub to plop down on the ground and whip out 30 sit-ups or 8 push-ups can be such a hassle. They usually can, except for the thought of it. So maybe you can try hiding it in a game like this. (Don’t tell them what they are doing.) Every leader should try this at least once.
Line the Cub Scouts up side by side with some room between each. Have them lay down on the ground in the up (start) position (for push-ups). Have them touch their face to the ground and come back up (one push-up). Then while still in the up position, “walk” their feet up so they can do one somersault, stopping on their back with their knees up in the air. They can then touch their elbows to their knees (one sit-up).
Have them do the somersault and the sit-up combination three more times for a total of four sit-ups in a row. Then when doing the next somersault, have them “roll” on over to their bellies and do one push-up. Have them continue this one push-up with four sit-ups and a somersault in between each. When they have done the 9th push-up, they have also done 32 sit-ups. Challenge another Den, or other leaders to laugh, too!
Permanent Fitness Progress Chart
Make up a permanent Fitness Progress Chart and re-test the boys at different times throughout the year. They will be interested in bettering their records.
On your first attempt for your chosen events, try your best; record the date and your score for that event in the first space on the chart. For example, if you did 22 sit-ups, you would write 22 for your score. If your time for the 50-yard dash was 9.1 seconds, you would write 9.1 for your score. If you swam for 50 yards and floated for 10 seconds, your scores for those events would be 50 and 10. Set a goal to do better. You Webelos book tells you what you have to do to earn this activity badge, but you may want to try to do better. You may want to be able to do 20 push-ups or run the 50-yard dash in 8.3 seconds. Practice these events for a month and record your best scores for each week. At the end of the month, see if you have met your goals.
