URBINO, Italy – On a sunny morning the playing field on the Fortessa  – fort  – overlooking this city is filled with Italian Scouts who, at first glance, mirror their U.S. counterparts. The members wear uniforms of shorts and shirts complete with kerchiefs and shoulder patches. Younger members are boisterous and energetic, while older leaders attempt to instill order.

Scouts of all ages help with the elaborate ornamentation.

But a closer look shows some serious differences, the first of which is hard to miss: There are no “boy” or “girl” scouts, just Scouts of both genders. And as these boys and girls, men and women, finally gather to start the day’s activity – joining a procession honoring the city’s patron saint – the anticipation and excitement written on their faces would be unusual anywhere.

Scouting in Italy, explains leader Veronica Dadi, is “not just an activity, it’s a lifestyle”.

The scouting movement in Italy is, of course, similar to its American cousin in many ways.  Both are part of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and share the same guiding principles of hard work, civic duty and personal responsibility.

But the differences are more numerous, and noticeable.

 There are two scouting groups here. The Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani (AGESCI), associated with the Catholic Church, has roughly 177,000 members. The secular group Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani (CNGEI) has about 12,000 scouts. 

After a long morning of hard work, the scouts have almost completed the decoration of the streets.

Italian scouting combined genders over the past 10-15 years. 

Dadi, 25, said that move has resulted in greater respect and understanding. “Young teenagers are really embarrassed by [other] boys and girls,” she said. “With doing things together and friendship, they really learn how to respect one another.”

Dadi said scouting’s goal in Italy is to help members become good people and “be useful to others.”

For example, the scouts in Cagli recently participated in colletta alimentare – collecting food and other items for the poor. Natalia Toccaceli Blasi, 23, a Cagli leader, said those types of experiences help scouts become more responsible, offering an education unattainable anywhere else.

The scouts lead the local people and officials in the procession as they make their way around the town.

And because Italian scouts are more likely to continue with the movement later on in life, scouting here is often a family affair with children growing up to serve as age-group leaders after having children of their own.

The Lombardi family is one example.

Gregorio Lombardi, 25, a scout-turned-leader, explained he continuing a family tradition.  His father was a scout-turned-leader, while his mother caught scouting passion as an adult from his dad.

And today scouting helped form the foundation Gregorio’s relationship with his girlfriend, Giada Todisco Grande, 25, another scout leader.

But there is one aspect scouting life Italians in the movement share with their American cousins: They are the victims of certain clichés.  While Italian adults admire the maturity scouting encourages, members of the younger generation often see them as a too conformist. To them, scouting is seen as an uncool thing to do, especially when the person has no knowledge on the subject. 

Dadi described how she and many of her scout mates were teased because they were scouts. She said the common thought among young people here is of a scout “being a loser.”

Judging by the excitement shown by the scouts of all ages on the Fortessa, that hasn’t diminished their passion for the scouting life.

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On a typical June Saturday, the American youth soccer scene plays out like this: Throngs of minivan-racing, Starbucks-fueled soccer moms and emotionally over-involved fathers drag their children to the pitch at dawn for a day of intense competition, dehydration, and worst of all—lack of discipline.

But as a spectator approaches the practice field of Urbino’s newest youth soccer league, NFT il Sandro De Crescentini, there is only silence punctuated by the occasional whistle blast. Parents stand on the sidelines, watching pensively while their children’s cleats stomp through the short grass. On the field, boys of all ages call commands to each other as drills move precisely and at a breakneck pace.

Unusual in this soccer-crazed nation but popular in the Marche, the training philosophy that these young boys follow puts teamwork, training, and fun ahead of competition. They do not even compete until they are 13 years old. No American parent would put up with this.

Nobody really knows when this philosophy was born, but they know who created it. Sandro De Crescentini was a well-known cardiologist in Le Marche, and he was recognized around Urbino as a family man with a strong sense of community. He was also an avid coach of youth football—as soccer is called in Italy—and he headed the local team from 2006. At some point, he created a training philosophy based on teamwork, professionalism, and respect. De Crescentini’s philosophy sprang from his sense of family belonging, and he was able to transplant that directly to football. He did not set out to create or institute a set of ideals; his attitude and loving nature just rubbed off onto his young football players. Sadly, De Crescentini died on January 20, 2008, from a heart attack. In August 2013, the league was renamed in his honor, and his philosophy lives on.

