You’ve made it to Part 2 of the Sports merit badge. This is where the real work happens! If Part 1 was about building your knowledge base (safety, health, sportsmanship), Part 2 is where you actually compete. You’ll pick your two sports, create a training program, track a full season, and demonstrate technique and knowledge to your counselor along the way.
A heads-up before you dive in: the sports you use for this badge cannot be used to fulfill requirements for any other merit badge. Plan accordingly. If you’re working on a swimming-related badge at the same time, for example, you’d need separate competitive events for each. Your counselor will ask about this, so it’s worth knowing from the start.
If you haven’t finished Part 1 yet, start there first. Part 1 covers Requirements 1-3: sports injury first aid, the importance of physical exams, healthy habits and diet, warm-up and cool-down, weight training, and sportsmanship. Get those squared away before tackling the participation requirements here.
Sports Merit Badge Answers: Requirements 4-6 (Part 2)
- Select TWO of the following sports and discuss with your counselor how you will complete the requirements in 5(a) through 5(h) for each sport: badminton, baseball, basketball, bowling, cross-country, diving, field hockey, flag football, flag team, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, spirit/cheerleading, swimming, tackle football, table tennis, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and/or wrestling. Your counselor may approve in advance other recognized sports, but not any sport that is prohibited by Scouting America. The sports you choose must include regular practice sessions and at least four structured, officiated, scored games, meets, or contests against other competitive individuals or organized teams during the period of participation.
- Do the following:
(a) With guidance from your counselor, establish a suitable personal training program that you will follow throughout your competition season (or for three months).
(b) Create a chart or other tracking system, and document your training, practice, and development during this time.
(c) Demonstrate proper technique to play each sport effectively and avoid injury.
(d) List and describe the equipment needed for each sport, including protective equipment and any specialized clothing.
(e) List and explain the rules and proper etiquette of each sport.
(f) Draw and explain a diagram of the playing area for each sport.
(g) Participate in each sport as a competitive individual or as a member of an organized team for one season (or for three months).
(h) At the end of the season, share your completed chart with your counselor and discuss how your participation in the sports you chose has affected you mentally and physically. - Do ONE of the following:
(a) Identify three career opportunities that would use skills and knowledge related to a sport. Pick one and research the training, education, certification requirements, experience, and expenses associated with entering the field. Research the prospects for employment, starting salary, advancement opportunities and career goals associated with this career. Discuss what you learned with your counselor and whether you might be interested in this career.
(b) Identify how you might use skills and knowledge related to a sport to pursue a personal hobby and/or healthy lifestyle. Research the additional training required, expenses, and affiliation with organizations that would help you maximize the enjoyment and benefit you might gain from it. Discuss what you learned with your counselor and share what short-term and long-term goals you might have if you pursued this.
Sports Requirement 4: Choose Your Two Sports
Select TWO sports and discuss with your counselor how you will complete requirements 5(a) through 5(h) for each.
The official list gives you a lot of options: 24 approved sports plus any additional sport your counselor pre-approves. Before you pick, read Requirement 5 carefully. Each sport needs to include regular practice sessions and at least four structured, officiated, scored events against competitive individuals or organized teams. That’s the bar. If you can’t realistically hit four competitive events in a given sport during your window, pick a different one.
