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-- Is our sport dying ? (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=928435656)

Is our sport dying ?

In the last 15 cast I have been in all but 3 I have been with all youth handlers I have been beat in all 15 these fine young people are good handlers that know the rules and are hunting dogs a lot of grown ups would love to own. But for the sport to grow we need more events for them we as grown ups need to leave our dogs at home put our pride aside and mentor these young folks you would be surprised what a little time in the woods would mean to these young people later in life it's always been good therapy for me on this day I have less material things and I am more blessed than I have ever been hope all of you have a happy thanksgiving with friends and family. From the Robert Hitt family.

Had the pleasure of judging a few cast at some youth hunts this year and the youth were very competitive, respectful, good handlers and a pleasure to be around. Happy Thanksgiving Robert, and all

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Mr. Tar this is something I am hearing from around the country and it has me thinking. I am not sure if this is true or not but gives a man something to think about.

I think the younger generation is looking for something other than the traditional competition hunts. Why I say this is because I have been told in different areas of the country where they have the hunts where you go out and harvest the coon and win for the most coon, biggest coon and a few other things. Those hunts draw good and have a lot of young men and women at them. I am talking 50 plus entries like the hunts use to draw. You turn around and have a UKC or PKC hunt the next weekend at the same club and you don't see any of the youngsters there.

Unfortunately if this is true perhaps the older generation has to ask itself what they have done to keep the youngsters away from traditional hunts. I think that's the starting point to solve this problem.

I know when I was young I wanted a lot more involvement and action (dogs fighting coon, shaking coon out, shooting coon) than I do now, as my focus has turned just to trying to train a puppy or two. Todays youth are the same, they want action.

Happy Thanksgiving Mr. Tar

This is just what I think most young people are taught to respect there elders they draw out with some of the win at all cost older folks and they intimidate them and they loose interest latley I would rather draw the young folks as the older ones it's fun to watch them get exited about coon hunting and you would be surprised they got some really good ideas and I always let them carry the card I just remember the old days were there was somthing for everybody I guess that's over !!!

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I met a young man about 4 years ago when him and a buddy left their High School Graduation party to come by my house and buy a couple of them small orange led lights. I was so proud of those two young men for wanting to go coonhunting that night and not be out drinking I about gave them those lights. I hunted a couple times around that time with one of the young men and after about a year or so went by we started hunting more. His name is Corey and his progression through this sport is a credit to his personality and his desire to coon hunt. We started to going to some small comp hunts and about the second trip down to Scottsmore which is 90 miles away but our home club, Byron Overstreet handed him the card and told him to keep score. Couple more trips down there and Byron and Oliver Winn who run the club handed him the card and told him to judge. I cringed but Corey never backed up and accepted the responsibility. Was he ready, in my opinion no but we are all friends and even though things get heated in a hunt they watched over him carefully and gave him a great opportunity to learn. Over the last couple years Corey has learned a lot, made some mistakes but only because he didn't know the rules which I blame myself for not teaching him better. Just this past year we were at a larger PKC hunt and in the second round I saw him walk away from the table with the score card. I cringed again and said to myself, Roger couldn't have choose him to judge. Well he did and Corey did a good job. In my opinion he was not ready, but in the opinion of others he deserved the chance and he has lived up to their expectations.
Over the past couple years around the country as Corey is learning there have been some mistakes made by the people judging. I will say honest mistakes and there have been several people who I see on this board everyday that were in the cast to voice their experience and speak up to correct the rule that going against Corey that wasn't deserved. I want to Thank you guys for that as our Youth are important and we need to stand behind them.

quote:

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Originally posted by yadkintar
This is just what I think most young people are taught to respect there elders they draw out with some of the win at all cost older folks and they intimidate them and they loose interest latley I would rather draw the young folks as the older ones it's fun to watch them get exited about coon hunting and you would be surprised they got some really good ideas and I always let them carry the card I just remember the old days were there was somthing for everybody I guess that's over !!!