Players from Sandro De Crescentini and ASD Alto Metauro get ready to face off in the 2003 age group tournament. Age grouping is done a bit differently in the US.

The current head coach, Stefano Mundula, explains that this unusual training includes a seven- to eight-year “base” program starting at age 5. Throughout the year, these young football players work on their tactics, juggling, ball control, and having a lot of fun with practice. They are encouraged to try new things during practice, because, says Mundula, “We want to teach them to love the game on their own. It cannot be forced.” The boys do not play any competitive football except during season-ending tournaments. Even these tournaments are not like American tournaments. The Urbino boys play teams from Fermignano, Pesaro, and other nearby cities, but everyone gets playing time, and the coaches keep things light. There are no trophies, no referees, just fun. “Winning is just the final product…there are many other things to be focused on,” says Mundula.

The period between ages 5 and 12 is critical for proper skill development, says Mundula. “From 5 to 12, what is particularly looked after is this overall building of the player,” he says. “There are some phases from 5 to 12 that are very sensitive.” He focuses on the base training, but the program is much more holistic, covering “both physical and mental training.” He says, “Tactics cannot exist without technique, and technique cannot exist without physical coordination.” Mundula is a teacher, and wants all of his pupils to understand that mental sharpness as well as coordinated strength is required to play football, as is the group mentality that is so important to this league.

“All of these boys are going to become men,” he adds. “But only one in 100,000 will become a professional football player. We must prepare them for what they are guaranteed to become.”

Enrica Rossi, a University of Urbino language professor and mother of one of the players, agrees that this approach is not just about football: “It is an entire environment that is absolutely positive for the boys.” She believes that her 9-year-old son Giacomo has improved his “teamwork skills, and his team sensitivity,” and has matured since joining the club.

Throughout the Marche, there are other football clubs that subscribe to similar philosophies. For example, Giuseppe Cappelloni, president of the team ASD Alto Metauro that includes boys from three villages near Urbino, describes much of the same approach as Mundula. But he puts a particular emphasis on unity. He believes that the more united the team is, the stronger it will be. “We promote unity in every sense of the word, and try to give the boys an option that will help them grow,” says Cappelloni.

A youngster in Urbino’s new league controls the ball with ease as he passes down the sideline. Until age 12, these boys do not compete, but work only on tactics and skills.

Cappelloni also attempts to instill an attitude of what he calls “strong training” in his young players. This strong training means that there is no shouting and no screaming; only fun. It teaches them to be disciplined and to love the game. The older they get, the more intense the training becomes, so that they can stay competitive with the rest of Italy.

In other Italian cities, however, clubs train their youngsters very intensely. Mundula says that many football clubs in neighboring cities do not have the same level of discipline and attention to details that do not pertain directly to football, such as mental training.

Nicola Petricca, a freelance sports writer based in Urbino and avid football player, agrees. He says that in bigger football cities such as Rome, Milan, or Turin, teams use strategies and mentalities more like those the U.S., focusing on individual improvement rather than fun and cohesion. These methods include as many as five practices per week, many competitive tournaments, and other approaches that put stress on some of the youngest boys in the league. “The boys feel the pressure to move to the next level—they are playing football in towns with big, professional teams,” says Petricca, who once had the opportunity to move on to a higher level of play but was hindered by a knee injury. He says these leagues have a high turnover rate because the children are forced to play competitively from Day One and they do not learn to love the game like Marche players do.

Back on Urbino’s football pitch, the young calciatori—players—are having their season-ending tournament. The stands are packed with fans, a food stand serves drinks and crescia sfogliata, a DJ is blasting, and the players are warming up on the field. The tournament stretches two weeks, and toward the end, the older players are afforded an opportunity to show the fruits of their training. The players from NFT il Sandro De Crescentini and ASD Alto Metauro are lightning fast and have amazing ball control, sending it flying with a twitch of the foot. A ball rips into the back of the net, and the fans explode in unison.