| Sport | Season Type | Finding Competitive Events | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Winter (school), year-round (AAU, recreation leagues) | School team, church league, AAU tournaments, rec center leagues | Widely accessible, easy to find leagues at all skill levels |
| Soccer | Fall or spring (school), year-round (club) | School team, club leagues, city recreation leagues | One of the most globally popular options, broad community programs |
| Track and field | Spring (school) | School team meets count as competitive events | Individual events make it easy to document personal improvement |
| Cross-country | Fall (school) | School team meets, 5K races open to youth | Low equipment cost, pairs well with Personal Fitness merit badge training |
| Tennis | Spring or fall (school), year-round (club) | School team, USTA junior tournaments, club leagues | Individual sport: your four events are your four matches |
| Volleyball | Fall (school), year-round (club) | School team, rec leagues, club tournaments | Available for both indoor and beach variants |
| Wrestling | Winter (school) | School team meets, tournaments | Each competitive match counts as an event |
| Golf | Spring or fall (school), year-round | School team, AJGA or local junior tournament series | Requires access to a course. Slower to accumulate events than most other options. |
| Bowling | Year-round | Sanctioned leagues at local bowling centers, USBC youth leagues | Easy to find sanctioned competition year-round |
| Swimming | Fall/winter (school), summer (club) | School team meets, USA Swimming club meets | Note: swimming used here cannot also count toward Swimming merit badge |
Scout Tip: Pick sports you’re already playing or have easy access to, not sports you wish you played. The season requirement is real, and trying to start from zero in a sport you’ve never played while also hitting four competitive events is a lot to take on. Play to your existing schedule and team memberships!
Sports Requirement 5: Season Participation (5a-5h)
Requirement 5 has eight sub-requirements that all run in parallel across your season. You start your training program (5a), track everything (5b), and demonstrate technique and knowledge (5c-5f) while actually playing (5g), then debrief at the end (5h). The best approach is to treat all of 5a-5f as prep work you do before or early in the season, then let 5g run its course.
5a) With guidance from your counselor, establish a suitable personal training program that you will follow throughout your competition season (or for three months).
Your training program needs to be created with your counselor’s input, not handed to you by your school coach. The counselor wants to see that you understand the principles behind the program, not just that you followed instructions. A solid training program for this requirement should address:
- Sport-specific skills: What technical skills need the most work? (Shooting form in basketball, pass accuracy in soccer, starts in swimming) Identify them before the season.
- Physical conditioning: What fitness components matter most for your sport? Endurance (cross-country), power (wrestling, basketball), flexibility (gymnastics), or speed (track)? Build conditioning work around the sport’s demands.
- Strength training: Which muscle groups are most critical for your sport? Two to three resistance training sessions per week is a reasonable baseline for in-season maintenance.
- Rest and recovery: Rest days are part of the program. Specify them. Overtraining without recovery is not a program. It’s an injury waiting to happen.
- Timeline: Map the program to your competition calendar. Peak your fitness for big competitions, not for the first week of practice.
Example Weekly Training Schedule (Soccer, Fall Season):
Monday: Team practice (2 hrs) + 15 min individual passing wall work
Tuesday: Strength training: lower body focus (squats, lunges, calf raises, 45 min)
Wednesday: Team practice (2 hrs)
Thursday: Light jog or bike 30 min + upper body/core strength (30 min)
Friday: Team practice (2 hrs), pre-game day, reduce intensity
Saturday: GAME DAY
Sunday: Active recovery: 20 min easy walk or swim, full stretch routine
5b) Create a chart or other tracking system, and document your training, practice, and development during this time.
The chart is physical evidence that you followed through on the training program. It doesn’t have to be fancy. A simple grid in a notebook, a spreadsheet, or even a printed calendar works. What matters is that it’s consistent and honest. Track these elements for each training day:
- Date
- Activity type (team practice, individual drill, strength session, game, rest day)
- Duration
- Key focus (what you specifically worked on: passing accuracy, footwork, endurance pace)
- Performance notes (how it went, what improved, what still needs work)
- Competition results for game days (score, your personal performance notes)
The chart becomes your 5h conversation starter at the end of the season. A well-maintained chart shows a story: where you started, what you worked on, and how you improved. Your counselor wants to see that development arc.
5c) Demonstrate proper technique to play each sport effectively and avoid injury.
