It’s Time to Be Prepared! (cont.)
We are facing a challenge these days in recruiting adult leaders into our units. Let’s face it, the ability to build and sustain a Pack depends upon the willingness of the parents of our Scouts to step forward and take on leadership for the unit. We simply have difficulty recruiting Den Leaders, Committee members, Assistant Cubmasters and Cubmasters. This is no less a concern when it comes to Troops, and it trickles up if that is a concept to leadership roles within our Districts and Council. Without engaged adult leaders, we cannot continue to offer Scouting to our youth. Assuming a leadership role seems daunting, and to those without a Scouting background seems even foreign to most. It is on some level a scarry thing to undertake, but it shouldn’t be scarry. Each of our units, Packs, Troops, Crews, Posts and Ships has a responsibility to foster and provide a pathway for adults to learn about Scouting, to ease into leadership roles and over time as they get their sea legs as it were, to assume greater responsibility. Central to our success is to encourage and provide training to each of our leaders.
Scouting America provides abundant training opportunities for adults through the My.Scouting.org website portal, and every adult can take advantage of that training regardless of their position within Scouting. When you go to the site, you can establish your own log-in and find training modules based upon the program you are in – Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouts and Exploring. There are modules for Position Specific training and for roles beyond the unit with District and Council leadership positions. This training begins with the fundamentals – what is Scouting, what is the purpose and structure of each level of our program, how do we operate. It is particularly important, no essential that leaders with particular roles complete position specific training. Den leaders, cubmasters, scoutmasters, merit badge counselors, committee chairs and members should all become familiar with training opportunities and complete their training. We all know that Youth Protection Training or YPT is required of every single registered adult, and we are all required to complete that training annually, yet there are some whose training lapses each year. While most position specific training needs to be completed only once, there are other training programs that certify you for various responsibilities that require renewal every two years. These include Hazardous Weather training, Safety Afloat, Climb on Safely, Safe Swim Defense and others. A complete listing of training opportunities can be found online at https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Position-Trained-Requirements-Feb2025.pdf. It is important to note that to be a certified position specific trained leader requires both current YPT training and Hazardous Weather Certification.
One obstacle to unit programming has been a lack of BALOO trained Pack leaders. Each Pack is required to have BALLOO trained leaders on any overnight outing, yet few of our Pack leaders have taken that training. Lack of trained leaders inhibits a unit from offering a full program, and more importantly, makes it difficult to recruit new leaders. It is essential that we introduce all of our adults to training. Most all of it can be offered in a classroom format to parents at a unit meeting. Online training can be completed on a schedule that works for any individual adult and training modules are relatively brief. If necessary, a person can step away from a training session and resume it when time permits. Very few require an in-person component and our District and Council training committees offer those programs several times each year.
So what can you do to assure we have sufficient adults stepping forward to lend a hand? First of all, each of us need to hold our unit leaders accountable for completing their training. Second, we must welcome new adults into the program as we welcome their youth and offer basic training so they fully understand Scouting and experience some training early on. Once they understand that there is training and support available, that most roles do not require as much as it may appear, they are more likely to take on those roles and learn the ropes. If you are a registered adult, you should explore training opportunities and complete the training that interests you. This will prepare you to be better informed, better equipped to contribute to the success of your unit and ultimately to a better experience for your Scout. The real benefit lies in the fun and learning your Scout will experience and in the Scouting adventure you can share with your Scout along the way.
I know that training is not an exciting topic, and that few of us feel like we have extra time to undertake both leadership roles and the training they require, but it is essential that we do if Scouting is going to continue to deliver on our promise to our youth. As always, I thank you for your commitment to Scouting, for the faith and trust you place in your leaders and units every day throughout the year. I’m looking forward to seeing you down the trail with a “Trained” patch on the sleeve of your uniform.
Paul Shrode
psshrode@aol.com