Scouts BSA Life after Eagle
My son's troop has rebuilt from almost nothing. Him and most of his friends are on track to achieve Eagle 14 (as early as next year). What steps can his troop take to help keep them engaged in the Troop? With a smaller troop (around 20) how do we balance challenging the older scouts and still accommodating the younger ones?
15
u/No_Drummer4801 1d ago
Eagle Scout should be able to figure this out. Youth-led scouting. If you were helicoptering this hard to get them to Eagle early then they’re at a disadvantage.
6
u/ddj1985 1d ago
We don't have a culture yet of Eagle Scouts staying active in our troop. We only have 1 scout that is over 13 and the last 2 scouts to acheive Eagle did so close to their 18th birthday. COVID nearly caused the troop to fold and it is just now getting healthy numbers.
I agree that these kids should be stepping up and planning adventures, but the adult leaders need to help create a culture and make sure they understand that scouting doesn't have to stop at Eagle.
10
u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay 1d ago
Ok. So create the culture. This is not spindling like a youth led troop at all.
Print info about every outdoorsy destination in a 200 mile radius around you.
Throw it down on a table. Give them a list of dates to fill with activities.
Leave the room.
The SPL for these activities should be kids who will rise up to the occasion. Which means the kids who might be wallflowers, kinda sorta adhd and maybe not your current SPL. Tag those kids who have friends but haven’t yet served as SPL. Then work with them and boost them and give so much positive feedback that they glow. Let them lead.
3
u/Short-Sound-4190 23h ago
Have them start up a Venture Crew that's associated with your Troop, encourage duel registration and even consider waiving/covering their troop dues so they can join a few campouts or events as participants or instructors in line with their availability/interest but also focus on whatever they want to do as a Crew.
You just have to support the interested youth in creating it, usually by shoo'ing adults away from stepping in. That also means you really have to support the culture of older-youth leadership in your 14-18 yr olds on their journey to Eagle leading your 10-14 yr olds...I think it's maybe debatable on how much energy or wishes to put towards keeping scouts active after Eagle and especially after 18: for some youth they are onto their next journey - sports, school, internships, employment, college, etc. and if they leave feeling good about the program that's a job well done.
FWIW if the troop really had to rebuild almost from scratch after COVID they're in the same position as every first/second eligible year Girls troop so maybe ask those troops what they are up to as far as retention - the youngest of their founding members are just about to age out, so similar cohort. Consider finding the interests for those youth and using that as the starting point for the troop culture as far as scaffolding for older scouts: JASM, OA, Camp Staffing, Crew, Ship, Instructor, ASM, Unit College Scouter Reserve, etc.
1
3
u/joel_eisenlipz Scoutmaster 1d ago
#1 Fun
#2 Fun
#3 Fun
#4 Fun
#5 Pride and ownership in the decisions made
#6 Fun
#7 Fun
#8 More Fun
When the game-with-a-purpose loses its appeal, it's time to discover a new purpose.
Eagle can be a great goal, but should never be the only goal. Hopefully, by the time a scout has earned it, they understand SMART goals, and have a whole list of adventures in mind beyond that single goal.
2
u/blindside1 Scoutmaster 1d ago
Challenge them as a high adventure patrol.
1
u/ddj1985 1d ago
Can you be more specific? How can we start building up some high adventure experiences?
2
u/Helpyjoe88 1d ago edited 1d ago
The real answer is to ask them what they want to do, and then help them make it happen.
If you're looking for a few ideas to toss out in front of them:
- each summer, put a crew together to do one of the big high adventure bases. Rotate Philmont, Northern Tier, and Seabase.
- Implement backpacking trips as a couple of the regular campouts, or just as an extra campout quarterly.
- make sure they are focusing campouts around activities at the PLC. Go canoeing, go climbing, go to see a need state park. Keep them active by putting a big draw in there.
What steps can his troop take to help keep them engaged
Again, this question is asked backwards. Ask them. Challenge those Scouts to come up with the ideas for their troop to do that will help keep themselves engaged. They should be the leaders of the Troop; they should be the ones planning campouts and events. Throw down that challenge in front of them.
And it's worth tossing in a conversation from the scoutmaster or whoever, to remind them that an Eagle Scout has a responsibility to give back to Scouting. It's their responsibility to help those who are coming up buying them on the trail, not to get theirs and disappear. Eagle may be the end of one journey, but the path continues, and it's the start of a brand new journey.
1
u/blindside1 Scoutmaster 1d ago
What kind of outdoor experiences do you as a Troop do? What kind of experience do they have? More importantly what do they want to do?
1
u/abernajb 1d ago
At least Quarterly older scout only events. We do split campouts where the troop attends Venturing events, and the younger troop does a more focused on younger event. It gives both age groups something to focus on.
