BH-BL High School senior and an 11-year member of Boys Scouts of America, Finn Andreini, merged passion with commitment to help him identify exactly what he wanted to do for his Eagle Scout Rank community service project. It’s a project, he predicts, that will provide levels of fun for students for years and years to come.
When Finn first attended Boy Scout Camp he was introduced to a game called Gaga Ball, which, actually, is unofficially known as the sport of Scouting. In a nutshell, Gaga Ball is a friendlier version of dodgeball played in octagonal pits. It’s fast paced and exhilarating, and, according to Finn, really hard to stop playing.
“We would beg our counselors for just one more game nearly every night,” says Finn. “We knew we had limited chances to play until the next time we attended camp so we did everything we could to get in that pit!”
Finn’s passion for the game gave him an idea. If he and his scouting friends loved this game so much, wouldn’t other kids love it too? Why not bring Gaga Ball to BH-BL where everyone can learn to play? And that is exactly what he did. This past summer Finn, his father, his troop members, and other volunteers built a Gaga Ball pit at O’Rourke Middle School.
“Our school is the proud beneficiary of a new Gaga Ball Pit, courtesy of the hard work and fundraising efforts of a former student,” says O’Rourke Middle School Principal Colleen Wolff.
Behind the scenes
Last year, Finn presented Principal Wolff with a written proposal detailing the pit’s appearance and suggested location, a cost analysis, and his fundraising ideas that would pay for the pit.
Wolff, impressed with the well thought out proposal, was on board. She helped guide Finn through the proper channels he’d need to navigate to receive district administration approval. After putting his soft-skills to work, Finn was given the a-okay to move forward.
“I think it’s remarkable that a high school student recognized a need here and dedicated a better part of his free time last year and this summer to bring the project to completion for our school,” adds Wolff. “I’m so very proud of him.”
Combining the benefits of his fundraising efforts with donations and a grantfrom the BH-BL Education Foundation, Finn was ready to begin outlining the logistics and recruiting friends with the right equipment needed to build the pit. The logistics Finn tackled included creating blueprints of the pit and figuring out how much wood they’d need for the pit sides, how much turf infill (1500 lbs, by the way) and the square footage of the turf they’d need to lay out. They decided the inside of the pit should be turf so that maintenance would be minimal. Now the tricky part– Finn needed to procure all the supplies. Using the funds he raised, he was able to purchase the wood supplies locally. However, he and his father had to rent a truck and drive to Binghamton to pick up the donated infill and turf layer.
“This project taught Finn a great deal about the real world,” adds his father Kristian Andreini. “He learned about project management, time management, how to navigate unexpected setbacks due to delivery dates and contracts changing, as well as the demands of physical labor.”
Once they had all the supplies, it was time to build. They worked with BH-BL Facilities staff to properly map out the location, connected with a friend who had the equipment to dig out the area, and then literally called in the troops to help Finn build the pit. One could easily say this project was a labor of love since the scouts helping Finn build the pit also love Gaga Ball.
The Gaga Ball pit is open and already being used in Physical Education classes, during recess, after school, and even on the weekends. If you aren’t sure how to play, just read the “Rules of the Game” signage that was donated by AJ Signs. And, don’t forget to take turns.
You’ll likely meet up with Finn and his friends on the weekends, too. “Every step of this project was worth it,” says Finn. “We have the ultimate Gaga Ball Pit at O’Rourke!”
Footnote from Finn: I’m so grateful for the tremendous support and generosity of his community, whose contributions were instrumental in bringing this project to life. Special thanks to Principal Wolff, The Burnt Hills Education Foundation, Andrew Hazlett and Eco Quality Landscaping, Curtis Lumber, O’Rourke Middle School PTA, Chenango Contracting- Field Turf, American Legion Post #1817, Bobcat of Schenectady, AJ Signs, Troop 4054 and Volunteers.