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I DON'T THINK THE SPORT IS DYING BUT THE COMPETITION SIDE IS , I HAVE SEEN MORE PLEASURE HUNTERS THIS YEAR THAN EVER A LOT OF THEM I DID NOT KNOW I PLAN ON HAVING A COONHUNTER GET TOGEATHER AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR WITH SOME GREAT PRIZES AND PLAN ON DOING SOME GREAT ADVERTISING TO GET THOSE PLEASURE HUNTERS TO OUR CLUB

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I am very interested in any of you guys ways to get the youth involved in our sport. I am the newly elected president of our local club here in south east iowa ,I have been a member of this club since I was young myself.We are going to put together a ffa and 4H club learning event and hunt for these young folks to get some of the youth pleasure hunters involved.The thing I see is the members we have at our club are mainly comp hunters and we don't have a lot of the pleasure hunters interest. The other thing to accomplish by having this is there are youth out there that have never been exposed to the coonhunting if you weren't raised with it or had a friend that did it you may have never got involved. I am a proud dad with 1 son 26,1 daughter 24,1 daughter 21, and 1 daughter 14. They have all hunted with me and still do from time to time my son owns his own hounds and pleasure and comp hunts a lot now that he has grad from college as an engineer and my 14 year old daughter has won a added money c**kc hunt. This year at our kennels pound hunt that we have every year my 14yr old and her best friend that is also 14 and a girl wanted a team of their own these 2 girls went out and hunted by themselves and had a great hunt .Now tomorrow morn we are headed on an 8 hour drive to pick up my daughters first hound of her own that she is buying with her own money to push in some youth events as well as she thinks she wants to hunt in just the regular local comp hunts.I sure hope she don't get burnt on her first few hunts with the big boys. Anyway without the youth involvement how are us guys gonna be able to go to the local clubs and sit around and shoot the breeze and watch the sport we love when we are to old to chase a hound through the woods.

__________________
Morgan Branch Kennels:
" where quality comes first "

It's pretty much dead here but the beagles clubs are doing well. Just a few die hards coonhunt still. Most young guns are into waterfowl hunting and deer. Predator calling also seems to be catching on. Doesn't bother me much we have limited woods and I selfishly enjoy having them to myself. It sounds bad but one other trigger happy hunter with a half decent hound could clean out my spots in a month. I only have about a dozen spots to hunt.

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"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
Mark Twain

quote:

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Originally posted by wjoey
I DON'T THINK THE SPORT IS DYING BUT THE COMPETITION SIDE IS , I HAVE SEEN MORE PLEASURE HUNTERS THIS YEAR THAN EVER A LOT OF THEM I DID NOT KNOW I PLAN ON HAVING A COONHUNTER GET TOGEATHER AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR WITH SOME GREAT PRIZES AND PLAN ON DOING SOME GREAT ADVERTISING TO GET THOSE PLEASURE HUNTERS TO OUR CLUB

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John I don't know why I have changed the way I think but I love to see the young people get excited about coon hunting ! If I never win anouther hunt I have won my share ! The grown ups the more successful you are the worse they treat you the younger ones they don't have that problem they visit all day then go hunting that night and support each outher I think a lot of grown ups need to set back and take some lessons of of these young people and start enjoying coonhunting again the older ones think it's an inconvenience to deal with these kids they think it's beneath them I just remember the way it used to be and can't understand why people don't have time for it anymore unless it's they're ego !!

Robert Don't know about you but birthdays has decreased my want to compete a bit ..I try to keep as good of a hound as I can and when confronted with a challenge usually accept..We coach a lot of youth sports particular baseball and you can usually pick out a kid or two that gets that itch ..those are the kids you can usually get started..Good post and good luck!!

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Home Of Valley Creek Hunting Supply..Dalton Farms Softball and Misty Hollow Kennels 434-865-4868
www.valleycreekhunting.com

I understand the birthday thing but I am always rooting for the underdog !! Just a suggestion I got my last kid in college so I know all to well how expensive it is maybe the clubs giving scollerships you would be surprised how much $500 a semester would help plus you get them an education witch I absolutly believe in !!