This is the live demonstration requirement. You’ll show your counselor (or demonstrate during a practice or game they observe) that you can perform the fundamental techniques of your chosen sport safely and correctly. “Safely” is in the requirement for a reason. Poor technique is a direct injury risk in most sports. Here are examples of what “technique to avoid injury” looks like across common sports:
| Sport | Key Technique Points | Injury Risk of Poor Technique |
|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Bending knees when landing from jumps, proper pivot foot mechanics, defensive stance keeping back straight | Landing stiff-legged causes knee injuries (ACL). Poor pivoting causes ankle sprains. |
| Soccer | Heading technique (neck stiff, contact on forehead not top of head), proper tackle approach, landing mechanics | Improper heading technique increases concussion risk. Poor tackle form causes ankle/knee injury. |
| Track and field (sprinting) | Starting block form, arm drive, forward lean, heel-to-toe stride mechanics | Overstriding causes hamstring strains. Poor arm mechanics creates inefficient form that accelerates fatigue. |
| Wrestling | Proper shooting stance (staying low, weight balanced), safe fall technique (breakfall), controlled takedowns | Diving in with head down causes neck injury. Poor fall technique causes shoulder separation. |
| Tennis | Eastern or semi-western grip, shoulder turn on groundstrokes, split step before opponent’s contact | Hitting with improper grip causes tennis elbow. Poor footwork causes ankle sprains. |
| Volleyball | Platform position for passing (arms together, elbows locked, contact on forearms), setter hand position, jumping mechanics | Passing with bent arms causes inconsistent results and wrist injury. Landing on another player’s foot causes ankle sprain. |
5d) List and describe the equipment needed for each sport, including protective equipment and any specialized clothing.
Your equipment list should cover three categories for each sport: basic playing equipment, protective gear, and appropriate clothing. Here’s a template using two popular choices:
Example: Soccer
- Ball: Size 5 (full size) for players age 13 and up. Properly inflated to 8.5-15.6 psi.
- Cleats: Molded or detachable cleats appropriate to the playing surface (firm ground, soft ground, turf). Properly fitted, with no more than one finger width of toe room.
- Shin guards: Required at all organized levels. Must cover the shin from just above the ankle to just below the knee. Worn under the sock.
- Goalkeeper-specific: Padded gloves, padded shorts/pants, jersey distinguishable from all other players.
- Clothing: Moisture-wicking jersey and shorts, soccer socks long enough to cover shin guards.
Example: Basketball
- Ball: Size 7 (men’s) or Size 6 (women’s). Properly inflated to 7.5-8.5 psi.
- Court shoes: Basketball-specific high-tops or mid-tops with lateral support. Court shoes (not running shoes) are important because lateral movement in running shoes causes ankle rolls.
- Protective gear (optional but common): Knee pads, compression shorts/sleeves, ankle braces for players with prior ankle injuries, mouthguard.
- Clothing: Moisture-wicking jersey and shorts. Compression layers underneath are common for warmth and muscle support.
Scout Tip: For your counselor meeting, be ready to explain WHY the protective equipment matters, not just that it exists. Why do soccer players wear shin guards specifically (not knee pads or helmets)? Why do basketball players use court shoes and not running shoes? Understanding the reason behind each piece of gear shows real knowledge of your sport.
5e) List and explain the rules and proper etiquette of each sport.
Rules and etiquette are two different things, and your counselor will want both. Rules are the official regulations that govern play: what’s legal, what’s a foul, how scoring works, how time is managed. Etiquette is the unwritten code of conduct, the standard of what’s considered respectful and sporting beyond the official rulebook.
