The fall session of Boys Achieving More, “BAM!” was held on Saturday with 31 fifth grade boys in attendance from 11 schools at Seton Scout Reservation in Greenwich.
The, session, which filled within 48 hours of registration, was created by the Jr League of Greenwich to give boys the opportunity to practice respect, trust, communication and leadership.
“BAM! was a great experience for these boys,” said Elizabeth Peyton, the President of the Jr League of Greenwich. “They participated in activities that required
teamwork, survival skills and stepping out of their comfort zone, in the challenging but enjoyable environment of Seton Reservation.”
The Jr League partnered with the Greenwich Council of Boy Scouts of America, the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, YMCA of Greenwich and REACH Prep to deliver the program.
Facilitators included Bob DeAngelo from the YMCA of Greenwich, Bobby Walker from the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, and TJ Ramirez from REACH Prep in Stamford.
Kevin O’Shea and Heather Brown from Greenwich Council of Boy Scouts of America also worked with the Jr League to design activities to engage the participants in the desired topics of discussion.
“We are fortunate to have such wonderful community partners for BAM!,” said Peyton. “The success of this program is largely due to the collaboration among us all.”
Bob DeAngelo and Jr League members created an Amazing Race through a portion of the Seton Scout Reservation where the participants walked in line through fallen trees in the woods, threw wood spears against a natural target, threw environmentally friendly colored paint powder against a rock, and fell off a log into a rope ladder held by the other participants.
These activities facilitated discussions about trust, health and exercise, balance, focus, and respect for other people.
Bobby Walker led a Survival Skills workshop with Junior League members. The boys hiked through the woods, discussed leadership qualities, what it means to be a good leader, and how to get to know the people around you.
The boys became “lost,” chose a leader from among themselves, and found their way back to home base.
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TJ Ramirez worked with the Low Ropes course at Camp Seton and Jr League members in a workshop focused on trust, communication and teamwork. Each “climber” navigated the rock wall, focused on directions from his peer “spotter” to locate the appropriate hand and feet grips, trusting that the spotter would guide him up the walls and through the course.
Then, the entire group went to the Whale Watch, a large wooden balance board, where they work as a team, communicating to balance the board for 60 seconds, then get off the board one-by-one without letting it touch the ground.
The next session of BAM! will be in Spring 2019.