Trail Life USA Blog

Let boys be boys

Stephen Ashton Feb 14, 2021

Herbert Hoover: A Boy's Bill of Rights

There are two jobs for American boys today. One is being a boy. The other is growing up to be a man. Both jobs are important. Both are packed with excitement, great undertakings, and high adventure.

Stephen Ashton Oct 28, 2020

Let Boys be Boys, Troop Adventures, Troop

Jim's Daniel Boone Friction Flamed Coffee

The boys came prepared in teams of four for a highlight challenge of the Daniel Boone Base Camp Event. Each year Trailmen compete to build a fire tall enough to burn a marker string, boil water, and steep coffee for their Troopmaster to drink. This year, however the planning team added a twist. The…

Mark Hancock Aug 19, 2020

In The News, Let Boys be Boys

Could COVID be Inspiration for the Next 'Greatest Generation?'

As parents, we have a choice to teach our boys to live in fear or teach them to rise above life’s challenges and act in faith. COVID-19 has added many obstacles to boys getting together to do the things they love. But right now, our boys don’t need to hear more “you can’t do XYZ.” They need…

Stephen Ashton Mar 30, 2020

Mentoring, Parenting, Let Boys be Boys, Masculinity

3 Keys to Growing Confident Men of Character

1. Cultivate Relationships Boys need dads who remember the world of backyard matchbox cars. Who can recall the time when dirt roads were carved from mulch beds, rocks became doughnut shops, cars drove to the tops of trees, and perils awaited in the grass jungles.

Stephen Ashton Jul 12, 2019

Mentoring, Let Boys be Boys

What a Boy Needs

Trail Life USA ® CEO Mark Hancock talks about the differences between boys and girls and the need to have boy-specific activities in scouting. Trail Life USA, he explains, is a boy-focused scouting organization that gives boys plenty of outdoor activities to challenge them and call out their inner…

Stephen Ashton Jul 11, 2019

In The News, Mentoring, Parenting, Let Boys be Boys, Masculinity, Raising Godly Boys

A Boy’s World: Raising Strong, Godly, Courageous Men

These days there is a lot of pressure to “civilize” boys, to make them less strong and aggressive. Today we we want to talk about the uniqueness of raising boys in this culture, where there is confusion about masculinity and femininity, where there is confusion about what it is supposed to look…

Stephen Ashton Jul 03, 2019

In The News, Let Boys be Boys

Trail Life USA CEO on Eric Metaxas Show

Eric Metaxas and Trail Life CEO, Mark Hancock, discuss culture, boyhood, masculinity, leadership, and the rapid growth of Trail Life USA on the Eric Metaxas Radio Show. Watch the podcast below or read the abridged transcript that follows.

Stephen Ashton Jun 11, 2019

Mentoring, Let Boys be Boys

Family Talk: Boys in the Crossfire

In this edition of Family Talk, Dr. Tim Clinton talks with Trail Life CEO, Mark Hancock about the important role of Trail Life USA is playing to equip churches who engage men in using outdoor adventure as a tool to raise up young men who have a healthy understanding of biblical manhood and who are…

Stephen Ashton Jun 03, 2019

In The News, Let Boys be Boys

Podcast: Making Room for Boys, with Mark Hancock and Trail Life USA

It isn’t politically correct to say so, but reality is what it is: Boys and girls are different. Physiologically, psychologically, and emotionally. They learn differently and have different motivations. And these days, in a world that is increasingly designed for girls, boys are suffering—in…