Ten years ago this spring, a 14-year-old fisherman scribbled a simple note that set the ball in motion for a drug prevention program that today is active in 26 states and has been commended by two U.S. presidents.
In 1986 Matthew Deakins was experiencing the pressures from friends and schoolmates that all adolescents must deal with, and had used fishing as an alternative to drug experimentation activities that were popular with his peers in his small Florida town.
Sent to the Future Fisherman Foundation, Deakins explained in his letter that "Fishing has helped me keep off drugs. It gives me the time and the place to think things out, and fishing is fun. I think if more kids my age learned how to fish it would help keep them off drugs too."
Matthew asked the Future Fisherman Foundation for help finding a sponsor to allow him to spread the word about how fishing can help keep kids, as it had him, off drugs.
The message was taken to heart by Foundation Executive Director Sharon Rushton and spawned a national drug prevention program called "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs¿" that has received recognition from former presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan, has reached over 100,000 youths nationally, and continues to grow by the month.
In fact, a Future Fisherman Foundation public service message published by Bassin' in the fall of 1987 caught the eye of the school administrator in West Virginia who, using Federal Drug-Free Schools funds, developed the model program for today's "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" school curriculum.
Funded by grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Sportfishing Association, "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" is a supplementary, interdisciplinary drug prevention program for students in grades K-12. Using a comprehensive Teacher's Guide, videos, and other support materials, the "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" curriculum has been introduced in school districts in at least 26 states, with more coming on board each month. In West Virginia alone, some 50,000 students have received the message, a state where more than one-third of its public schools have implemented the prevention program.
The "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" curriculum can be inserted into any formal drug education program and is being integrated into areas of study as diverse as health education, language arts, social studies, art, and mathematics. Some schools are carrying "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" as an elective class, an exploratory class for three to nine weeks, or as an after-school activity.
Many school districts receive federal Drug-Free Schools funds to implement "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs", a program which exceeds all of the U.S. Department of Education's criteria for successful drug prevention. Others rely on funds from the community, the school itself, or the state fish and wildlife agency to get the program underway.
Schools aren't the only organizations that have implemented "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs"; youth organizations, churches, service organizations, recreation and parks departments, and other community and government agencies are offering the program as well.
Wherever the "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" effort is underway, kids are taught how to fish and how to spend their time fishing instead of using drugs or alcohol, while at the same time, nurturing a respect and sense of responsibility for the environment. The program helps students build self-esteem and self-confidence and to develop important decision-making skills.
"Fishing is a sport that all people can enjoy and use as a way to relax and think out problems," according to 15-year-old Scott Sevigny of Yakima, Washington. "It's a way for people to leave problems behind without using any harmful substances like drugs and alcohol."
Eleven-year-old Tony Carsone agrees: "I can understand why people get hooked on fishing because it helps leave problems behind by relaxing you. But I cannot understand why people get hooked on drugs."
Brad Sutton, of Storm Lake, Iowa, explains it by saying: "Personally, I think that there is a lot more to do in life than taking drugs. And fishing is one of my favorite things to do in my spare time."
Educators like it too.
"The Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs program has been one of the most effective drug prevention programs we have implemented," says Marcel Malfregeot, the curriculum administrator who got things going in West Virginia after seeing the ad in Bassin'. "It was like magic! The excitement and enthusiasm generated by the students, staff, parents, and the community was astounding!"
A comprehensive "Parents Guide" booklet has been added to complement the program's "Teachers Guide," which will help get the message across at home, and allow families to get involved in the program at the household level.
A violence-prevention message has also been integrated into the programming, stressing angling as an alternative to another important issue facing today's youth.
"Everybody wins with a program like this," says Malfregeot, who speaks at "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" introductory workshops organized for educators and community leaders across the nation. "The community, the parents, the schools, the tackle manufacturers, and, of course, the kids themselves."
For more information about the Future Fisherman Foundation's program, or to learn about having a workshop organized in your area, call "Hooked On Fishing--Not On Drugs" coordinator Darrell Maynard at the Foundation's Alexandria, Virginia, office at 703-519-9691.
Copyright (c) 1996 Dan Armitage. All rights reserved.
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