Varsity Update October 2013

At the Big Event in 2012, there was a Varsity Team that came up from Henderson, Nevada.   They had never been camping in a mountainous area before.  Some of the young men were unprepared for the cold and  inclement weather that frequents the high Uintah Mountain Range, even though their Varsity Coach had warned them and taught them what to plan for.  Even though they were cold and a bit miserable, they were excited to participate in the many activities offered at the Big Event.  One young man, who looked more 12 than 14, had never even held a shot gun or any kind of weapon before.  He was small for his age, very timid,  and was very self conscious of his size, or lack thereof.  When he got to the range he was very nervous at first, but after some individual instruction from the  Range Master, he went out with confidence and shot 5 out of 5 clay pigeons.  There were a bunch of other scouts at the shot gun range at that time who were of much larger stature and looked more mature than this young man from Nevada.  These scouts were bragging about how many clay pigeons they had hit.  Some hit 2, some hit 3 and after a while, the range master, knowing full well what the answer was, asked the younger scout how many clay pigeons he had hit.  He just beamed and exclaimed that he had hit a perfect 5 out of 5.  The other scouts looked at him for a moment and were a bit shocked as what he said registered in their minds.  Then they all cheered and patted (more like pounded) him on the back and congratulated him.  For this young man it was the most thrilling experience of his life.  For once he was the hero, he had been readily and enthusiastically accepted by the group and he had the tremendous satisfaction of accomplishing something very difficult.

This is what scouting is all about, giving these young men and young women experiences that build confidence and help them grow to their amazing potential.  Let us all strive to develop our program to give scouts the opportunity to grow, to recognize their great worth and their potential.