After 108 years, the Boy Scouts program is set to drop the gender from its name and re-emerge as "Scouts BSA," a more "inclusive" group that will also soon welcome girls in its ranks.

Boy Scouts to change name, drop 'Boy' and accept girls in 2019, organization says

Concerned about how co-ed trends are negatively affecting their sons, many parents turning to Trail Life USA for character and life lessons

BELTON, S.C. – With the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) having completely lost their way in the woods of co-ed political correctness, many parents believe that someone else needs to provide a compass for young men’s masculine journey. 

Stepping forward—and drawing wide support—is Trail Life USA (https://www.traillifeusa.com), a faith-based outdoor adventure program offering the kind of boys-only character and leadership development opportunities needed for learning what it really means to be a man.

Rapidly growing membership has boomed even more in the past few months, since the BSA dropped its long-time boys-only policy.

Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock, former advertising executive turned professional counselor, is available for interview and guest appearances. Also an award-winning writer and speaker, he has raised the alarm about the latest rounds in what he calls the ongoing “war on boyhood” that threatens society

Among the recent concerns:

• Reports of how thousands of girls have joined the BSA recently, with the danger that accommodating them means further marginalizing boys’ particular learning and development needs.
• A new counseling program at the University of Texas at Austin offering “a healthy model of masculinity” which critics say essentially views masculinity as a mental health issue that needs correcting.
• Pennsylvania State University’s banning its long-time Outing Club from student-led outdoor activities because they were considered too risky.

Well-intentioned as these kind of moves may be, they are alarmingly all wrong, says Hancock.  Confined to classroom settings more suited to girls, and denied rough-and-tumble experiences that help them learn and grown, it is no wonder “boys are struggling,” he believes.

“They are losing out and not developing as strong, capable men because we are not letting them be fully boys,” he says. “Weakened expectations and participation trophies have led to our culture producing unproductive narcissists.

“They are unproductive because we've never expected anything from them and they are narcissists because we've never let them fail.”

The BSA move and others are part of a climate that is unquestionably having a negative impact on boys, says Hancock, as evidenced in government statistics that show they are:

• three times more likely to be enrolled in special education
• four times more likely to be diagnosed ADHD
• outnumbered two to one in top-10 senior rankings

As Trail Life USA membership grows, with more parents looking for an appropriate development program for their boys, now is a perfect time to consider the important issues the organization's growing popularity raises:

• Why being politically correct is developmentally wrong, for everyone involved.
• How to raise real men in the light of the #MeToo movement.
• Where and how the Boys Scouts of America went wrong and what needs to be done.

We can help you address such topics by connecting you with Mark Hancock, Trail Life USA participants and supporters, and other materials.

Since it was founded in 2013, Trail Life USA has been embraced enthusiastically by families seeking a faith-based nurture and activity program based on traditional values. Today there are almost 30,000 members in almost 750 troops across 48 states. The organization has seen significant growth since the BSA’s decision to welcome girls.

Typically chartered by local churches, Trail Life USA troops offer a K-12 program centered on outdoor experiences that build young men’s skills and help them grow on a personal level and as role models and leaders for their peers.

 # # #

Trail Life USA (https://www.traillifeusa.com) is a Christian outdoor adventure, character and leadership program for boys and young men, K-12. Chartered through churches in 48 states, the program centers on outdoor experiences and biblical values that build a young man’s skills and allow him to grow on a personal level and as a role model and leader for his peers.