This article also appears in Urbino Now magazine’s Sport section. You can read all the magazine articles in print by ordering a copy from MagCloud.

PESARO, Italy – Clear blue water washes up on smooth stone pebbles and rows of umbrellas sprout from spotlessly maintained sand. There isn’t a half-eaten gelato cone or empty food wrapper for the seagulls to pick through, and the breeze coming from the city carries only the scent of linden tree blossoms.

The Blue Flag waiving symbolizing that Pesaro beaches are some of the cleanest and environmentally sustainable in Italy.

It’s all post-card perfect – and the blue flags waving over the beach tells visitors this beauty isn’t skin deep. It assures them they are swimming in an environment that has been certified among the cleanest anywhere.

That’s because those blue flags are awarded by the  Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) only to communities that meet standards of cleanliness through an overall commitment to environmental sustainability.

Antonella Leggio, with the environmental department of the Pesaro City Council, says Pesaro’s “good levels of waste collection, bike lanes, urban cleanliness services, historical monuments and touristic promotion” show the commitment to overall environmental health for the city. 

According to the FEE, a Blue Flag is awarded to beaches and marinas that meet 33criteria regarding environmental sustainability and land management.

The criteria are divided into four sections: environmental education and information, quality of water, environmental management and safety and services.

Recycling and garbage bins are required to be frequent on Blue Flag beaches so that visitors can throw their trash away easily.

For example, qualifying beaches must have a requisite number of lifeguards and lifesaving equipment, adequate waste disposal bins that are regularly maintained and information relating to local eco-systems. In addition, environmental data showing that the beach and water complies with Blue Flag standards must be prominently displayed at all times.

Blue Flag communities must reapply for the award every December. This annual process ensures that beaches are maintaining the FEEs requirements at all times.

Applications are sent to a National Jury made up of environmental specialists. If approved, the applications are sent to the International Jury made up of stakeholders such as the United Nations Environment Program and the International Council of Marine Industry Association. The International Jury completes the evaluation and determines which beaches will receive the award that year.

The drive to earn the flags has been mounting worldwide. Beginning with just 452 beaches in 1987, this year the FEE awarded some 4000  flags,  mainly in Europe but also in South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.

No U.S. community participates in the Blue Flag project, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers an act passed in 2000 called the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act – BEACH.

Instead of flags, it offers money to help communities keep clean beaches. In 2014 the EPA expects to award $9.5 million in grants to 7,089 eligible communities. The current list of BEACH Act beaches reported can be found on the EPA website.

The 17 Blue Flag Beaches of the Marche Region. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Pesaro has earned a Blue Flag the last nine years, and in 2014 was joined by 17 other beach communities in its region of Le Marche. 

“I am proud to be a part of the project because it’s not a normal questionnaire, you have to write a lot of details,” said Leggio, speaking through an interpreter. “A lot of questionnaires are about only environmental data. In this case you can improve the questionnaire [with details].”

A man prepares for a swim in the Adriatic Sea.

Leggio said Pesaro began focusing on environmental sustainability in 2000, encouraging environmental health in all aspects of city life, not just clean beaches. 

For example, for the past few years Pesaro has been working to complete a project known as Bicipolitana, a program that encourages bicycle riding to lessen traffic and decrease air pollution.

Bicipolitana creates routes open only to cyclists. The routes are labeled and color-coded making it simple and safe to travel around the city on two wheels. The program also offers a bicycle sharing system encouraging those who do not own bicycles to still participate in the program.

Leggio said the City Council hopes that in setting a precedent of environmental sustainability and success it will encourage more Italian cities to participate in the Blue Flag project.

The money that Pesaro spends to earn the Blue Flag is brought back into the city through tourism, she said.

“The main reason the city is a part of the [Blue Flag] project is for touristic purposes,” Leggio said. “Tourists ask for the Blue Flag beaches.”

Even the tourists can see that the Blue Flag signifies that the beauty here isn’t skin deep.

