Collin Richardson had to overcome some unique challenges to rise to the rank of Eagle Scout.
The 15-year-old Eureka resident had to figure out how to make a typically immobile structure move, but that was just the final hurdle of his journey.
Richardson, who became involved in Scouting when he was 8, first had to find a new troop and then had to work through issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic to bring a gaga ball pit to the Wildwood Family YMCA and earn Boy Scouting’s top rank.
“I’m super proud of him and all he’s accomplished,” said Collin’s mother, Kalley Richardson. “He’s a hard worker. He’s very conscientious, and I’m very proud of him.”
Hurdles
Collin said his original Boy Scout troop dissolved at the end of 2019.
He said he found out about a division of the Boys Scouts of America called Sea Scouting while researching possibilities for a new troop.
Sea Scouts focuses on water activities, and instead of referring to their group as a troop, they are called ships. Collin is a member of Ship 362.
He said Ship 362 sails frequently on the Mississippi River and on local lakes.
Collin said he was determined to remain a Scout after his former troop disbanded.
“I really enjoyed it just because of all the brand-new experiences I get to have,” he said.
Collin also faced a new experience that many Scouts have this past year as he completed his Eagle Scout project during a pandemic.
Collin started his project in November 2019, shortly before his old troop dissolved.
Because of rising numbers of coronavirus cases in early 2020, the YMCA, 2641 Hwy. 109, in Wildwood closed because of health restrictions, making Collin’s idea of the ball pit even more problematic to pull off.
“I couldn’t really do anything except build a prototype,” Collin said. “It made it a little tricky to gather people for the actual project itself.”
According to the Boy Scouts of America, only about 4 percent of all members earn the rank of Eagle. In addition to designing and making a service project – and often recruiting fellow Scouts to help – Eagle Scouts must earn at least 21 merit badges.
Collin easily cleared that hurdle as he’s earned 44 badges.
After completing all other requirements, those seeking the rank go before a review board.
Collin’s review board approved his application in November.
He said he finished the ball pit in July, three years before he turned 18, the oldest a Scout can be to earn Eagle.
Collin said he wanted to become an Eagle Scout as early as possible.
“(Now) I can spend time doing a whole ton of the other fun stuff and really get a full wide range of all the awesome things that Scouting has to offer,” he said.
The project
Collin likened gaga ball to playing dodgeball in a pigpen.
“The goal of the game is to be the last person remaining in the pit, but to get other people out,” he said. “You have to hit the ball with your hands so that it hits somebody else below the knees.”
Collin said YMCA representatives asked him to make the pit portable and light enough for children attending summer camps to be able to move it.
“That was quite the challenge, because we had to figure out how to make it easily accessible and make it so that it was easy to move around,” he said. “One of the major things we had to figure out was how to make it just as strong, yet lighter than a standard (pit).”
Collin used wood and cords to make the walls and connected the sides with PVC pipes.
“Part of the game is you got to bounce (a ball) off of walls, because it makes it harder for people to dodge it,” he said. “So, we kept the wood frame, and we tried a few different materials for the center.”
YMCA community outreach and garden manager Jodi Smedley said a gaga ball pit had been on the YMCA’s wish list for several years.
“It is just something that we never were able to go purchase,” she said. “So, this has been a great addition to the Y Wildwood branch, and the kids loved using it. I mean, they just absolutely love it.
“(Collin’s project) is probably one of the first projects I believe we’ve had from a Scout where it has been other than a bench or something like that where kids can actually interact with it,” Smedley said.
Smedley said because of the portable design, the project can be used all year.
“We can keep it outside during the summer with the summer camps and then we can bring it indoors, when we’re doing our kids night out or doing activities in the gym with the children,” she said. “His engineering of that project was brilliant.”
Kalley said her family has held membership in the YMCA since 2016, and she enjoys seeing her son’s project being used.
Smedley said because of the current health restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19, Collin’s project is not being used as much as it likely will be in the future.
“Once we get through all this, we will use it all of the time, but the kids used it outside a lot last year in our summer camps,” she said. “We are so grateful that he chose the Y to complete his Eagle Scout award project.”
Mike Kerper, who is Collin’s Ship Skipper, which is the same thing as a Scoutmaster, said he is proud of the project Collin completed.
“I thought Collin’s was a very good Eagle project that fit all the parameters of aiding this community,” he said.
Family tradition
Collin said his father, Alan, and two brothers, Kent and Cameron, are Eagle Scouts, and that it feels “awesome” to continue a family tradition.
“They’re natural leaders, and they all have a desire to do good in the world,” Kalley said. “I mean, as a parent that’s pretty satisfying to watch your children want to be good citizens.”