Eagle Scout candidate Brian Olcott gets a kick out of his Eagle project
Brian Olcott displays the soccer gear he collected for his Eagle Scout project. Olcott donated the cleats, balls and shin guards to a Boys and Girls club in northeast Denver.
Article and photos by Lisa Crockett
The girls soccer team sponsored by the Denver Bronco’s Branch of the Boys and Girls Club in northeast Denver was poised to win the season’s final game last spring. The score was tied and the winner would be decided by a shootout. Things were looking good until the weather changed. Rain slicked the field and put the girls – who were playing in regular sneakers and tennis shoes – at a distinct disadvantage against the other team who was better equipped to handle the moisture. They lost the game.
A Castle Pines Eagle Scout candidate has made sure that the girls, and the boys who also play on their own team, will now win or lose based solely on their ability to play the game.
Rock Canyon sophomore Brian Olcott, who belongs to local Boy Scout Troop 530, spent much of his summer collecting soccer cleats, shin guards and balls for the kids at the Boys and Girls Club to use during this fall’s season. He set up collection sites at Soccer Stop, a local soccer gear shop, as well as several local summer soccer camps. Walmart donated a $50 gift card that he used to purchase new balls.
“In all I collected 60 pairs of cleats, 35 balls and 20 pairs of shin guards,” said Olcott, who will be awarded his rank of Eagle Scout this fall.
The project was a natural choice for Olcott, who has been playing soccer for 11 of the 15 years of his life. In addition to the donation, he enlisted the help of several other teen soccer experts – including fellow RCHS student Cody Ross – to help him run a soccer skills clinic at the Boys and Girls Club last month.
“We had about 40 kids there and we taught them dribbling, shooting, and passing,” said Olcott. “It was great to see the kids excited about their new equipment and it was really nice to see them happy.”
Rich Barrows, the director of the Denver Bronco’s Chapter of the Boys and Girls Club, said that many of the kids who are members of the club have raw athletic talent, and that clinics and classes like Olcott’s give them opportunities to develop skills that they might not otherwise have.
“This was the right place for Brian to do his project,” said Barrows. “The kids had a great time and that’s the best way to ensure they’ll continue to play and reap the positive benefits of athletics. We’re glad he came to Montbello.”
Recipients of soccer gear at the Denver Bronco’s branch of the Boys and Girls club display their new gear.
Members of the Denver Bronco’s branch of the Boys and Girls Club participate in a soccer skills clinic run by Castle Pines Eagle Scout Brian Olcott.
