Shane R. of Troop 160 in Hendron, VA, plays football for Oakton High School’s football team in Vienna, VA. He is also a fan of his high school’s baseball team and respects their sportsmanship. So when he learned that the baseball team’s helmet and baseball rack were worn out, Shane decided to contact the coach to see if he could fix their equipment as part of his Eagle Scout Project.
Once the coach approved, Shane got to planning. He found some design inspiration for the racks with the help of the coach. When Shane decided upon a design, he had to figure out what type of material to use and how much it would all cost. He went to a few stores and some family friends and neighbors to see if they could donate some money and some wood for the project. As soon as he collected all the wood he would need, Shane got to priming the wood, and he began to recruit volunteers from his Troop, his family, and his friends to help him later. On the day of the project, Shane transported the primed wood to the school, where he and his volunteers would assemble the racks. In addition to building the racks, they also repainted the dugout’s walls.
Shane is glad to have finished the project and see how well the racks came out. Now looking back, he reflected on what he had learned, saying, “I learned how to be a better leader. I also learned it was easier to have step-by-step instructions with drawings printed out so helpers could follow easily. I also discovered that if you put the right people in certain tasks, it goes smoothly and gets completed the way I wanted it to.”
