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Macy Dutton

Keaton Weld, Boy Scout, constructs Gaga Ball Pit as Eagle Scout project


Keaton Weld, accompanied by other members of his troop, built the gaga ball pit in approximately four hours. They also included a few gaga balls and an instruction sheet posted on the side of the pit.

photo by Chris Leatherwood

 

Junior Keaton Weld accompanied by his troop constructed a gaga ball pit on Nov. 12 at The King's Academy high school property as an Eagle Scout Project.


In order to achieve Eagle Scout status, Boy Scouts are required to complete at least one project to help in the community. Weld chose to build a gaga ball pit at our school to complete his required project. The game consists of players striking a rubber ball at their friends, while attempting to avoid the high-speed ball heading their way.


"I love gaga ball and I'm quite sure that others do too," Weld said. "It felt like a great idea to build the pit somewhere lots of people could enjoy playing the game. I decided to build it at Kings because I believed there were a lot of kids there who also enjoyed gaga ball, and it seemed to come together."


To meet the Eagle Scout Project requirements, Weld had to plan and create the pit. The planning portion took the longest, reaching an overall time of about three and a half months, while building the pit took about four hours.


"Planning the gaga pit was no small task... it took about two months to get all of the necessary people in all of the necessary positions to sign their names on the little sheet of paper."


Funding the project also became a difficult task, but the funds to buy the materials were donated, and the brackets were discounted. When the planning stage was complete, Weld and a group of boys from his troop transitioned to the building stage. Weld and his troop members assembled the pit on Nov. 12, handling the few hiccups in stride.


"Likely, the most challenging part of building the pit was when we found out that the wood was a little too long, making the pit way too big, which we only found out as we were assembling it,” Weld said. “Thankfully, however, some of the volunteers we had gotten had circular saws, so we were able to fix the problem and finish the gaga pit ahead of schedule."


Completing the project moves Weld one step closer to accomplishing all of his requirements to become an envied Eagle Scout. As this project signals the nearing end of Weld’s Boy Scout journey. Once he has fulfilled all of the requirements, he becomes an Eagle scout, the highest rank that can be achieved in scouting.


“I haven't finished all of the requirements yet,” Weld said. “There are still one or two merit badges I still have left, but I might be able to get those done over Christmas break, or even Thanksgiving.”


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