| Sport | Key Rules (Examples) | Etiquette |
|---|---|---|
| Soccer | Offside rule. Handling the ball with arms/hands (except goalkeeper in penalty area). Yellow and red card system. Throw-in vs. corner kick vs. goal kick restart rules. 90-minute match with two 45-minute halves. | Kick the ball out of play when an opponent is injured. Applaud good plays by the other team. Don’t simulate fouls or dive. Shake hands after the match regardless of result. |
| Basketball | Shot clock (24 sec NBA, 30 sec NCAA, varies at lower levels). Personal foul limits (5 fouls in NCAA, 6 in NBA). Three-second lane violation. Backcourt violation. Traveling. Double dribble. | Help an opponent up from the floor after a foul. Don’t talk trash or taunt after made shots. Acknowledge a teammate who sets a screen. Say “my bad” when you turn the ball over. |
| Tennis | Scoring (15-30-40, deuce/advantage). Let rule on serve. Fault vs. double fault. In/out line calls. Service rotation. Tiebreak rules at 6-6. | Call your own lines honestly (the player closest to the ball calls it). Give opponents the benefit of the doubt on close calls. No audible profanity. Wait until a point is complete before walking behind a court in use. |
| Cross-country | Course must be followed exactly. Any deviation is disqualification. Finish order determines placement. Team scores are the sum of the places of the top five finishers. | Encourage runners who pass you or whom you pass. Don’t block other runners or cut off their lines. Help an injured runner on course (your own placement doesn’t matter as much as another athlete’s safety). |
Study the full rulebook of your specific sports from the governing body (NFHS for high school sports, USSF for soccer, USA Basketball, etc.). Your counselor will likely ask you to explain several specific rules and their rationale, not just list them.
5f) Draw and explain a diagram of the playing area for each sport.
Draw a diagram of the court, field, or playing area for each of your two sports and label the key zones, boundaries, and markings. Your counselor wants to see that you know the layout and can explain what each area is used for. A rough sketch is not enough.
For each diagram, include and explain:
- Boundary lines (and what happens when the ball goes out of bounds)
- Scoring areas (goals, baskets, end zones, lanes)
- Key zones with game-specific rules (penalty area in soccer, three-second lane in basketball, service boxes in tennis, start/exchange zones in track relay)
- Player positioning areas if relevant (infield/outfield, goalkeeper box)
- Official dimensions (at least approximate. A soccer field is roughly 100-110 meters by 64-75 meters at the professional level, for example)
Scout Tip: Use a ruler and label every line in your diagram. A labeled diagram drawn neatly on graph paper impresses more than a sloppy free-hand sketch. Look up official court/field diagrams from the sport’s governing body and use them as reference. Just draw your own version rather than printing one.
5g) Participate in each sport as a competitive individual or as a member of an organized team for one season (or for three months).
This is the core of the badge: you actually play. The minimum bar is one season or three months of participation, with at least four competitive events per sport. “Competitive” means official, structured, scored contests against other individuals or teams, not informal games or pickup sessions.
What counts as a competitive event depends on the sport. For most team sports, each game counts. For individual sports like track and field, each meet where you compete officially counts. For golf, each official round in a tournament or league match counts. Keep records of each event (date, opponent or event name, result) for your chart.
Scout Tip: Talk to your counselor before your season starts to confirm exactly what counts as a “competitive event” for your specific sports. Getting clarity early prevents a situation at the end of the season where you thought you had four events but your counselor doesn’t count one of them.
5h) At the end of the season, share your completed chart with your counselor and discuss how your participation in the sports you chose has affected you mentally and physically.
The closing discussion is more than a data review. Your counselor wants to hear honest reflection on your experience. Come prepared to talk about both dimensions the requirement specifies: mental and physical.
Things to reflect on before the discussion:
- What physical changes did you notice over the season? (Endurance, strength, coordination, weight)
- What skills improved measurably? (Faster times, better shooting percentage, fewer unforced errors)
- How did competition affect your mindset? (Confidence, handling loss, dealing with pressure)
- What was the hardest moment of the season and how did you handle it?
- Did being on a team change how you interact with others off the field?
- Would you do this sport again? Why or why not?
Sports Requirement 6: Career or Hobby
Do ONE: (a) Research a sport-related career OR (b) Identify how sports could become a personal hobby or healthy lifestyle path.
Option A asks for real research, not “I want to be a pro athlete.” Your counselor wants specific, grounded information: training required, education needed, certifications, typical starting salary, advancement path. Pick a direction that actually appeals to you and do real homework on it. Option B is a more personal reflection on how you’d build sport into a healthy, enjoyable life going forward.
