Presentation Procedure Session One, slide 21 G Session One, slide 22 This is the last presentation of this first session of Varsity Coach Leader Specific Training. In pulling together the vari- ous threads that have been presented so far, it seems appro- priate to make the team leaders’ meeting the subject of this discussion, for it is the vehicle through which a Varsity Coach can ensure that a team is, in fact, run by its youth members. Considering what you know already about how a team is structured and how it offers opportunities for young men to determine what will happen and then lead those activities, several points should be clear: * Planning is critical to the success of a team and its pro- gram. We have already seen several examples of plan- ning, including the Varsity Coach meeting with the team captain days before a meeting and a subsequent discus- sion with the captain as a team meeting is beginning * The commitment of the young men to the team and the program is also critical. One way to ensure that commitment is to give them the responsibility for doing the planning ‘* Meetings of the team leaders are opportunities for longer range planning. The team’s youth leaders can determine the activities of a team for the weeks and months to come, and they can determine who will make them hap: pen and how. Team Leaders’ Meetings Team leaders’ meetings allows the team captain, co-cap- tains, squad leaders, and program managers to plan the team’s program and to assess the progress of the team’s current activities. It is also an opportunity for squad leaders to present the ideas and concerns of squad members to the team’s leadership. The team captain conducts these meet- ings with the guidance and support of the Varsity Coach, Those attending team leaders’ meetings recognize that their decisions are subject to final approval by the Varsity Coach and the team committee. Let’s look in as an experienced Var- sity Coach and a newer Varsity Coach discuss an ongoing team leaders’ meeting. Role-Play Five—The Team Leaders’ Meeting This presentation demonstrates the key points of a monthly team leaders’ meeting and highlights the responsibilities and interactions of the team’s adults and young men. Set the scene by placing chairs around a table, one chair for each of the team’s youth leaders (captain, co-captains, squad leaders, program managers, and other key leaders). Behind Nore ee Tem LT]each of those chairs place a chair for the adult who serves as adviser to the youth who holds a particular leadership posi- tion. The program adviser for advancement, for example, will sit behind the Varsity Scout serving as the advancement program manager. The team Coach will sit behind the cap- tain. If there are assistant Coaches, they can position them- selves behind the co-captains and squad leaders; otherwise the Coach will assume the role of mentoring those leaders. Youth and Adult Participants Adult Adult Adult L__J Youth (na (~) ") aur | (sour) s act LY Adult Adult Adult Chair positions for “The Team Leaders’ Meeting” role-play The roles of adult team leaders can be played by course instructors and other volunteers. Varsity Scouts can be invited to attend this portion of Varsity Coach Leader Specific Training in order to portray themselves as the team’s youth leaders. Otherwise, those positions can be filled by adults. To clarify matters, it may be useful to have a name tag for each person, noting the role he represents. The goal of the role-play is to portray a realistic Varsity team leaders’ meeting, emphasizing an essential foundation of Varsity Scouting—that the young men are in charge and that adults are present only to mentor, advise, and coach.EXPERIENCED VarsiTY Coacit: “Better | should show you than tell you. This meeting's already in progress—it looks like they've reviewed their plans for the upcoming meeting and are getting ready to work on planning the next month.” Team Caran: " ... that’s great, everybody. Sounds like we're ready to go for next week. | appreciate the way you all came prepared. (Looks at agenda.) OK, the next order of business is planning next month's team meetings. As you know from our annual program planning clinic, we're ready to start a new three-month activity. This one is ultralight backpacking, and it looks terrific. Andrew, you want to hand out copies of the program everybody helped put together at the clinic Co-Caprain: “Sure thing. The meetings and activities are a mix of learning skills and getting our gear ready for some terrific overnight trips. Then we top it off with a high-adven- ture wilderness trek in the national forest. For this coming month, week one is outdoor safety, week two is mapping your trail, and week three is a first-aid refresher. For week four we have a guest speaker—a ranger from the national forest to help us make sure we understand all about Leave No Trace ‘SauAb LEADER ONE: “I've got a question. | talked to my guys about the themes, and instead of doing first aid again, they really want to do something on long-distance backpacking There's a guy at the outfitting store downtown who just hiked the Appalachian Trail and has a slide show about it Maybe we could get him to come to our weekly meeting.” Captain: “What do the rest of you guys think?” (Oren Team Leavers: “It sounds neat. We could probably learn a lot from him" Cartan: “I guess most of the guys have been through wilderness first aid.” Sauan Leapen One: “We've got several team members certi fied as Wilderness First Responders, so we're covered as far as the backpacking trek goes. Some of the others are work- ing on the First Aid merit badge right now, too. Cartan: “OK then, are we in agreement to make the change? Justin, since it was your idea, do you want to contact the long-distance hiker and invite him to our meeting?” ‘Sauab LeAbER One: “You bet.” Captain: "Get back to me right away on that. If he can't make it, we can fall back on the original plan to do a first-aid review. ‘Sauao Leaper One: “ll get on it!” PaO ma)