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FERMIGNANO, Italy – It’s a cloudless Saturday morning, wet dew still covering the grass. Organizers are quickly setting up various sports equipment within the Sports Center of Ca’Vanzino to get ready for a daylong event called Fermignano in Gioco. About 600 boys and girls from the local schools of the town eagerly line up and are chattering outside the gate.

At exactly 8 o’clock the gates open and children flood in. Divided into age groups ranging from 6 to 12, they separate and head to their designated stations to start the day.

Dario Surano explains a rugby drill to the first rotation of kids participating in the Fermignano in Gioco.

Each station has something different to offer and, as the youth rotate through, they get to experience something new at each turn: dancing, karate, or gymnastics are just a few of the available activities. But it’s the mini rugby station that is filled with nonstop action.

With soccer being the number one sport in Italy, most of these students have never played rugby. It’s not offered as a school sport. But after a few drills they quickly catch on and begin to enjoy the game. Running and tackling, catching and throwing, laughing and crying, and before you know it their time is up and they’re off to the next station.

Many leave with a few bumps and bruises, which will eventually fade away, but what remains vivid is the new exciting game they’ve just tackled.

Some of these students will want to experience that rowdy game they call rugby again, and Giuseppe Faustini, the president of the Titans rugby team in nearby Urbino is counting on it.

Faustini founded the men’s rugby team in 2010 and just recently expanded its program to add Urbino’s first youth team, called the mini Titans. The new team is the next step in the evolution of the Titans and is designed to create the next generation of athletes.

“I regret I didn’t have the possibility to learn when I was their age; I could have been a way better player” says Federico, the captain of the men’s team.

Italy has 31,604 boys and girls under the age of 13 who play rugby compared to the United States, which has 329,086 players – about 10 times as many – participating in the sport.

The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR), a national association founded in 1928, has adopted a policy aimed at promoting youth rugby. FIR understands the importance of fostering a breeding-ground for new players, so the policy requires every adult rugby team to have its own mini team or face a penalty. 

In order to avoid being penalized 4 points during championship games, almost every adult team is trying their best to promote youth rugby and schools have become the target for recruitment. Alessandro Guerra, now a mini Titan himself, was introduced to the sport when the men’s rugby team visited his school. “He brought home a flier from school with information about the rugby team,” says his mother Noemi Saltarelli. “This was the first time he was actually interested in a sport, so I got excited and signed him up.”

So far 14 of the 20 adult teams in the region of Marche, including the Titans, have succeeded at starting their own mini teams.

The mini Titans are coached by two of the players from the men’s team, Alberto Bottari and Federico Ambrosini. During the past four months they have held practice every week at the Varea field in Urbino, passing on their rugby skills to the next generation of athletes.

The minis program is for players as young as six and is open to both boys and girls. Though it is a co-ed sport, no girls have yet to join. “Unfortunately it is quite difficult to gain girls because their parents are not familiar with rugby and they see it as a ‘men only’ sport,” says Federico.

Rugby may have a reputation as a rough sport, but safety is stressed. “Yes, I worry about my son getting hurt because there is risk involved in all sports,” says Noemi Saltarelli, “but at this age the contact isn’t as severe and the trainers do a good job at teaching them how to play safely.” The program also aims to help the players build confidence and stay fit. “Rugby has helped me become stronger, lose weight, and stay in shape,” says 10-year old Matieo Dorelli.

The two Titans, the men’s team and the mini team, get together to play a game of touch rugby.

 Thus far the mini Titans have played in two games against the teams of Fano and Montecchio: victory in one game, a loss in the other. Coach Federico is excited about their progress: “I feel amazed! They learn so fast and they improve after every game. I feel like I’m building the future of rugby in Urbino and I couldn’t be more proud.”

Both the men’s team and the mini team celebrated their successful seasons with a barbeque before breaking for summer vacation. The parents grilled the meat and prepared the food, while the two teams played a game of touch rugby, the boys against the men. 

The mini Titans resume formal practice in September to start their first full season. They have a summer full of optimism to kick around: “It is hard to make predictions about the future because we are still a very new team. But I hope that the youth team will bring more attention to our program,” says team president Faustini, “I hope that it will grow as a passion, because rugby is a beautiful sport.”

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