Option A – Sport-Related Career Paths:
| Career | What They Do | Education / Certification | Starting Salary Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletic Trainer (ATC) | Prevents, evaluates, and rehabilitates sports injuries. Works with teams at high school, college, and professional levels. | Bachelor’s degree in athletic training, BOC certification (national exam), state licensure | $40,000-$55,000 (high school/college). Higher at professional levels. |
| Physical Education Teacher / Coach | Teaches physical education classes and/or coaches school sports teams. | Bachelor’s degree in physical education or kinesiology, state teaching certification | $38,000-$55,000 entry level. Coaching stipend added on top of teaching salary. |
| Sports Nutritionist / Dietitian | Creates nutrition plans for athletes at all levels to optimize performance and recovery. | Bachelor’s degree in dietetics or nutrition, Registered Dietitian (RD) credential, optional Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) | $45,000-$65,000 entry level. Higher with professional team contracts. |
| Strength and Conditioning Coach | Designs and implements training programs for athletes at high school, college, and professional levels. | Bachelor’s degree in exercise science or kinesiology, NSCA-CSCS certification (gold standard) | $35,000-$55,000 (high school/small college). Significant increase at D1/professional level. |
| Sports Official (Referee / Umpire) | Officiates games at youth, high school, college, and professional levels. | Sport-specific officiating certification (NFHS, national governing bodies), often starting at youth levels to build experience | Part-time at lower levels ($20-$80/game); full-time professionals earn $100,000+ |
| Recreational Therapist | Uses sport and physical activity to help patients in clinical settings (hospitals, rehab centers) improve physical and mental health. | Bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy, CTRS certification (national exam) | $40,000-$55,000 |
Example Option A Discussion Outline (adapt in your own words):
“I researched athletic training as a career because I’ve always been interested in the injury prevention side of sports. To become a certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), I’d need a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from an accredited program (usually four years), pass the BOC national certification exam, and get licensed in my state. Most entry-level positions at high schools or college programs start around $40,000-$50,000 per year. The NATA (National Athletic Trainers’ Association) is the main professional organization. Short-term, I’m interested in getting first aid and CPR certified now. Long-term, I’d consider going into sports medicine or working with a college or professional team.”
Option B – Sports as a Healthy Lifestyle:
For Option B, the counselor wants a concrete plan, not just “I’ll keep playing soccer for fun.” Identify specific organizations you’d join, costs involved, additional training you’d pursue, and real short and long-term goals. Here’s an example framework:
- Sport I’d continue: Tennis. I’d join the USTA junior league program in my area and eventually transition to adult leagues when I age out.
- Training required: Continue with weekly lessons from a certified USPTA pro, plus 2-3 hours of independent hitting weekly.
- Expenses: Court fees ($5-15/hr), racket restringing every 2-3 months ($20-30), league fees ($50-150/season), lesson costs ($40-80/hr).
- Organizations: USTA for leagues and tournament play, local club for regular access to courts and hitting partners.
- Short-term goal: Maintain a USTA rating of 3.0+ and compete in at least two local tournaments this year.
- Long-term goal: Play in a competitive adult rec league for the next 10+ years as a consistent piece of a healthy lifestyle.
Fun Fact: According to research from the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, youth athletes who participate in multiple sports and continue playing at least one through adulthood have significantly lower rates of obesity, heart disease, and depression compared to those who stop after high school. The habits you build now compound over a lifetime. It’s worth investing in!
Congrats on Finishing the Sports Merit Badge!
You covered a full season of competitive play, built a real training program, documented your development, and learned the rules, equipment, and technique of two sports inside and out. That’s a serious athletic resume for one merit badge! 🙂
If you haven’t finished Part 1 yet, head back to Part 1 for Requirements 1-3, covering sports injury first aid, health habits, physical exams, warming up, weight training, and sportsmanship. You’ll need those covered before your counselor meeting.
For more Scouting resources, check out the Personal Fitness merit badge guide, which has the strongest overlap with the training program skills you built here. Good luck this season!