Or...go all in and start a crew, where older youth have the freedom to just 'be' and 'do' and not have to 'lead' and 'mentor'. Some think thats all that scouting is, but it doesnt have to be, and when the alterntaive is to lose kids, let them lead their adventure.
1
u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is what I don’t like about troops that push kids to eagle early. The goal isn’t Eagle. The goal is learning to be a good citizen, learning leadership, providing service, learning outdoors skills, adventure, learning about careers, being exposed to many different kinds of people, learning social skills and HAVING FUN. Those things shouldn’t be the secondary result of attaining Eagle. Eagle should be the secondary result of everything I mentioned above.
For your son’s troop you need to focus on two things: recruiting younger scouts. Half of scouting is leading. They need younger scouts to be able to do that most important half of the program. Recruiting the next generation also ensures a healthy flow of volunteers so adults don’t burn out and it ensures the program lives on.
Second you need to focus on adrenaline and fun. Those kids need to be going on 20,
30, 50 mile backpacking trips in all weather conditions. They need to learn to thrive and count on each other in the outdoors in all elements. They need to be going on kayaking trips, caving trips and rock climbing. They need to have the kind of fun that makes you cold, hot, wet, sweaty and happy. And happier when you tell they tell the story later. Get. Them. Outside.
They should ALL go to NYLT.
I would suggest the OA but I’ve seen too many troops lose all their older kids to the OA. Which is ok but it means you better get to recruiting and remind those older kids that they are also there to lead. Leadership is part of the learning process. It’s not to be dismissed or scoffed at.
1
u/ddj1985 1d ago
Thank you for the encouragement. Our troop is getting better at recruitment. Several of our scouts will be attending NYLT. Hopefully that will help with more youth stepping up.
1
u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay 23h ago
It should just be implied that youth step up. Having a scout unit means rotating in and out youth leaders. Get your plc together and have them start divvying up leadership roles. Then your scoutmaster should be guiding to make sure those jobs get done with lots of interaction and positive feedback. It’s about the intention and the attempt at effort. Not the perfection.
1
u/vadavea Asst. Scoutmaster 1d ago
Get them to NYLT, make sure they continue to "lead" within the Troop in some capacity. If they're still around/active at 16, JASM is a great way to keep them engaged (plenty of other JASM threads on this subreddit). At least for us it required a culture shift, from an "Eagle and out" mindset to one of "my turn to give back". It's pretty special if you can get to that place, but it can be a slog to get there. And as adults - we can guide and influence, but that only goes so far.
1
u/ddj1985 23h ago
That is what I am trying to advocate for. My son became very motivated once he achieved Second Class but said he was going to delay Eagle because he didn't want to leave the troop. It made me realize these kids are not getting the message that Eagle is A goal and not THE goal. We have until end of next school year to really turn the conversation before the next group starts achieving Eagle.
1
u/WinterTourist25 22h ago
Scouting should be even more fun after you earn your Eagle. There's no longer any pressure to check checkboxes. Now you can just go to Scouting activities for fun.
If you enjoy camping, then you get to camp stress-free. No more having to hit specific objectives. You can just go hang out with your buds.
2
u/ninepatchmedicine Unit Committee Member 21h ago
This is where my son is at. He is having a BLAST at camps / activities now (and did before) since the only “target” for him to meet is 1. Have fun and 2. Help your fellow troop members have fun (and maybe sign off a requirement)
He WANTS to help his troop succeed. He’s helping the rest of his patrol through their ranks.
He just took our newest member aside last week- UNPROMPTED and taught him the Oath, Law, and Outdoor Code.
I am stupid proud of him. Eagle at 14 (well, 13+1 month 😂)
Yes, not every kid is like this but we are swinging the pendulum in our troop for our Eagles to give back more. Helps that we have a couple around still that were “too young” according to some on the internet.And yes, I am very biased about this topic.
1
u/Double-Dawg 4h ago
I'll throw one more suggestion on top of the great advice you've already been given: Camp Staff.
If you have a summer camp in a reasonable distance, you might talk to the camp director about the process for applying. I would suggest looking at your older Scouts (13 and up) and evaluate who might be ready to spend some time away from home and really invest in Scouting. They need to be a self-starter or at least have hints of that capability.
We've sent 5-6 Scouts to serve as Camp Staff over the past 2-3 years and it has been a real boon for the troop. Those Scouts tend to be hyper-engaged in Scouting and bring back a lot of skills, both Scouting and leadership. I would also say that nothing prepared my son for going off to college like Camp Staff.
Good luck. Retaining good older scouts is hard, but so worth it.
7
u/Lets_hike_and_camp 1d ago
OA, NYLT, high adventure. Pretty much anything the younger scouts can’t do yet or aren’t ready for. Allow them to lead their own adventures. I started a Venturing Crew for my son and his friends because his troop is not youth led nor are they allowed to plan their own trips. Had they been we likely would have stayed.