Boy Scouts chase goal of attracting Hispanic youth to ranks

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Miguel Lamadrid keeps busy -- so busy that he jokes, "I need three Miguels."

The Scoutreach senior district executive for the Soccer and Scouting Program, Boulder Dam Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, is in charge of a whole covey of elementary school soccer teams in northeastern Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, and he's planning to create more.

"We have 22 teams now," he said. "I need to start in Southwest."

Each of the schools has two teams, one for children in grades 1-3 and the other for grades 4-5. Luckily, Lamadrid said, his burden is shared by the volunteer coaches who oversee each team.

"Normally," he said, "every school has its own coach because the parents are involved."

The effort is part of the council's determination to diversify and attract Hispanic youth, and it was considered noteworthy enough to rate a cover story in last September's issue of the national Scouting magazine.

Lamadrid, originally from Mexico, was a teacher and business owner in Tucson, Ariz., when, in 2001, the Boulder Dam Area Council invited him a little farther west.

"There were no Spanish district executives to attend to the Hispanic community," he recalled, "and I said, 'I can do that for you.' "

That year, Lamadrid managed to put together teams at five schools, involving 110 boys. The idea took off, and a year later the program was home to nine teams and 220 boys. By 2004, there were 14 schools taking part with 475 boys.

And at the end of the 2005 season, said Lamadrid, he had enrolled all 22 schools, 1,275 boys and 275 volunteer parents.

While the program targets Hispanic youngsters, about 5 percent of the participants are black and the other 5 percent are white.

Lamadrid pointed out that the white and black youngsters requested the program.

"That's incredible," he said.

Leonardo Aguirre, a volunteer coach at Gragson Elementary School, 555 N. Honolulu St., said the program isn't just about sports.

"What we're doing over here is for the community," he said.

If the boys are playing soccer after school, they're not out getting into trouble on the street, proponents said.

"We're not producing superstars," said Lamadrid, "we're producing good citizens."

Lamadrid said school administrators seem to appreciate the program.

"Ninety percent of the principals I work with support it," Lamadrid said.

As far as the children are concerned, they get it right off the bat, Lamadrid said. Once involved, they tend to maintain their participation. In fact, Lamadrid added, they count on it.

Some parents seem resistant, he said, but most see the point.

Around the Gragson field one recent afternoon, a coup le of dozen youngsters kicked soccer balls during a practice session as a group of parents and older siblings watched. Overall, 53 of the school's students are signed up for the teams. Many, if not most, demonstrated a definite knack for controlling the ball, passing it to their teammates at will. Seldom did a ball go astray.

"I've lived here for 18 years," Aguirre said, "and I never had the chance to play soccer."

"All the kids from Gragson Elementary School love him," Lamadrid said of his coach.

The soccer program not only keeps the youngsters out of trouble and offers them the chance to take part in Scouting's many other facets, but it helps socialize them in a way that might not otherwise exist, Lamadrid said.

Were it not for Lamadrid's program, said Aguirre, "They wouldn't even know each other."

Much of the program is funded through semi-annual grants from the U.S. Soccer Association, said Lamadrid, and it holds two tournaments each year. All the equipment is provided by the area council.

The program is but one facet of the area council's efforts. Ranging from Mesquite to parts of Arizona and California, the council includes about 33,000 Scouts. The soccer participants may begin Scouting as Tiger Cubs in the first grade, then advance through Wolf and Bear levels to become Webelos Scouts in fourth and fifth grades. Thereafter, they can achieve true status as Boy Scouts.

As the shadows across the Gragson field grew longer, Cheetarah Spencer watched her young brothers, Chrishawn Spencer, 9, and Christan Harris, 7, enjoying the game.

"Yeah," she said, "they really enjoy playing soccer. It gets them out of the house more often. They make me take them to practice every day."

She said she's pleased that the pair get to meet and know other children -- black, Hispanic and white.

"I think this is really good for them," she said.

"The boys make a lot of friends," said Lamadrid, "and the parents make a lot of friends, too."

Aguirre said the older soccer players in the program also give their younger siblings an image to emulate.

"I'm so very excited," added Lamadrid. "Every day I pass three or four schools to see how many more boys are out."

Depending on donations, volunteers and the availability of coaches, Lamadrid is targeting a specific milestone.

"My goal for this year, I want to get 3,000 boys," he said.

The program has already spread out from the Sunrise Manor-North Las Vegas area. Hollingsworth Elementary School, 1776 E. Ogden Ave., south of the freeway, and Bell Elementary School, 2900 Wilmington Way in southwest Las Vegas, have joined in.

In North Las Vegas, the elementary schools taking part in Soccer and Scouting are Williams, Martinez, McCall, Squires, Craig, Cahlan and Lincoln-Edison. In northeastern Las Vegas, including Sunrise Manor, teams are active at Gragson, Ronnow, Miller, Cortez, Tate, Earl, Lynch, Moore, Hickey, Jeffers, Herron, Lunt and Cambeiro elementary schools.