I'm young, 21 years old, and have a strong desire to be competitive in the hunts, but this sport is EXPENSIVE! I love it as much or more than the next guy, but right now money is tight with college and an entry level pay at my job. A hound that can win isn't cheap and one that can win that suits my honest style is even more expensive. That's the biggest reason why I don't have a dog running the hunts right now. It's alot easier to find a consistent pleasure dog and hit the woods when I can than run all over the country looking for that dog that can really compete. Also coonhunting is a social sport to me and that's why I love it. If you have a few bad apples in a club that cheat and aren't fun to be around I would assume stay home and not risk drawing them in a cast. Most hunts I've been to have been enjoyable with good people and I really like the atmosphere in alot of clubs. It's nice to sit down and talk to the older men about what they've learned over the years. It has sure helped me tremendously. My advice would be to help out the younger generation as much as you can and share some knowledge. Take kids hunting and be their buddy.

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Preston Chadwell
276-275-3615

I've seen more people pleasure hunting this year than ever in the last ten 10 years. I don't think the pleasure hunting is dying. I do how ever believe if you can get a few of the pleasure guys to come to a hunt and they have a good time. You might be able to get them to come back. But if they do come and have a bad experience you'll be hard pressed to get them to come back. At least for a while. But this is jmo

The one thing that I think would help at the local hunts would be if UKC would allow that if at least two youths show up for a hunt they could be placed on cast to themselves. Based on there age. Do not see any reason why not personal myself. They already allow it for the senior class.

Good call! If there were young hunters showin up i would guide casts and leave my dog in the pen.

Very Good Idea

And if the club would have a volunteer judge and guide along with maybe transportation, just throwing out some ideas, also maybe make it about handling and calling not about the dog specifically and sportsmanship.

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Tony Beals
Perrinton, Mi
(989) 763-4725
MSG, US ARMY RETIRED
President of Michigan State United Coon Hunters Association

We have already placed a.call to UKC on this last week. Ask this very question. And sadly no answer as of yet. Maybe we will hear something next week.

Also have a point system to award youth handlers for a cast win. Tally points for youth handlers within there home state. UKC could award prize packages for three places and crown a state youth champion every calendar year.

College Scholarship

Possible all clubs donate part of entry fees towards a scholarship (do by state) money would go to UKC to sponcer.

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Tony Beals
Perrinton, Mi
(989) 763-4725
MSG, US ARMY RETIRED
President of Michigan State United Coon Hunters Association

That's a really good idea ! Just think what if they went to college and all became game rangers we might win a few more battles !!

You guys are rollin now! This is good stuff.

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Let me try and send another message here. This is an important subject but one that have several programs in place to address the issue. I don't want to rain on anyones parade that can come up with another program and make it work. Would I would like to say is that there are a lot of people that if they think they are reinventing the wheel they will jump in with both feet and act as a cheerleader until it is ready to roll the wheel and then they can't be found.

I truly think the wheel has been invented and there are programs out there for the YOUTH. Could there be more or could they be refined to work better. Perhaps, but you won't know that from reading a message board. You will know that by getting involved with what is out there and seeing how you can promote programs in place in your area.

I can't remember the ladies name but there is one lady that does a lot with the Youth. There is a Camp every year for kids and other programs. Anyone know about the UKC YEP Program. I have a scrap book full of pictures from around the country of Kids and Clubs giving a word of Thanks for supporting their efforts. I said this to say. The people at the clubs and running those hunts and camps are the ones to be Thanked. Anyone can donate something-It TAKES PEOPLE WILLING TO WORK TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Two things that would improve things tremendously. I think we should seek out those already doing and ask how we can help them and support them. If your around a Youth Hunter show respect and a willingness to help them out.

This is the UKC board but PKC has a youth program that gives out scholarships every year. They have monthly standings that are published of youth around the country that have won at their hunts and if you looked at the list, it is impressive.

Let me give some KUDOS to Redgy Ramsey and CHKC at I think they are having some impressive turnouts of YOUTH HUNTER and FEMALE HUNTERS. Good Job my Friend!

Please I am not trying to ruffle feathers or put a lid on any ideas. I just hate to see people waste their time reinventing the wheel when the one we have works, just need some help pushing it.





Click on the YEP program here.
http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/WebPages/Coonhounds/YEP

I agree and find myself guilty also. Just like club members who throw out suggestions to make clubs better but will not show up to help.

__________________
Tony Beals
Perrinton, Mi
(989) 763-4725
MSG, US ARMY RETIRED
President of Michigan State United Coon Hunters Association