Role-Play Two

Role-Play Two - Varsity Coach Takes Part in a Post Meeting Debriefing with Team Leaders

Presentation instructions: Instructors take on the roles of the Varsity Coach, team captain, a squad leader, and program managers. If there are not enough instructors to play all the roles, they may double up on the team positions they represent. Make the role-playing as realistic as possible.

TEAM CAPTAIN: "Great job, guys. That went pretty well. Let's talk about the meeting while it's still fresh in our minds:'

HIGH-ADVENTURE PROGRAM MANAGER: The tent-pitching race rocked:'

ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM MANAGER: Yeah, that was fun:'

VARSITY COACH: You're right. But, we didn't have enough time in our squad meetings to finish working out menus for the kayak trip:'

SQUAD LEADER: We went as fast as we could:'

VARSITY COACH: I'm sure you did it's hard to get everyone to agree. What do you think we can do next time to make it easier?

SQUAD LEADER: We can ask everyone to bring their suggestions before they come:'

TEAM CAPTAIN: Great we'll talk more about that later. Let's move on. Here's the team meeting plan for the next meeting with your assignments. Everybody set?

SQUAD LEADER: I've got the preopening. We'll set up a course outside for everybody to toss rescue lines for accuracy and distance. We'll need that skill for our kayak trip:'

TEAM CAPTAIN: (to Varsity Coach) Is that it?

VARSITY COACH: Almost-it seems like we had a few Varsity Scouts who haven't been here for a couple of weeks:'

HIGH-ADVENTURE PROGRAM MANAGER: I know my friend John's had the flu he's missed a lot of school, too:'

TEAM CAPTAIN: Wili you squad leaders call the guys in your squads who have been missing and see what's up with them?

SQUAD LEADER: I'll call them tonight and let you know tomorrow what they say:'

TEAM CAPTAIN: Okay then that just about does it. Does everyone know what they need to do before the next meeting? (He pauses-sees nods.) Great:' (Looks to the Varsity Coach.) I'll call you later in the week to bring you up-to-date on our follow-up:'

VARSITY COACH: That will be fine I'll be in town all week. And if you need any help, I'll be around. And to all of you, good meeting, guys. You should be proud of yourselves:'

TEAM CAPTAIN: Wait until next week. We'll be flawless:'

DISCUSSION OF ROLE-PLAY TWO

The Varsity Coach supports the captain as the young man leads the program managers, squad leaders, and other Varsity Scout team leaders in a review of the just-completed team meeting.

• They discuss what went well during the meeting, what could have been better, and how they can improve in the future.

• They also go over the team meeting plan for the next meeting to ensure that preparations have been made or will be made, and that at least one person is taking responsibility for the success of each portion of the upcoming meeting.

• They note which Varsity Scouts were missing from the meeting and make a plan for contacting each one to discover why the absence occurred.

• As the debriefing concludes, the captain tells the Varsity Coach that he will call later in the week to bring the Varsity Coach up-to-date on preparations for the upcoming team meeting.

The Varsity Coach's role in this role-play is, again, supportive. The young men themselves conduct the debriefing. The Varsity Coach can offer coaching, guidance, and encouragement but does not overstate his authority.

What was the role of the Varsity Coach in this scene? What was the role of the Scouts?

Ask participants to consider and comment on this question:

How do you know if a team meeting was successful? Allow participants time to respond. Whenever possible, use their responses to lead toward the following ideas.

By visiting informally with the team's youth leaders after a team meeting, a Varsity Coach can help the captain guide the others in considering these points:

• Did we accomplish a purpose?

• Was the meeting fast-paced and fun?

• Did we do something new and different?

• What worked well that we can do again?

• Where do we stand in regard to next week's meeting?

The answers to these questions will help the team's youth leaders as they refine the plans for future meetings and review the assignments to be sure that each portion of the next meeting will be fully prepared and presented.

At the conclusion of the assessment, the Varsity Coach offered positive reinforcement to the team's youth leaders and let them know that their efforts were valuable and their skill as leaders was growing.