All-boys alternative to Boy Scouts thriving, as BSA rebrands to Scouting America
Mark Hancock, CEO of Trail Life USA, encouraged boys seeking alternatives to join his male-centered organization after he said the Boy Scouts of America has strayed from its mission.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has begun to overlook the importance of providing boys with male mentorship in a gender-exclusive environment, leaving them in need of alternative organizations, the head of one such program told Fox News Digital.
"It's just really tragic that an organization that has had such a storied past in terms of the way that it has helped boys become men has just decided that isn't the place that they want to operate anymore," Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock said, touting his Christian-based organization as an alternative to the Boy Scouts.
BSA has consistently faced criticism over policy changes to make it more inclusive over the past decade as its enrollment numbers have plummeted. It most recently announced that it would drop "boy" from its name, but allowing gay kids and leaders, transgender youth and girls to join also led to backlash, though there was also some support for the moves.
Meanwhile, some alternatives like Trail Life have increased in popularity in recent years.
"Our main thing we want to do is build better men in a culture that's discounting men at an alarming pace," Hancock said.
The Boy Scouts of America recently announced it was changing its name to Scouting America to be more inclusive. (Getty Images)
Trail Life — established in 2013, the same year BSA began allowing gay members to join — aims to develop young boys into men by teaching them how to handle real-world challenges as they learn outdoor skills.
"That's a real difference between the aims of the two organizations," Hancock said. "One is just after growth to sustain itself, after years of financial crisis, and our goal is to raise good and godly men."
In addition to BSA's policy changes, the historic organization simultaneously faced a sex abuse scandal, bankruptcy and the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, its enrollment hit 1.1 million — a nearly 60% drop from a decade earlier and a far cry from its peak of nearly 5 million in the 1970s.
In February 2020, BSA filed for bankruptcy after spending more than $150 million between 2017 and 2019 to settle the lawsuits of thousands who came forward alleging scout leaders sexually abused them, CNN reported. It also set up a trust that's expected to pay out $2.4 billion to more than 82,000 victims.
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By contrast, Hancock touted Trail Life's growth since 2018, though its enrollment is still a fraction of the Boy Scouts, a 114-year-old institution.
"They blame it on COVID, and they blame that on certain cultural things," Hancock said. "Trail Life has doubled in that time, and we anticipate it continuing to grow."
Trail Life launched with around 14,000 members, but that nearly doubled to 27,000 by 2018. Today, it's doubled again to 55,000 participants in over 1,100 troops nationwide.
"Parents are recognizing, ‘Hey, I want an organization that understands my son,'" Hancock said. "'I want an organization that speaks to the heart of a boy, that doesn't ignore or that doesn't remove ‘boy’ from its name, for gosh sakes, but an organization that understands that boys are these marvelous creations that need to be tended to in the same way that we pay attention to girls.'"
Trail Life USA Mark Hancock said his organization's enrollment has doubled since 2018, while The Boy Scouts of America has seen a steep decline in membership. (Fox News Digital)
BSA did not respond to a request for comment.
Several other organizations have also been seen as scouting alternatives — many of which are faith-centered, all-male groups — including Calvinist Cadet Corps, Royal Rangers and Pathfinders. The Christian Service Brigade, founded in 1937, for example, describes itself as a "guided pathway for men to take boys and young men on a journey to Christ and biblical manhood," according to its website.
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"Christian Service Brigade is saddened that the BSA is unwilling to acknowledge the beauty of the differences between men and women that should be celebrated," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "As a gender-specific organization, we know that boys learn, mature, and grow differently than girls."
The Brigade, which has four programs catering to boys of different ages, uses male mentorship and adventure activities to teach young men to become godly leaders. Like Trail Life, it has also seen growth in recent years after BSA stopped prioritizing boys, the spokesperson said.
Several organizations have been labeled as scouting alternatives, including many faith-based groups for all-male youth. (Getty Images)
Awana, another faith-centered program focusing on co-ed youth discipleship for ages 2 to 18, has also seen significant growth, according to President and CEO Matt Markins. Founded in 1950, Awana has more than tripled in the last decade to over 6.7 million participants in weekly programs, with over 1 million who joined in 2023 alone.
"We are on a similar trajectory for 2024, and I think this is because we are laser focused on our mission of biblical child discipleship," Markins told Fox News Digital. "For any pastor, or parent, who is looking to shape children with lasting faith in Jesus Christ during a time of significant cultural upheaval, Awana is the best option."
For parents who aren't interested in the Christian-based aspects, there are also programs like SpiralScouts International, which describes its founding as "decidedly Pagan in its outlook" and accepts ages 3 to 18 of all faiths, according to its website. The program, founded in 1999, promotes environmental responsibility and community service by connecting people through nature.
SpiralScouts International did not respond to a request for comment.
Other scouting alternatives include the Royal Rangers and the Calvinist Cadet Corps, which noted that its enrollment has remained relatively steady, but receives increased interest whenever the Boy Scouts makes policy changes.
Critics have argued BSA has strayed from its mission of teaching young men strong values and leadership skills. Supporters like Eagle Scout Selby Chipman of the 2021 inaugural female class, however, have commended the organization for sticking to its goals while offering equal opportunities.
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"I wouldn't be where I am today without scouting. I wouldn't have the skills that I can apply to my everyday life," Chipman, now an assistant scoutmaster, previously told Fox News Digital.
But Hancock said Trail Life was striving toward a different goal than the Boy Scouts. He said BSA's name change announcement last week was the "final nail in the coffin" for the organization.
"I understand that Boy Scouts' intention is to grow the organization and that their main goal expressed by their CEO is to get people to join. That just isn't our goal," Hancock told Fox News Digital. "Our goal isn't to grow our organization. Our goal is to make strong men out of boys."
The Boy Scouts of America President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press right ahead of the organization's name change announcement that part of his job is to reduce all the barriers he can for people to accept BSA as an organization and join. (The Associated Press)
Boy Scouts of America CEO and President Roger Krone told The Associated Press before the announcement that part of his job is "to reduce all the barriers I possibly can for people to accept us as an organization and to join."
"In the next 100 years, we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs," Krone said.
But male mentors can be scarce, and some boys need structure and appreciation, Hancock said. They also learn better in male-only environments, he added.
"It's really tragic that this is sort of the final nail in the coffin that says, 'boys, we're done with you,'" Hancock said. "'We don't think that you're this special thing that needs to be paid attention to and nurtured … and controlled to some extent in a male-centric environment.'"
"We talk about how boys are unguided in our culture today, how they're ungrounded in our culture today, how they're unappreciated and how they're uninspired," Hancock told Fox News Digital. "We go after those four things, and that's why we're churning out these amazing young men who are products of a system that believes in them, encourages them, understands the challenges that they're facing day-to-day."
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