Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Football
February 7, 2006
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

Scouting is a lot like football. Hmmm, you're probably thinking: "Is he crazy? Scouting has nothing to do with football!" Well, in a lot of ways it doesn't, but after all the hype surrounding last Sunday's Super Bowl game, I thought I'd do some research and see what various various football coaches had to say about their job and how to achieve success.

Out of all the quotes and writings of former football coaches that I found, I didn't see a single one that had anything to do with running plays, how to tackle, how to throw, or anything that discussed the rules of the game or how best to play it. Of course, all those things are important to every football player, but the things most important to the most successful coaches were far different.

You may have heard of Vince Lombardi, the coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 60's. Under his leadership, the Packers dominated pro football. They earned six division titles and five NFL championships. They won Super Bowls I and II and had a record of 98-30-4. They became the standard by which all other teams were measured.

Lombardi has said that "Mental toughness is essential to success". In scouting, we promise to keep ourselves "Mentally awake".

He also said: "Leaders are made, not born. They are made by hard effort. " Tonight we have elected new troop leaders, next week we'll be electing patrol leaders. We'll be asking for your best efforts to help make you into leaders.

He said "If you are not prepared, you might as well not play." A scout's motto is to "Be prepared".

According to one of his former players, Coach Lambardi was very much interested in making his players total citizens, citizens the town would be proud of. Citizenship is very much a part of Scouting. Three of the eleven required Eagle Merit Badge have to do with Citizenship

Vince Lombardi also wrote the following, which I think has just as much meaning for scouting as it does for football:

After the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty,
After the headlines have been written and
After you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has
Been placed on the dresser and all the pomp and fanfare has faded,

The enduring things that are left are:
The dedication to excellence, the dedication to victory, and
The dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can
To make the world a better place in which to live.

Thanks for listening.