Best Mentors Need To Make Outdoors Fun For Kids

There are about 20 percent fewer young hunters and anglers
than there were a decade ago. Mentors might be the answer.
“It takes a commitment from every individual to step up and
take a kid hunting and fishing. There’s really not anything
more to it than that,” said Mike Christensen (not pictured),
president of Pass It On — Outdoor Mentors Inc., a
Kansas-based organization that teams sportsmen with kids

By Bob Frye 

 

The hemorrhaging, the bleeding, appears to have stopped.

That's the good news.

 

The bad? Or perhaps the daunting? A full recovery remains a yet-distant dream.

 

Years-long decline in the number of junior hunters and, presumably, junior anglers have finally stalled — at least in Pennsylvania.

 

The Pennsylvania Game Commission's sales of junior and junior combo hunting licenses fell every year from 2004 -10. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission doesn't have a junior license, but overall resident license sales trended downward for decades, hitting a 42-year-low in 2011.

 

In both cases, there's been a bit of a rebound, with sales stable ever since.

 

But that's stable at a lower level. There are about 20 percent fewer young hunters and anglers than there were even a decade ago.

 

If that's ever to change, the average sportsman is the only hope.

 

“It takes a commitment from every individual to step up and take a kid hunting and fishing. There's really not anything more to it than that,” said Mike Christensen, president of Pass It On — Outdoor Mentors Inc., a Kansas-based organization that teams sportsmen with kids.

 

“If we're going to ensure that our outdoor heritage continues, we've got to reach out and make it happen.”

 

There's more to being a good mentor than just sticking a kid in the tree stand or on the bank and having him wait for the chance to pull a trigger or set a hook, though, said Mark Walters of Necedah, Wisc. He's founder of the nonprofit, volunteer Kids And Mentors Outdoors, or KAMO.

 

For him, building relationships is critical, especially with a youngster who's not a family member.

 

“If you're dealing with a new kid, you can't just pick him up the night before the hunt, or even that day. Do something with him once or twice before. Go get an ice cream cone. Go to a restaurant and talk. Get him involved in planning the hunt or target shooting beforehand,” Walters said.

 

“If you talk to these kids, they lighten up. They have fun, and it's got to be fun. Otherwise they're gone, and you don't see them again.”

 

Hank Forester, who leads the Quality Deer Management Association's youth organization, the Rack Pack, likewise cautioned against going “too full bore.”

 

New hunters will get the chance to harvest game in time, he said. Until then, it's more important to teach them to love the entirety of the outdoors.

 

“The cultivation process is very important,” Forester said.

 

Forester suggested putting out trail cameras and later reviewing the photos as a way to build excitement and anticipation. Focusing on skills, spending time on the range, talking about shot placement, reviewing outdoor magazines and newspapers for stories and planning recipes for when game is in the bag are important.

 

Once on the stand, let the child set the pace, he added. Some will be serious; others will want to play games and talk.

 

“The worst thing you can do is take a kid out and say, ‘Sit down and shut up. We're watching for deer,' ” Forester said. “You kind of have to tone it to each youth. Some of the best hunts I ever had were where there was way too much giggling going on for any deer in the world to ever stick its head in a shooting lane.

 

“But we had a lot of fun. And the kids always came back.”

 

The same approach holds true with fishing, said Mandy Smith, the Fish and Boat Commission's southwest region education specialist.

 

Many veteran anglers develop an affinity for one kind of fish or another, and they often want to catch the biggest ones. Kids aren't like that. They're content with catching any fish, period, she said.

 

But the whole experience has to resonate, she said. Keeping kids engaged and enjoying themselves can mean making sure they're dressed for the weather, providing snacks, letting them decide when they've had enough and — above all — being patient, she said.

 

“Patience is huge, as is providing them with a lot of positive praise, even if you're praising them for their own patience,” Smith said. “They're used to instant gratification.”

 

That's true, yet it's surprising how quickly many youngsters come to appreciate the outdoors, Christensen said.

A good mentor is often the key. People hunt, fish, camp, canoe, hike and spend time outdoors because they enjoy it, Walters said. Mentors need to share that without letting their passion become stressful.

 

“We're not trying to save the world. We're just trying to provide outdoor experiences to kids who might not be able to have them otherwise,” Walters said.

 

Bob Frye is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at bfrye@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobfryeoutdoors.